29 May

In this Executive Spotlight, we will be looking at Gene Kelly’s LinkedIn and Twitter accounts. As the chairman and CEO of Southwest Airlines, his company has been greatly impacted by the coronavirus and governments setting restrictions on travel. As we will discuss in this article, Kelly has used his online presence to promote a sense of optimism by focusing on positive company initiatives....

14:12 / Executive Spotlight
20 Mar

Tracee Ellis Ross is a busy woman. Between acting, being a showrunner, and running her own company, Ross has a lot on her plate—yet, she does not miss a beat when it comes to staying connected and marketing her various projects on social media. In this article, we will be analyzing Ross’ Twitter and Instagram accounts. We will be looking at how she utilizes these respective platforms for her company Pattern Beauty’s messaging, and how executives can draw inspiration from Ross’ authenticity and adherence to best practices....

15:17 / Executive Spotlight
21 Feb

This week, our article focuses on business mogul and philanthropist Bill Gates, and in particular the way he adapts his content according to the platform he is using. The co-founder of Microsoft is perhaps best known as one of the pioneers of the microcomputer revolution, and these days is chiefly known for his humanitarian work through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Gates is extremely active on social media, present on four major social media apps (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram). However, we found that Gates’ Twitter and Instagram in particular are great examples of adhering to different aspects of his business and brand, and do so according to the best practices of each respective platform....

21:29 / Executive Spotlight
14 Feb

On February 18th, 2020, Sandeep Mathrani begins his role as CEO of WeWork. He was previously the CEO at Brookfield Properties Retail, so his experience in the real estate industry has many hopeful that he can turn the struggling company around. While it appears Mathrani has accounts on both Twitter and LinkedIn, both profiles have not been updated in a long time. He has not tweeted since 2014 and his LinkedIn profile makes no reference to WeWork. It is not often that we feature a CEO that has no social media presence, however Mathrani's new position opens the door for him to implement an executive social media strategy. In this article, instead of analyzing his accounts, we will instead look at the conversation surrounding him on social media. We will then discuss how these topics are relevant and can be shared by...

18:13 / Front Page Execs
07 Feb

When executives join social media, one of the biggest decisions they face is selecting which social media platform(s) to join.The most popular apps for executives are LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. For executives who are not familiar with these platforms, a common mistake they make is thinking that all social media platforms are the same. However, as we have seen in our previous Executive Spotlight articles, successful executives on social media are the ones that truly understand the unique benefits each social media platform has. This week, our article focuses on the chairman of Mahindra Group, Anand Mahindra, and his Twitter content. While he also has a LinkedIn and Facebook account, both are inactive with no posts. However, through our analysis, we find that Twitter is the most effective social media platform for Mahindra's content. In our analysis, we will take...

14:45 / Executive Spotlight
31 Jan

Over the past week, one funny meme has gone viral across social media. With over 500,000 posts on Instagram alone, the origins of the meme came from an unlikely source–74-year-old country singer, Dolly Parton. Her original posts have received a lot of engagement so far. On Twitter, her post has almost 40,000 retweets and over 250,000 likes. Her post on Facebook has garnered almost 3,000 comments and over 14,000 shares, while on Instagram, her post has received almost 15,000 comments and over 1.1 million likes. https://twitter.com/DollyParton/status/1219681321762656256   The meme has spread across social media platforms with adaptations created by brands, celebrities, and the general audience using #DollyPartonChallenge. In this article, we will take a look at what makes this meme so popular, and some executives who have posted their own version.   The #DollyPartonChallenge Meme and Why it Spread   The #DollyPartonChallenge is a collage of four...

14:40 / Front Page Execs
17 Jan

In the wake of the devastating Australian bushfire, many executives have stepped forward to donate to organizations providing relief efforts. Executives can use social media to draw attention to specific causes and inspire others to action, which we have seen in many of our previous articles. Individuals like Bernie Reifkind and Marc Benioff use social media to not only share their thoughts about social causes, but also to showcase the actions they have taken to help inspire others to action. In this article, we will look at three executives from different industries and how each of them has responded to the Australian bushfires. By analyzing their social media posts, we examine how the tone can vary from post to post while still effectively calling attention to the cause.   Tech: Scott Farquhar and Mike Cannon-Brookes   First up is the tech industry, where the two...

18:07 / Front Page Execs
06 Dec

Paul Polman is all about the “four Ps:" people, purpose, passion, and positive attitude. During his 10 years at Unilever, Polman was known for his own personal brand of responsible capitalism, focusing on sustainability. After stepping down as Unilever's CEO at the end of 2018, Polman went on to co-found IMAGINE, a B2B brand. It is a consulting firm that helps businesses tackle issues regarding climate change and inequality. Almost an entire year ago, we took an in-depth look at Polman’s Twitter account in our previous Executive Spotlight article. In this article, we will be analyzing his Twitter once more, as well as his LinkedIn profile for the first time, and see what–if anything–has changed since 2018.   Twitter: Sharing Articles with Users   Compared to our previous Twitter analysis, not much has changed with Polman’s content. He is still very consistent with the topics...

15:32 / Executive Spotlight
22 Nov

Co-founded in 2004 by Dan Price, Gravity Payments is a credit card processing company dedicated to providing independent business owners with a low-cost alternative, while aiming to have transparent business practices. Price made headlines when he raised the minimum salary for all employees to $70,000 while cutting his own $1.1 million salary by 90%. While Price and the company faced backlash from some other businesses, and even some employees, Gravity Payments has been steadily growing ever since. In 2014, the company processed $3.8 billion and this amount grew to $10.2 billion in 2018. Revenue and profits have also doubled, while customer retention has increased from 91% to 95%. For reference, the industry average is a mere 68%. Meanwhile, the number of employees has grown from 120 when the new minimum wage was announced to 200. As the leader of such...

21:25 / Executive Spotlight
18 Oct

Climate change is an important topic and it is no surprise that many are looking to leaders and businesses to act, given that large businesses have a sizable impact on the environment. In 2017, a report by the Carbon Disclosure Project found that just 100 companies are responsible for 71% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Of course, the type of industry can also affect the company’s carbon footprint. Last year, a study showed that 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions were related to the tourism industry, and this percentage is expected to grow at an annual rate of 4%. While these statistics may be staggering, some leaders are taking action. Rick Steves, the CEO of Rick Steves’ Europe, recently announced his plans to donate an annual amount of $1 million on Twitter.   The Self-Imposed Carbon Tax https://twitter.com/RickSteves/status/1179475145028784128 He calls it a "self-imposed carbon...

18:35 / Front Page Execs