‘Nowhere to hide’: Why more CEOs are fronting videos
Executives are increasingly filming themselves for social media as a way to talk directly to staff, customers and shareholders. Short clips can be a low-cost way to build personal brand.
In a relaxed sweater, holding her mobile phone at arm’s length, Alex Mahon, chief executive of Channel Four in the UK, recorded herself announcing her resignation last month. She posted the heartfelt video on LinkedIn, telling her 84,000 followers that the decision “slightly breaks my heart”.
Mahon is one of an increasing number of business leaders making short, usually unscripted, social media videos as a way to communicate directly with viewers. In the past two years, the number of posts shared by chief executives on LinkedIn has risen by 52 per cent, according to the platform’s own statistics, and, among users overall, video is growing at twice the rate of other formats.
