These are reasons CFOs are NOT active on Twitter:
1) Twitter is complicated. Yes, it is complicated. It takes a long time to get the feel of the rules of the game. In a way, it is like learning a new language. You have to speak less, spell different, say things in shorthand, do things like @, #, RT, DM, and bit.ly.
2) Who cares what I have to say? Who will listen? Why should anyone care if you went to a concert, or what you ate for breakfast? It is not intuitive for people (born before 1985) to share this kind of information in public.
3) What am I going to tweet about? Your job? Your life? Your interest in collecting little spoons from around the world?
4) Regulatory concerns. A CFO of a public company is restricted up the regulatory Ying-yang of what they can say in public about the Company they work for.
5) Perception is that people who tweet aren’t very busy. CFOs are supposed to be busy people. If a CFO is tweeting, it shows that they are doing something other than work.On the other hand, since we started our Twitter activity, I have also come across Chief Financial Officers that are active on Twitter. And I wondered why. So I spoke with CFOs and asked them “Why are you on Twitter?”
These are reasons why CFOs ARE active on Twitter:
1) Personal Branding. Tweeting allows you to communicate your ideas and influence what others think about you. [If you don’t know why personal branding is important, read these: How Important is Your Personal Brand by Santhie Goundar and You are So Much More Than a Job Title by Cindy Kraft.]
2) Following interesting people. There are many interesting people in the world, and they have something to say and articles to share. A progressive Senior Financial Executive wants to learn more from people with different points of view. Twitter is a great place to find others to learn from.
3) Network with people you never would have connected with. As CFO, there are people you can follow that you would never have connected with personally. You can use Twitter to listen to and interact with Investors, Industry thought leaders and Customers. Those CFOs that use Twitter regularly find it very powerful.
4) Add value to my employer. Not only do you add to your personal brand as a CFO who Tweets, but you add value to your employer as well. If you look good, they look good too.
5) Share interests with others. Whether your interests are work related, such as being an Excel Guru or a GAAP Master, or life related like your passion for skiing, golf or Barbequing, people who follow you will know about it. It makes for interesting conversations and better connections when you do meet with them in person.If you are a CFO who Tweets, go ahead and tweet the following: I’m a #CFOwhoTweets
If you are a CFO who doesn't tweet yet, what are you waiting for?
7 comments:
Great post, Samuel.
The bigger, and perhaps more important, picture is around building visibility and proactively managing your reputation. Twitter is a tool, but not the only tool, to help accomplish that.
Most CFOs are so busy doing their jobs that they only lift their heads and think about their careers when they need/want one. The most powerful positioning for any executive is as a passive candidate. Despite the high unemployment rate and the depth of talent actively seeking a job, the perception is those who are still working are the "best," and recruiters - and companies - want the best.
Twitter can help you raise your visibility, gain positioning as a subject matter expert, put you on the radar screen of recruiters who are conducting confidential searches, and allow you to tap into a network that is exponentially bigger than anything you may have built pre-social media.
Social networking is the new norm and while CFOs may be the last bastion of invisible people, they remain so at their own peril!
If you're a CFO or Senior Finance Executive and tweet, please follow me @CFOCoach!
Good to see the reasons against as well as the reasons for CFOs tweeting.
There is absolutely NO 'should' about it. And I say that as someone who has enjoyed being active on twitter for over 2 years now.
If I were a full time CFO however I doubt I would start nor would I need to do so. To take your five reasons why CFOs 'should' join twitter:
1 - Personal branding.
Not worth it. Stick to LinkedIn
2 - Follow interesting people
If you like. It's just a side benefit.
3 - Network
If you like. Is it the best place to network? Depends on your business objectives. It's fun, but that's all.
4 - Add value to employer?
Eh? If employer is household name then you want someone else monitoring and responding to tweets about the business. Not the CFO. YOU have better things to do.
If employer is not household name then even less reason.
5 - Share interests
Yes you can.
Bottom line. You can have fun. You enjoy the interaction on twitter and you may come across interesting and useful people.
Many business people get value from the time they spend on twitter. I certainly enjoy it, but I run a number of networks, including one for FDs of SMEs in London.
Horses for courses.
In my view, twitter is definitely NOT something the full-time CFO/FD needs to be doing. If they keep off twitter they won't lose out and their employer won't lose out either.
Cindy,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the subject.
Certainly, Twitter is only a tool, and not the only tool for building visibility and managing your reputation. But it is an important tool.
As an example, I attended a conference where 2 CFOs were speaking. One was on Twitter, the other wasn’t. The CFO that was on Twitter was getting coverage on one of the most popular social media tools in use today by having people in the audience attribute quotes to the CFO. As well, attendees in the audience were able to communicate directly by @ing the speaker. The CFO Who Tweeted was able to communicate and engage with the audience before, during and after the conference, comment on what was said about him and create presence and personal branding.
The other CFO did not have this value.
All things being equal, who benefited the most from speaking at this conference?
Mark,
Thank you for your contrary opinions to my blog post.
I’m curious to hearing from CFOs Who Tweet on whether they’ve seen real value, or whether they agree with Mark who is saying there is no real value in a CFO Tweeting.
Cheers Samuel
Actually I'm not saying there's NO prospect of a full-time FD/CFO getting value from being on twitter.
I was simply responding to the suggestion in your blog post that they 'should' be on twitter and would lose out if they were not.
Lovely example by the way of the speakers. If, within your full time role you have time to do talks and are keen to build your personal brand, then I agree there could be benefits. Still not sure that you lose out by NOT being on twitter.
And, just to stress, I've long been active on twitter. It suits me but I have also written various pieces debunking the myths - more often peddled by social media 'experts' and marketing types. You can find these and tips and advice on www.bookmarklee.co.uk/twitter
My twitter handle is @bookmarklee
I'm definitely on your site, Samuel. I definitely see value for CFOs to be on Twitter ... and I understand why they would choose not to do so! I always nudge them towards social media in some form even if it is just one baby step at a time!
It's interesting to read the perspectives on why CFOs do or don't/should or shouldn't tweet. I'd like to throw in my 2 cents.
Sadly, Despite progressive movements, many CFOs are still at the back of the line when it comes to technology advancements. (ie: ERP SaaS is last in line.) Accountants seem to like change about as much as their grandparents do.
What is often missed in these discussions is the educational/informational share that CFOs can benefit from. Not comfortable tweeting? There is lots to be gained just from following in the form of relevant snippets of information.
If you are interested in this topic, please follow me @iSunsun
Susan,
Thanks for your 2 cents. (I now have $0.06).
I do *not* think it is absolutely necessary for a CFO to be on Twitter.
I do think that CFOs should use Twitter and that they can only benefit.
If you are reading this posting and have examples of how CFOs can benefit, please share them.
And remember, if you are a CFO who is on Twitter, don't forget to declare "I am a #CFOWhoTweets".
Samuel
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