6 key occasions when your CEO should be the key spokesperson

Public relations teams and their agencies routinely urge leaders to build a public profile through social media and high-level content.

When should the CEO of a major company serve as its public spokesperson? How should a public role align with an organization’s business goals?

Research by Chief Executive magazine and the USC Annenberg Center for Public Relations suggests that many CEOs don’t prioritize participation in a public conversation that departs from tangible business goals. Forty-four percent of 210 CEOs surveyed said their most important communication goal for 2019 was to sell the company’s products and services, and 60% said they were unlikely to speak out about any social issue. For those who said they did plan to speak publicly about issues, the most pressing topics named were data privacy, healthcare, and diversity and inclusion.

When asked which communication strategies they considered most valuable, social media and online influencers were chosen by 30% of the CEOs, nosing out original content distributed through their company’s own channels, which was named by 28%. It’s good news that corporate leaders are starting to appreciate the power of social media, but progress has been slow.