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The impact of executive personal branding on non-profit perception and communications
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Public Relations Review
The impact of executive personal branding on non-profit perception and communications Lynnette Nolan ∗ Emerson College, Department of Marketing Communications, 120 Boylston Street, Boston, MA 02116, USA
a r t i c l e
i n f o
Article history: Received 28 July 2014 Received in revised form 28 October 2014 Accepted 2 November 2014 Keywords: Personal branding Social media Executive communications Non-profit communications
a b s t r a c t Social media has become an integral tool in public relations and marketing campaigns. Individuals now actively participate in conversations through Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) and also leverage these communications tools for personal branding. A relatively new concept, personal branding has been studied in various contexts, but there is a lack of investigation into the effective use of the ICTs for personal branding purposes in relation to the communications of non-profit executives. This paper analyzes the personal branding strategies or seven executives from non-profit organizations in the United States. The study aimed to determine the extent to which executives’ personal branding communications aligned with the mission of their organizations. The results of this study are significant both for theorists and practitioners. The findings highlight the importance of personal branding in the non-profit sector; additionally, they help shape guidelines organizations can use to engage their executives in successful personal communications processes that raise awareness. © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction To date, much of the research revolving around the use of Information and Communications Technologies (ITCs) in public relations has been done with regard to corporations (Labrecque, Markos, & Milne, 2011; Pettigrew & Reber, 2010). Therefore, there is currently a lack of literature analyzing the effective use of ITCs in the non-profit sector. This paper aims to advance the mission of public relations for the public good by studying how non-profit executives use ITCs to communicate and advance the missions of their charities with the ultimate purpose of raising awareness and funds. Specifically, the project assesses the extent to which the personal branding strategies enacted by the executives reflect the values of the organization they represent and investigated if, and to what extent, the executives’ posts align with and promote the missions of their charities. With the rise of social networking sites, in addition to more robust webpages and blogs, social media has become an integral part of both public relations and marketing campaigns. Individuals are participating in social conversations through ICTs and these communications tools are becoming tools for personal branding. Personal branding is a relatively new concept that encompasses the strategies that one uses to promote one’s self, both on and offline. Thus far, personal branding has been studied in connection to the sociological concept of the self (Miller, 1995), the potential to draw the interest of future employers (Peters, 2007; Schawbel, 2010), as well as in connection to cyber-vetting, a practice through which companies
∗ Tel.: +1 781 775 0579. E-mail address: lynnette [email protected] http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2014.11.001 0363-8111/© 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Please cite this article in press as: Nolan, L. The impact of executive personal branding on non-profit perception and communications. Public Relations Review (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2014.11.001
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verify the information that job candidates have posted about themselves online (Berkelaar, Scacco, & Birdsell, 2014). However, no studies have yet been conducted to test the effective use of the ICTs for personal branding purposes and in relation to charitable actions. The present study analyzes the personal branding strategies of seven executives representing popular non-profit organizations in the US. Popularity was defined in terms of the number of “likes” on Facebook. The aim of the study was to determine the extent to which executives’ personal branding strategies aligned with the mission of their organizations. The results of this study have significant implications for both theorists and practitioners. They highlight the importance of personal branding in the non-profit sector; additionally, they led to the development of a model that organizations can use in the future to engage their executives in a successful personal branding processes that raises awareness and ultimately funds. 2. Literature review 2.1. Branding: the intersection of identity and reputation Corporate identity has historically been conveyed to stakeholders from the organization in a one-way stream of communications (Cornelissen, Christensen, & Kinuthia, 2012). However, in today’s online culture, corporate communications are mirroring personal communications, with conversations and interactions happening in real-time over the Internet. Argenti and Druckenmiller (2004) asserted that corporate reputation results from a series of interactions between the organization and its stakeholders (Abratt & Kleyn, 2011). Public relations continues to shift from communications management practices to strategic relationship building activities (Kent & Taylor, 2002), and social media is providing a widely-adopted platform for real-time facilitation of relationship building, for both organizations and executives. The interactions of the non-profit executive feed into the two-way stream of corporate reputation and identity building and management. While an executive retains his or her own identity, their reputation and image are public and they do reflect on their organization. Executive image plays a role in company’s corporate identity, which helps to shape public perception. According to prior research, executives perceive seven aspects as contributing to corporate identity, included among the aspects are vision and mission, and values and beliefs (He, 2012). Therefore an executive aiming to promote his organization within the context of their personal branding would likely use mission and values based messaging in their personal branding communications, and effective, well-received personal branding communications of an organization’s executives can serve to bolster that organization’s corporate image and reputation. The executive is expected to be aware of the context surrounding their organization, and its rhetoric; to enter into interactions unprepared or with conflicting messaging would find the executive to be out of face with his role within the organization (Goffman, 1967). An executive must not only be able to excel at his or her job functions; personal communications must be aligned, to a certain degree, with the messages of the respective organization. 2.2. Online presence: personal becomes professional Non-profits, like many corporate brands, recognize the importance of being present on social media. However, although non-profit organizations recognize the cultural shift to sharing on social media, they are not taking full advantage of the potential to be sharing information (Waters & Jamal, 2011). For both the brand and the executive, it is imperative to have more than just a profile. Implementing a process for creating effective personal branding strategies is beneficial to both the executive and the organization. As Fombrun and Shanley (1990) discovered, firms that enjoy a good reputation are able to “charge premium prices” and “attract better applicants” (Furman, 2010). Organizational strategy has the potential to impact and build a positive reputation among publics (Abratt & Kleyn, 2011); favorable reputations are earned by acknowledging the factors upon which stakeholders evaluate an organization and shape perception. Corporate branding and identity is not defined or created from the thoughts or actions of one person or department, but rather the result of the entire organization and the individuals comprising it (Melewar, Gotsi, & Andriopoulos, 2012) and executive communications, professional and personal, should be a component of overall organizational strategy. Furthermore, personal branding can, and should, be considered in both theoretical and practical environments. To determine what branding strategies can be deemed appropriate, we refer to Goffman’s (1967) face theory research. When executives align themselves with their organization’s mission, assuming that the executives’ personal beliefs and values align with those of their employer, they can communicate confidently and assuredly to their audiences because they believe themselves to be in good face (Goffman, 1967). Although online, and not in person, the personal branding communications are the executives interactions and because these individuals are speaking about causes and values they believe to be worthwhile, valid and true, publics can find these professionals to be authentic and the communication of their messages to be effective and strategic. 3. Method In order to gain an understanding of the role that organizational values play in nonprofit executives personal branding communications, and to answer the research question: to what extent to executives’ personal branding strategies align with Please cite this article in press as: Nolan, L. The impact of executive personal branding on non-profit perception and communications. Public Relations Review (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2014.11.001
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the mission of their organizations, a content analysis of seven nonprofit executives’ tweets was performed. To select the executives, the researcher first selected non-profit organizations by referencing the 2013 Forbes “Top Charities” list. The researcher identified the 20 most popular organizations, where popularity was defined in terms of the number of “likes” on Facebook at the time of selection. From the 20 most popular organizations, the researcher selected the seven non-profits whose missions center around aiding and serving children, where similar values emerged. The researcher identified the highest-ranking executive active on Twitter from each organization. Those executives’ tweets, posted in the timeframe of July 2013—November 2013, were coded using a schema that identified how frequently, and in what thematic contexts, the executive tweeted something relative to their organization’s values. The researcher identified value themes from the organizations’ mission statements, and also themes that emerged from a sampling of executives’ tweets during the month of June 2013. After a 60 minute training session, a second coder analyzed 79 of the 781 total tweets (10.1%). Intercoder reliability (86%) was calculated with Cohen’s kappa. In addition to original messages, retweets (n = 218, 27.9%) were coded as well. 4. Results To answer the research question and determine the extent to which executives’ personal branding strategies aligned with the mission of their organizations, the researcher identified how frequently values-based and organizationally related themes appeared in the 781 executives’ tweets that were analyzed. The frequency of instances for each theme occurred was recorded as a percent of the sample of 781 tweets and there were instances where, in a single tweet, the executive communicated more than one values-based and/or relevant but non-values based theme. Six values-based themes emerged in the analyzed tweets: safety/emergency planning and disaster response (n = 210, 26.9%), education (n = 94, 12.0%), reduction of child mortality (n = 100, 12.8%), poverty (n = 63, 8.1%), promote health (n = 42, 5.4%) and take action (n = 176, 22.5%). Other relevant, but not values-based messaging emerged in two themes: executive inspiration (n = 142, 18.2%) and thanking supporters (n = 99, 12.7%). In the 781 tweets, there were 685 instances (87.7%) of values-based messaging in the tweets; relevant but not values-based messaging occurred in 241 tweets (30.9%). There were instances where, in a single tweet, the executive communicated more than one values-based and/or relevant but nonvalues based theme. The top values tweeted about were safety/emergency planning and disaster response, take action and reduction of child mortality. There were 50 instances of responses, or two-way conversations. Executives often used their tweets to raise awareness to current events, namely within the context of the themes of disaster prep (Syrian humanitarian crisis, Typhoon Haiyan, Cyclone Phailin) and reducing child mortality (Believe in Zero organizational campaign). Additionally, although the tweets analyzed were from the same time period, themes did not emerge uniformly among the executive samples. During the timeframe analyzed, UNICEF was promoting a “Believe in Zero” campaign to endorse and promote their executive’s recent book launch. The book and the campaign focused on child survival (an organizational value), as did a majority of the UNICEF executive’s analyzed tweets. During this same time, the executive from Save the Children, an organization dedicated to promoting health and safety initiatives for children, most often tweeted about aiding children caught in the conflict in Syria. At the time of coding, the executives’ social accounts had an average of 8449.3 followers (sd = 15038.4). Similarly, with an average of 846.3 (sd = 1160.1), there was also a wide range of lifetime tweets. The executive with the fewest lifetime tweets also had the fewest followers (19), while the executive who tweeted the most had the second highest number of followers. 5. Discussion Social media is a communications tool that allows individuals and organizations to expand the reach of their message. With the mass adoption of social media, individuals are branding themselves, through 140 character biographies, professional summaries and messaging in daily posts. This study analyzed the tweets of several executives and found that those who posted frequent, mission-relevant messages from their personal Twitter accounts, had more followers than executives who did not post frequently and relevantly. Each of the organizations represented in this study aims to aid and advocate for children; however, their executives’ approaches to utilizing Twitter vary, as illustrated by the variance in lifetime tweets and followers. The executives who frequently tweet content relevant to their organization’s mission statement are the executives who have the greatest amount of followers; these executives are furthering their personal brand and their organization’s agenda by building a rapport with, and a connection to, their audience, illustrating the strategic shift from communications management to relationship building Kent and Taylor described (2002). The research in this paper provides compelling reasons for nonprofit organizations to develop and implement social media training and guidelines for their executives looking to increase awareness. The guidelines should include: frequently posting, including or implying mission statement values within the language of the post. In addition to posting tweets that relate to the organization’s mission, an executive should also consider the objectives and requirements of their particular position, and shape their messages to relate to their roles. Although it is not inextricably linked to the job requirements of the executive, tweeting from a personal account provides benefits to both the executive and the nonprofit organization. As the concept of corporate identity shifts from symbols of corporate culture to specific elements that define an organization (He, 2012), the voice of the executive is increasingly important to shaping the public’s perception of the organization. Please cite this article in press as: Nolan, L. The impact of executive personal branding on non-profit perception and communications. Public Relations Review (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2014.11.001
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Executives are faces and mouthpieces for their company, and it can be assumed that they align with an organization’s beliefs. Melewar, Gotsi and Andriopoulos (2012) draw on Motion et al.’s 2003 research claiming that brand meaning is developed and derived from all interactions between stakeholders and the organization. Therefore, executives, even through their personal social media accounts, are playing a role of brand ambassador, as dictated by their job title. Because there is an organizational reputation to upkeep (or, in some cases, to alter), participating in interactions that further an organization’s cause is authentic and appropriate. Brand reputation and identity can be considered a strategic resource (Abratt & Kleyn, 2011); therefore, executives who utilize their personal social media accounts to further advance the mission and values of their organization are also assets to the organization. The research analyzed tweets from executives’ personal Twitter accounts, and not the tweets from official non-profit organizational accounts, so it is to be expected that there would be tweets that did not share any organizational valuesbased messaging; while there were 20 tweets (2.6%) that were void of organizational value rhetoric, none of the executives had tweets that contradicted or devalued their organization’s values. This finding is not surprising as the executive, in the context of their personal social media communications, should not be expected to only communicate organizationally relevant messaging. However, of those sampled, the savviest executives tweeted often and shared values-based and related messaging, as it related to their role. In essence, these executives inherently adhered to Goffman’s principles in interaction (Goffman, 1967). Executives who held positions specifically relating to fundraising authentically played the appropriate role of wearing their donor relations face in their communications. For example, a St. Jude’s Hospital executive tweeted thanks to donors and partners including celebrities, corporate partners and sports teams. In addition to using his personal social network as a vehicle to reach out to St. Jude supporters, he also advanced the organization’s mission by crafting tweets which included messaging about treatment and research, in the context of how donated dollars contribute to those functions. In contrast, the executive from World Vision, a Christian charity that advocates for children, most frequently tweeted inspirational quotes, or messages about the inspiration he derived from the Church. Although these messages were not directly related to the mission of child advocacy, they were relevant in the context of the organization’s Christian foundation and beliefs. Constructing a message that contains multiple themes within the context of the 140 character limit imposed by Twitter illustrates complexity of the executive’s role. As illustrated in the aforementioned examples, an executive’s communications should be more than simply regurgitating mission statement and values rhetoric; the messages shared should be relevant to their role, and authentic to their personal style as well. An audience will expect a different message from a chief marketing officer than they would from a chief financial officer, or chief executive officer. The implication here is that the executive should consider the role their position plays in the comprehensive organization; to best resonate with their audience, the executive should tailor messaging to be both organizationally and professionally relevant. This study does have limitations. For example, because the study aimed to analyze and understand the treatment of values, not simply organizational mentions, the code schema did not account for the number or frequency of times executives included their own organization’s Twitter handle. It would be an interesting follow-up to consider the ways executives use Twitter to promote awareness of their organizations by retweeting the organization, or including their handle or branded hashtag(s). Additionally, the coding did not account for the type of information shared via links (n = 353, 45.2%); the focus was solely on the messaging contained in characters of the tweet. Since the study aimed to understand how executive communications impact their respective organizations, it would also be worthwhile to further investigate how engaged audiences are with these communications; evaluating what type of messaging is most commonly retweeted could provide value. This study also paves the way for new and additional personal branding research. It would be interesting and worthwhile to further investigate executive personal branding by analyzing whether nonprofit executives use organizational values messaging more than corporate executives in personal branding communications; or, what themes emerge in an analysis of corporate executive’s tweets. Furthermore, it would be especially interesting to organizations to understand the correlation between themes in their executives’ posts and the marketing initiatives of the organizations. There are opportunities for public relations researchers to expand understanding repercussions of personal branding messaging by analyzing how executive tweets correlate to organizational messaging and then gauging and coding public response. Similarly, there are opportunities for public relations practitioners and corporate communications professional to use apply the strategies and plans based on implications of personal branding research. 6. Conclusion This paper supports Cornelissen et al.’s (2012) argument to shift the approaches surrounding theoretical and practical understanding and treatments of corporate identity communications. Abratt and Kleyn (2011) call attention to corporate reputation developing as a result of interactions between an organization and its stakeholders. Because executives have the ability to reach and communicate with organizational stakeholders via social media, this paper also argues that careful and appropriate executive personal branding strategies, such as sharing values-based messaging, can add to the success of corporate image and reputation (thus bolstering corporate identity). Corporate identity is still created through a stream of communications, but rather than the identity being dictated by an internal branding machine, the executive becomes part of a reciprocal flow of information shaping and shifting corporate identity. The flow of communications contains numerous publics, including followers and fans, financial contributors, employees, media, directory boards, etc.; however, the flow Please cite this article in press as: Nolan, L. The impact of executive personal branding on non-profit perception and communications. Public Relations Review (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2014.11.001
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of information can be seen as a two-way stream between internal and external stakeholders. With social media, executive presence is more public than ever, and accessibility is mere keystrokes away. Understanding the implications of effective communications can positively impact awareness for the executive and their organization. Acknowledgement The author thanks her advisor, Roxana Maiorescu, PhD, for providing guidance and support throughout this process. References Abratt, R., & Kleyn, N. (2011). Corporate identity, corporate branding and corporate reputations: Reconciliation and integration. European Journal of Marketing, 46(7/8), 1048–1063. Argenti, P. A., & Druckenmiller, B. (2004). Reputation and the corporate brand. Corporate Reputation Review, 6(4), 368–374. Berkelaar, B., Scacco, J., & Birdsell, J. (2014). The worker as politician: How online information and electoral heuristics shape personnel selection and careers. New Media & Society. Cornelissen, J., Christensen, L. T., & Kinuthia, K. (2012). Corporate brands and identity: Developing stronger theory and a call for shifting the debate. European Journal of Marketing, 46(7), 1093–1102. Fombrun, C. J., & Shanley, M. (1990). What’s in a name? Reputation building and corporate strategy. Academy of Management Journal, 33(6), 233–258. Furman, D. (2010). The development of corporate image: A historiographic approach to a marketing concept. Corporate Reputation Review, 13(1), 63–77. He, H. (2012). Corporate identity anchors: A managerial cognition perspective. European Journal of Marketing, 46(5), 609–625. Goffman, E. (1967). Interaction on ritual: Essays on face-to-face behavior. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers (select readings). Kent, M. L., & Taylor, M. (2002). Toward a dialogic theory of public relations. Public Relations Review, 28, 21–37. Labrecque, L. I., Milne, G. R., & Markos, E. (2011). Online personal branding: Processes, challenges, and implications. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 25, 37–50. Melewar, T. C., Gotsi, M., & Andriopoulos, C. (2012). Shaping the research agenda for corporate branding: Avenues for future research. European Journal of Marketing, 46(5), 600–608. Miller, H. (1995). The presentation of the self in electronic life: Goffman on the Internet. Paper presented at Embodied Knowledge and Virtual Space Conference Goldsmiths’ College, University of London. Peters, M. (2007). The brand called you. Marketing and Branding, 1–8. Retrieved from http://bit.ly/Yvl8 Pettigrew, J. E., & Reber, B. H. (2010). The new dynamic in corporate media relations: How Fortune 500 companies are using virtual press rooms to engage the press. Journal of Public Relations Research, 22(4.), 404–428. Schawbel, D. (2010). Social media and personal branding: Adapted from me 2.0. New York: Kaplan Trade. Waters, R. D., & Jamal, J. Y. (2011). Tweet, tweet, tweet: A content analysis of nonprofit organizations’ Twitter updates. Public Relations Review, 37(3), 321–324.
Please cite this article in press as: Nolan, L. The impact of executive personal branding on non-profit perception and communications. Public Relations Review (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2014.11.001
ARTICLE IN PRESS Public Relations Review xxx (2014) xxx–xxx
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Public Relations Review
The impact of executive personal branding on non-profit perception and communications Lynnette Nolan ∗ Emerson College, Department of Marketing Communications, 120 Boylston Street, Boston, MA 02116, USA
a r t i c l e
i n f o
Article history: Received 28 July 2014 Received in revised form 28 October 2014 Accepted 2 November 2014 Keywords: Personal branding Social media Executive communications Non-profit communications
a b s t r a c t Social media has become an integral tool in public relations and marketing campaigns. Individuals now actively participate in conversations through Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) and also leverage these communications tools for personal branding. A relatively new concept, personal branding has been studied in various contexts, but there is a lack of investigation into the effective use of the ICTs for personal branding purposes in relation to the communications of non-profit executives. This paper analyzes the personal branding strategies or seven executives from non-profit organizations in the United States. The study aimed to determine the extent to which executives’ personal branding communications aligned with the mission of their organizations. The results of this study are significant both for theorists and practitioners. The findings highlight the importance of personal branding in the non-profit sector; additionally, they help shape guidelines organizations can use to engage their executives in successful personal communications processes that raise awareness. © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction To date, much of the research revolving around the use of Information and Communications Technologies (ITCs) in public relations has been done with regard to corporations (Labrecque, Markos, & Milne, 2011; Pettigrew & Reber, 2010). Therefore, there is currently a lack of literature analyzing the effective use of ITCs in the non-profit sector. This paper aims to advance the mission of public relations for the public good by studying how non-profit executives use ITCs to communicate and advance the missions of their charities with the ultimate purpose of raising awareness and funds. Specifically, the project assesses the extent to which the personal branding strategies enacted by the executives reflect the values of the organization they represent and investigated if, and to what extent, the executives’ posts align with and promote the missions of their charities. With the rise of social networking sites, in addition to more robust webpages and blogs, social media has become an integral part of both public relations and marketing campaigns. Individuals are participating in social conversations through ICTs and these communications tools are becoming tools for personal branding. Personal branding is a relatively new concept that encompasses the strategies that one uses to promote one’s self, both on and offline. Thus far, personal branding has been studied in connection to the sociological concept of the self (Miller, 1995), the potential to draw the interest of future employers (Peters, 2007; Schawbel, 2010), as well as in connection to cyber-vetting, a practice through which companies
∗ Tel.: +1 781 775 0579. E-mail address: lynnette [email protected] http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2014.11.001 0363-8111/© 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Please cite this article in press as: Nolan, L. The impact of executive personal branding on non-profit perception and communications. Public Relations Review (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2014.11.001
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verify the information that job candidates have posted about themselves online (Berkelaar, Scacco, & Birdsell, 2014). However, no studies have yet been conducted to test the effective use of the ICTs for personal branding purposes and in relation to charitable actions. The present study analyzes the personal branding strategies of seven executives representing popular non-profit organizations in the US. Popularity was defined in terms of the number of “likes” on Facebook. The aim of the study was to determine the extent to which executives’ personal branding strategies aligned with the mission of their organizations. The results of this study have significant implications for both theorists and practitioners. They highlight the importance of personal branding in the non-profit sector; additionally, they led to the development of a model that organizations can use in the future to engage their executives in a successful personal branding processes that raises awareness and ultimately funds. 2. Literature review 2.1. Branding: the intersection of identity and reputation Corporate identity has historically been conveyed to stakeholders from the organization in a one-way stream of communications (Cornelissen, Christensen, & Kinuthia, 2012). However, in today’s online culture, corporate communications are mirroring personal communications, with conversations and interactions happening in real-time over the Internet. Argenti and Druckenmiller (2004) asserted that corporate reputation results from a series of interactions between the organization and its stakeholders (Abratt & Kleyn, 2011). Public relations continues to shift from communications management practices to strategic relationship building activities (Kent & Taylor, 2002), and social media is providing a widely-adopted platform for real-time facilitation of relationship building, for both organizations and executives. The interactions of the non-profit executive feed into the two-way stream of corporate reputation and identity building and management. While an executive retains his or her own identity, their reputation and image are public and they do reflect on their organization. Executive image plays a role in company’s corporate identity, which helps to shape public perception. According to prior research, executives perceive seven aspects as contributing to corporate identity, included among the aspects are vision and mission, and values and beliefs (He, 2012). Therefore an executive aiming to promote his organization within the context of their personal branding would likely use mission and values based messaging in their personal branding communications, and effective, well-received personal branding communications of an organization’s executives can serve to bolster that organization’s corporate image and reputation. The executive is expected to be aware of the context surrounding their organization, and its rhetoric; to enter into interactions unprepared or with conflicting messaging would find the executive to be out of face with his role within the organization (Goffman, 1967). An executive must not only be able to excel at his or her job functions; personal communications must be aligned, to a certain degree, with the messages of the respective organization. 2.2. Online presence: personal becomes professional Non-profits, like many corporate brands, recognize the importance of being present on social media. However, although non-profit organizations recognize the cultural shift to sharing on social media, they are not taking full advantage of the potential to be sharing information (Waters & Jamal, 2011). For both the brand and the executive, it is imperative to have more than just a profile. Implementing a process for creating effective personal branding strategies is beneficial to both the executive and the organization. As Fombrun and Shanley (1990) discovered, firms that enjoy a good reputation are able to “charge premium prices” and “attract better applicants” (Furman, 2010). Organizational strategy has the potential to impact and build a positive reputation among publics (Abratt & Kleyn, 2011); favorable reputations are earned by acknowledging the factors upon which stakeholders evaluate an organization and shape perception. Corporate branding and identity is not defined or created from the thoughts or actions of one person or department, but rather the result of the entire organization and the individuals comprising it (Melewar, Gotsi, & Andriopoulos, 2012) and executive communications, professional and personal, should be a component of overall organizational strategy. Furthermore, personal branding can, and should, be considered in both theoretical and practical environments. To determine what branding strategies can be deemed appropriate, we refer to Goffman’s (1967) face theory research. When executives align themselves with their organization’s mission, assuming that the executives’ personal beliefs and values align with those of their employer, they can communicate confidently and assuredly to their audiences because they believe themselves to be in good face (Goffman, 1967). Although online, and not in person, the personal branding communications are the executives interactions and because these individuals are speaking about causes and values they believe to be worthwhile, valid and true, publics can find these professionals to be authentic and the communication of their messages to be effective and strategic. 3. Method In order to gain an understanding of the role that organizational values play in nonprofit executives personal branding communications, and to answer the research question: to what extent to executives’ personal branding strategies align with Please cite this article in press as: Nolan, L. The impact of executive personal branding on non-profit perception and communications. Public Relations Review (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2014.11.001
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the mission of their organizations, a content analysis of seven nonprofit executives’ tweets was performed. To select the executives, the researcher first selected non-profit organizations by referencing the 2013 Forbes “Top Charities” list. The researcher identified the 20 most popular organizations, where popularity was defined in terms of the number of “likes” on Facebook at the time of selection. From the 20 most popular organizations, the researcher selected the seven non-profits whose missions center around aiding and serving children, where similar values emerged. The researcher identified the highest-ranking executive active on Twitter from each organization. Those executives’ tweets, posted in the timeframe of July 2013—November 2013, were coded using a schema that identified how frequently, and in what thematic contexts, the executive tweeted something relative to their organization’s values. The researcher identified value themes from the organizations’ mission statements, and also themes that emerged from a sampling of executives’ tweets during the month of June 2013. After a 60 minute training session, a second coder analyzed 79 of the 781 total tweets (10.1%). Intercoder reliability (86%) was calculated with Cohen’s kappa. In addition to original messages, retweets (n = 218, 27.9%) were coded as well. 4. Results To answer the research question and determine the extent to which executives’ personal branding strategies aligned with the mission of their organizations, the researcher identified how frequently values-based and organizationally related themes appeared in the 781 executives’ tweets that were analyzed. The frequency of instances for each theme occurred was recorded as a percent of the sample of 781 tweets and there were instances where, in a single tweet, the executive communicated more than one values-based and/or relevant but non-values based theme. Six values-based themes emerged in the analyzed tweets: safety/emergency planning and disaster response (n = 210, 26.9%), education (n = 94, 12.0%), reduction of child mortality (n = 100, 12.8%), poverty (n = 63, 8.1%), promote health (n = 42, 5.4%) and take action (n = 176, 22.5%). Other relevant, but not values-based messaging emerged in two themes: executive inspiration (n = 142, 18.2%) and thanking supporters (n = 99, 12.7%). In the 781 tweets, there were 685 instances (87.7%) of values-based messaging in the tweets; relevant but not values-based messaging occurred in 241 tweets (30.9%). There were instances where, in a single tweet, the executive communicated more than one values-based and/or relevant but nonvalues based theme. The top values tweeted about were safety/emergency planning and disaster response, take action and reduction of child mortality. There were 50 instances of responses, or two-way conversations. Executives often used their tweets to raise awareness to current events, namely within the context of the themes of disaster prep (Syrian humanitarian crisis, Typhoon Haiyan, Cyclone Phailin) and reducing child mortality (Believe in Zero organizational campaign). Additionally, although the tweets analyzed were from the same time period, themes did not emerge uniformly among the executive samples. During the timeframe analyzed, UNICEF was promoting a “Believe in Zero” campaign to endorse and promote their executive’s recent book launch. The book and the campaign focused on child survival (an organizational value), as did a majority of the UNICEF executive’s analyzed tweets. During this same time, the executive from Save the Children, an organization dedicated to promoting health and safety initiatives for children, most often tweeted about aiding children caught in the conflict in Syria. At the time of coding, the executives’ social accounts had an average of 8449.3 followers (sd = 15038.4). Similarly, with an average of 846.3 (sd = 1160.1), there was also a wide range of lifetime tweets. The executive with the fewest lifetime tweets also had the fewest followers (19), while the executive who tweeted the most had the second highest number of followers. 5. Discussion Social media is a communications tool that allows individuals and organizations to expand the reach of their message. With the mass adoption of social media, individuals are branding themselves, through 140 character biographies, professional summaries and messaging in daily posts. This study analyzed the tweets of several executives and found that those who posted frequent, mission-relevant messages from their personal Twitter accounts, had more followers than executives who did not post frequently and relevantly. Each of the organizations represented in this study aims to aid and advocate for children; however, their executives’ approaches to utilizing Twitter vary, as illustrated by the variance in lifetime tweets and followers. The executives who frequently tweet content relevant to their organization’s mission statement are the executives who have the greatest amount of followers; these executives are furthering their personal brand and their organization’s agenda by building a rapport with, and a connection to, their audience, illustrating the strategic shift from communications management to relationship building Kent and Taylor described (2002). The research in this paper provides compelling reasons for nonprofit organizations to develop and implement social media training and guidelines for their executives looking to increase awareness. The guidelines should include: frequently posting, including or implying mission statement values within the language of the post. In addition to posting tweets that relate to the organization’s mission, an executive should also consider the objectives and requirements of their particular position, and shape their messages to relate to their roles. Although it is not inextricably linked to the job requirements of the executive, tweeting from a personal account provides benefits to both the executive and the nonprofit organization. As the concept of corporate identity shifts from symbols of corporate culture to specific elements that define an organization (He, 2012), the voice of the executive is increasingly important to shaping the public’s perception of the organization. Please cite this article in press as: Nolan, L. The impact of executive personal branding on non-profit perception and communications. Public Relations Review (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2014.11.001
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Executives are faces and mouthpieces for their company, and it can be assumed that they align with an organization’s beliefs. Melewar, Gotsi and Andriopoulos (2012) draw on Motion et al.’s 2003 research claiming that brand meaning is developed and derived from all interactions between stakeholders and the organization. Therefore, executives, even through their personal social media accounts, are playing a role of brand ambassador, as dictated by their job title. Because there is an organizational reputation to upkeep (or, in some cases, to alter), participating in interactions that further an organization’s cause is authentic and appropriate. Brand reputation and identity can be considered a strategic resource (Abratt & Kleyn, 2011); therefore, executives who utilize their personal social media accounts to further advance the mission and values of their organization are also assets to the organization. The research analyzed tweets from executives’ personal Twitter accounts, and not the tweets from official non-profit organizational accounts, so it is to be expected that there would be tweets that did not share any organizational valuesbased messaging; while there were 20 tweets (2.6%) that were void of organizational value rhetoric, none of the executives had tweets that contradicted or devalued their organization’s values. This finding is not surprising as the executive, in the context of their personal social media communications, should not be expected to only communicate organizationally relevant messaging. However, of those sampled, the savviest executives tweeted often and shared values-based and related messaging, as it related to their role. In essence, these executives inherently adhered to Goffman’s principles in interaction (Goffman, 1967). Executives who held positions specifically relating to fundraising authentically played the appropriate role of wearing their donor relations face in their communications. For example, a St. Jude’s Hospital executive tweeted thanks to donors and partners including celebrities, corporate partners and sports teams. In addition to using his personal social network as a vehicle to reach out to St. Jude supporters, he also advanced the organization’s mission by crafting tweets which included messaging about treatment and research, in the context of how donated dollars contribute to those functions. In contrast, the executive from World Vision, a Christian charity that advocates for children, most frequently tweeted inspirational quotes, or messages about the inspiration he derived from the Church. Although these messages were not directly related to the mission of child advocacy, they were relevant in the context of the organization’s Christian foundation and beliefs. Constructing a message that contains multiple themes within the context of the 140 character limit imposed by Twitter illustrates complexity of the executive’s role. As illustrated in the aforementioned examples, an executive’s communications should be more than simply regurgitating mission statement and values rhetoric; the messages shared should be relevant to their role, and authentic to their personal style as well. An audience will expect a different message from a chief marketing officer than they would from a chief financial officer, or chief executive officer. The implication here is that the executive should consider the role their position plays in the comprehensive organization; to best resonate with their audience, the executive should tailor messaging to be both organizationally and professionally relevant. This study does have limitations. For example, because the study aimed to analyze and understand the treatment of values, not simply organizational mentions, the code schema did not account for the number or frequency of times executives included their own organization’s Twitter handle. It would be an interesting follow-up to consider the ways executives use Twitter to promote awareness of their organizations by retweeting the organization, or including their handle or branded hashtag(s). Additionally, the coding did not account for the type of information shared via links (n = 353, 45.2%); the focus was solely on the messaging contained in characters of the tweet. Since the study aimed to understand how executive communications impact their respective organizations, it would also be worthwhile to further investigate how engaged audiences are with these communications; evaluating what type of messaging is most commonly retweeted could provide value. This study also paves the way for new and additional personal branding research. It would be interesting and worthwhile to further investigate executive personal branding by analyzing whether nonprofit executives use organizational values messaging more than corporate executives in personal branding communications; or, what themes emerge in an analysis of corporate executive’s tweets. Furthermore, it would be especially interesting to organizations to understand the correlation between themes in their executives’ posts and the marketing initiatives of the organizations. There are opportunities for public relations researchers to expand understanding repercussions of personal branding messaging by analyzing how executive tweets correlate to organizational messaging and then gauging and coding public response. Similarly, there are opportunities for public relations practitioners and corporate communications professional to use apply the strategies and plans based on implications of personal branding research. 6. Conclusion This paper supports Cornelissen et al.’s (2012) argument to shift the approaches surrounding theoretical and practical understanding and treatments of corporate identity communications. Abratt and Kleyn (2011) call attention to corporate reputation developing as a result of interactions between an organization and its stakeholders. Because executives have the ability to reach and communicate with organizational stakeholders via social media, this paper also argues that careful and appropriate executive personal branding strategies, such as sharing values-based messaging, can add to the success of corporate image and reputation (thus bolstering corporate identity). Corporate identity is still created through a stream of communications, but rather than the identity being dictated by an internal branding machine, the executive becomes part of a reciprocal flow of information shaping and shifting corporate identity. The flow of communications contains numerous publics, including followers and fans, financial contributors, employees, media, directory boards, etc.; however, the flow Please cite this article in press as: Nolan, L. The impact of executive personal branding on non-profit perception and communications. Public Relations Review (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2014.11.001
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of information can be seen as a two-way stream between internal and external stakeholders. With social media, executive presence is more public than ever, and accessibility is mere keystrokes away. Understanding the implications of effective communications can positively impact awareness for the executive and their organization. Acknowledgement The author thanks her advisor, Roxana Maiorescu, PhD, for providing guidance and support throughout this process. References Abratt, R., & Kleyn, N. (2011). Corporate identity, corporate branding and corporate reputations: Reconciliation and integration. European Journal of Marketing, 46(7/8), 1048–1063. Argenti, P. A., & Druckenmiller, B. (2004). Reputation and the corporate brand. Corporate Reputation Review, 6(4), 368–374. Berkelaar, B., Scacco, J., & Birdsell, J. (2014). The worker as politician: How online information and electoral heuristics shape personnel selection and careers. New Media & Society. Cornelissen, J., Christensen, L. T., & Kinuthia, K. (2012). Corporate brands and identity: Developing stronger theory and a call for shifting the debate. European Journal of Marketing, 46(7), 1093–1102. Fombrun, C. J., & Shanley, M. (1990). What’s in a name? Reputation building and corporate strategy. Academy of Management Journal, 33(6), 233–258. Furman, D. (2010). The development of corporate image: A historiographic approach to a marketing concept. Corporate Reputation Review, 13(1), 63–77. He, H. (2012). Corporate identity anchors: A managerial cognition perspective. European Journal of Marketing, 46(5), 609–625. Goffman, E. (1967). Interaction on ritual: Essays on face-to-face behavior. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers (select readings). Kent, M. L., & Taylor, M. (2002). Toward a dialogic theory of public relations. Public Relations Review, 28, 21–37. Labrecque, L. I., Milne, G. R., & Markos, E. (2011). Online personal branding: Processes, challenges, and implications. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 25, 37–50. Melewar, T. C., Gotsi, M., & Andriopoulos, C. (2012). Shaping the research agenda for corporate branding: Avenues for future research. European Journal of Marketing, 46(5), 600–608. Miller, H. (1995). The presentation of the self in electronic life: Goffman on the Internet. Paper presented at Embodied Knowledge and Virtual Space Conference Goldsmiths’ College, University of London. Peters, M. (2007). The brand called you. Marketing and Branding, 1–8. Retrieved from http://bit.ly/Yvl8 Pettigrew, J. E., & Reber, B. H. (2010). The new dynamic in corporate media relations: How Fortune 500 companies are using virtual press rooms to engage the press. Journal of Public Relations Research, 22(4.), 404–428. Schawbel, D. (2010). Social media and personal branding: Adapted from me 2.0. New York: Kaplan Trade. Waters, R. D., & Jamal, J. Y. (2011). Tweet, tweet, tweet: A content analysis of nonprofit organizations’ Twitter updates. Public Relations Review, 37(3), 321–324.
Please cite this article in press as: Nolan, L. The impact of executive personal branding on non-profit perception and communications. Public Relations Review (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2014.11.001