4 reasons your exec director should be on Twitter

Executives at nonprofits should put community engagement via social media as a top priority in performing their jobs. They need to get their hands dirty. But more often than not, they don’t.

Usually, staffers do the “dirty work” with social media while management gets a debrief on return on investment.

This is like having a nurse’s aide listen to a patient’s acute cardiac symptoms and tell the heart surgeon where to operate. A lot of critical information would be lost without the surgeon using her own stethoscope to listen directly to the patient’s heart.

Listening to your community is no different. Your community’s voice has a particular rhythm that can be understood only firsthand.

Four reasons executive directors should be on Twitter

1. Executives can understand the community better through unfiltered direct access.
 
2. They can create greater trust within that community by demonstrating the organization’s commitment to engage.
 
3. They can respond faster to the community by eliminating the time it takes to play the telephone game.
 
4. They can anticipate needs that less experienced staff members might miss.

But what if our exec team members are too busy?

Too busy? If they aren’t willing to make an effort to hear firsthand from the people they serve, maybe they aren’t the right leaders for the organization. Maybe their heart’s not in it?

What do you think?John Haydon delivers social web strategy solutions for “the quick, the smart, and the slightly manic.” Curious? Then visit the John Haydon blog, follow him on Twitter or leave a comment.