The CEO social media ‘influencer era’

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Social media serves as a key tool for executives to build their personal brands and grow their visibility, Fortune reported April 7. For health system CEOs, it is also a space to connect with employees, patients and the broader community.

Seventy percent of Fortune 100 CEOs have at least one social media account, and nearly half post at least monthly, according to 2024 data from communications advisory firm H/Advisors Abernathy.

LinkedIn has emerged as a particularly influential platform, where healthcare executives share leadership lessons, strategy insights and personal reflections from patient interactions. 

“There’s a call for more authenticity and transparency, and people now expect to hear directly from their leaders to understand their perspective,” LinkedIn Editor-In-Chief Dan Roth told Fortune.

This shift toward more personal communication aligns with a broader push for transparency. Research from FTI Consulting shows 92% of professionals are more likely to trust an organization whose executives use social media.

Leaders should embrace the conversational tone of social media and allow their personality — including vulnerabilities — to show, with the aim of sparking dialogue, rather than simply echoing news releases, a senior vice president at H/Advisors Abernathy told Fortune.

At Becker's 4th Annual CEO + CFO Roundtable, taking place November 2–5 in Chicago, more than 1,500 hospital and health system executives tackle decisions that determine whether organizations thrive or merely survive: protecting margins under cost pressure, choosing where to grow, renegotiating payer relationships, stabilizing the workforce and proving real ROI on technology. This is where leaders work through them together, face-to-face. Apply for complimentary registration now.

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