24 May Infographic: Fortune 500 CEOs on Social Media

The Fortune 500 list includes the largest companies in the U.S. These days, it’s a given that major brands have a strong social media presence. What about their CEOs? Are they on social media as well?

If you missed it, we shared our latest findings on Fortune 500 CEOs on social media. Be sure to check it out here, How Many Fortune 500 CEOs are on Social Media in 2023?

In the infographic below, we summarize our top findings! Do any of the results surprise you?

Infographic: Fortune 500 CEOs Social Media Statistics

Key Takeaways For Executive Social Media

Executive Social Media Takeaway #1: Executive social media matters.

Almost three-quarters of Fortune 500 CEOs in 2023 were on social media, signaling that executive social media is no longer just an optional side project, but a necessity for a company’s digital marketing program. CEOs can strategically use their digital presence to drive toward business objectives by sharing engaging, educational, and entertaining content.

For marketers developing their brand’s digital presence and media buying strategies, one thing to keep in mind is that an executive’s posts can now be part of the paid digital marketing program thanks to LinkedIn’s thought leader ads.

Executive Social Media Takeaway #2: One ring social media platform to rule them all.

LinkedIn is the clear favorite among Fortune 500 CEOs — no surprises here. Of the CEOs with a social media presence, 98% of them have a LinkedIn account. We’ve helped our executive clients establish a strategic presence on this platform, ranging from CEOs and company founders to sales leaders and other C-suite executives.

While LinkedIn may have a reputation for being an excellent platform to connect with B2B decision-makers and audiences, B2C executives will find the platform’s many features valuable in reaching their stakeholders as well. We recommend staying up to date with the latest LinkedIn news by checking out their blog or connecting with one of our digital marketing experts to learn how LinkedIn (or other social media platforms) can support your executive social media program.

Executive Social Media Takeaway #3: How will TikTok fare in the future among executives?

Also not surprising are the social media platforms that came in last — Facebook and TikTok. Let’s focus on the latter. TikTok, a video-based app included for the first time in our 2023 review, is a more time-intensive social media platform compared to the others.

Executives must share videos, not just a link to an article and a written post like on most other platforms. On top of this, camera-shy executives may prefer writing out a post rather than appearing on screen themselves. And, as we mentioned already, videos do take more time and effort to create.

Yet, our own findings with our executive clients who create videos clearly show that video continues to be a top-performing format, driving views and engagement. The time needed to create videos may also be less time than you think as we explain in our article, 5 Myths About Creating Videos For Social Media.

Executive Social Media Takeaway #4: Most CEOs use a single-channel approach.

Almost 250 Fortune 500 CEOs are on just one social media platform, a significant margin when compared to those who use two, three, four, or even zero platforms. There are many benefits of using just one platform. It’s easier to manage, especially if it’s the CEO themselves sourcing, creating, and posting the content on their own social media account rather than working with their in-house marketing team or an executive social media agency.

That being said, an omnichannel strategy where an executive is positioned on more than one platform has its advantages as well. You’ll be able to tap into different social media app features, reach different audiences, and build out a more robust digital presence. The effort required to position a CEO on two platforms isn’t always double as content can be repurposed. For example, it’s easy to shorten a LinkedIn post for X (formerly Twitter) but link to the same article. We share more insights in this article, How Many Social Media Apps Should Executives Be On?

Read more Fortune 500 CEO social media insights!