Six in 10 Fortune 500 CEOs Avoid Social Media

June 5, 2017

This article is included in these additional categories:

Digital | Social Media

The majority of Fortune 500 CEOs don’t have a presence on any of 6 major social networks analyzed, according to the latest study [download page] of CEOs’ social behavior from Domo and CEO.com. In fact, most of those who do maintain a presence do so on only a single network, amounting to one-quarter of the total sample tracked last year.

About 1 in 10 were on 2 networks, while a mere 3% were on 3 or more networks. Only 1 CEO was on 5 of the 6 major networks (LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google+, Instagram).

More CEOs are on LinkedIn than any other social media platform, per the report. In sum, 181 CEOs (36%) maintained an account on the platform last year, up from 161 in 2015 and 128 in 2014. Facebook and Twitter came in at a distant second and third. Gains in CEO users over the last few years were offset by a drop in 2016 to 40 Facebook (8%) and 36 Twitter (7%) users, down from 2015’s high of 57 Facebook and 50 Twitter users.

Other Findings:

  • Half of the 76 new CEOs in the F500 in 2016 did not use social media at all;
  • Of the 36 F500 CEOs on Twitter, 25 were active users;
  • Most popular on LinkedIn: BlackRock’s CEO, Larry Fink (536k followers) and JPMorgan Chase & Co’s Jamie Dimon (498k followers).
  • Most popular on Twitter: Apple CEO, Tim Cook (3.94 million followers) and Salesforce CEO, Marc Benioff (13,400 tweets).
  • Most popular on Facebook: Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg (78 million followers) and Netflix CEO, Reed Hastings (199,800 followers).
  • Most popular on Instagram: Walmart CEO, Doug McMillon (16,800 followers) and Live Nation’s CEO, Michael Rapino (5,054 followers)
  • Most popular on YouTube and Google+: Alphabet CEO, Larry Page (10 million followers on both YouTube and Google+) and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg (685k followers on each channel).
  • Only 3 CEOs have a presence on YouTube: Lowell McAdam (Verizon), Larry Page (Alphabet) and Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook).

About the Data: The report was based on research conducted over the course of the year, starting January 1 and completed on November 28, 2016. Over 500 CEOs were represented in the data, from the Fortune 500 list (several companies have co-CEOs).

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