Influential: How to convince your executive team to reconsider social media

I was asked recently by a client to “explain why social media is critical to marketing and PR – and indeed to the organization as a whole.” The person in question worked for an organisation in which YouTube, Twitter and Facebook were all banned and they were looking for a compelling argument to persuade their senior management team to reconsider.

Instructive: What do chairmen and chief executives expect of their communications directors?

Headhunters Ellwood and Atfield recently published the results of a survey they undertook with chairmen and chief executives designed to see how the role of communications director is evolving. The report is interesting reading as much for the people who responded – they include Sir Win Bischoff of Lloyds, Sir Christopher Gent of GSK, Dennis Holt of the Bank of Ireland and Hector Sants of the FSA – as what they said.

In summary, chief executives and chairmen clearly recognise the value the communication function provides, whether through managing investor, media, government, employee or other stakeholder relations. However, when it comes to rating the relative importance of the individual disciplines within the function, views vary considerably depending on the organisation’s particular circumstances.

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“My name’s Andrew and I’m in marketing.”

From large networking events to small dinner parties, I’ve uttered that line more times than I care to remember. It’s normally met with a smile and a swift transition to another topic.