There is a persistent belief that CFOs don’t participate in social media; even as they are leading organizations that are increasingly being challenged by social media and the disruption it enables. As a matter of fact, best in class financial executives are now actively getting social, both so they can better understand social media’s implications and to benefit from all it can offer.
We developed this report: “How CFOs Engage on Twitter”, using Leadtail’s Social Media Insights Technology to analyze data from Twitter and share what real CFOs are really doing on social media.
The goal of this special report is to help you answer questions such as:
How can you find and connect with other finance leaders on the social web?
What topics are CFOs discussing and debating on social media?
Which online publications do finance executives turn to for news and information?
Who are the most influential publications and people with CFOs?
So whether you’re already in the CFO seat trying to navigate the social media waters, or aspire to the role in the future, these insights will help you take a more informed look at how you can use social media to communicate, collaborate, and build your own network of relationships and influence.
Creating a Successful Digital Marketing Campaign.pdf
CFOs on Social Media: Social Insights Report
1. Social Insights:
CFO Edition
How CFOs engage with
people, brands, and content
on Twitter
A Social Insights Report from: In collaboration with:
2. Are CFOs Really on Social Media?
There is a persistent belief that CFOs don’t participate in social media; even as they are leading
organizations that are increasingly being challenged by social media and the disruption it
enables. As a matter of fact, best in class financial executives are now actively getting social,
both so they can better understand social media’s implications and to benefit from all it can offer.
We developed this report: “How CFOs Engage on Twitter”, using Leadtail’s Social Media Insights
Technology to analyze data from Twitter and share what real CFOs are really doing on social
media.
The goal of this special report is to help you answer questions such as:
} How can you find and connect with other finance leaders on the social web?
} What topics are CFOs discussing and debating on social media?
} Which online publications do finance executives turn to for news and information?
} Who are the most influential publications and people with CFOs?
So whether you’re already in the CFO seat trying to navigate the social media waters, or aspire to the
role in the future, these insights will help you take a more informed look at how you can use social
media to communicate, collaborate, and build your own network of relationships and influence.
Social Insights for Decision Makers | CFOs & Finance Leaders 2015 | Page 2
3. Methodology & Data Set
The methodology the Leadtail team used to create this report:
1. Identify CFOs active on social media based on criteria such as job title, type of company, and
location as provided in their Twitter and LinkedIn profiles, to create the target audience data set.
2. Use the Leadtail Social Media Insights Technology to extract insights from their public Twitter
data, such as what links are shared, who is mentioned and retweeted, popular hashtags,
popular platforms used to share content, etc.
3. Leadtail’s Social Insights team reviews, analyzes, and package these insights into this report.
The specific data set analyzed for this report is comprised of:
} 501 North American CFOs and senior finance executives active on Twitter
} Titles include CFO (full-time, fractional, and former), VP Finance, Controllers, and CPAs
} Total of 48,050 tweets, and 25,216 shared links
} Total follower reach: 460,699; median # of followers per CFO: 218
} Tweets published between September 15, 2014 – December 15, 2014
Social Insights for Decision Makers | CFOs & Finance Leaders 2015 | Page 3
4. About the Data
14,106
retweets
and
37,023
mentions/
replies
7,738
unique
hashtags
That includes
links shared in those
tweets…
25,212
Leadtail & Intacct
collaborated to
identify
CFOs and senior
finance executives
active on
social media
501
Leadtail analyzed
public tweets published by
these executives between
Sept 15 – Dec 15, 2014
48,050
Social Insights for Decision Makers | CFOs & Finance Leaders 2015 | Page 4
5. Key Takeaways
} Overall, CFOs are still in the early stages of social media participation.
This means there’s plenty of “green field” topics and niches for ambitious
up-and-comers and seasoned pros to claim as their own.
} CFOs use social media to talk about the issues they’re currently dealing
with in their jobs, but they also use it to engage in lively conversations
about politics, sports, and current events.
} The trend toward mobile-friendly, visual content doesn’t stop at the CFOs
desk; CFOs share multi-media content from YouTube and Instagram even
more than they share content from LinkedIn.
} Despite the perception that CFOs are “all business” their social media
relationships and behavior, on the whole, tend to reveal more personal
affinities and interests than other C-Suite executives.
Social Insights for Decision Makers | CFOs & Finance Leaders 2015 | Page 5
7. Examples of the CFOs in Our Sample
@exuberantacct
@bryanleblanc
@ctanenbaum
@drazahn
@deniseinmc
@Wade_Erickson
@ChrisGattenio
@DaniMonaghan@J_Todd_King
@b_w_whalen
@aprildowning1
@Tyler_Hoffman
@DowneyMCPA
@richpirrotta
@LivestrongCFO
Greg Lee
Chief Financial Officer
LIVESTRONG Foundation
Andy Zahn
Chief Financial Officer
WilsonHCG
Scott Heintzelman
VP of Finance
Martin’s Potato Rolls
Bryan LeBlanc
Chief Financial Officer
Jive Software
Cheryl Tanenbaum
Chief Financial Officer
Intracoastal Bank
Todd King
Chief Financial Officer
Adecco Group N.A.
Denise Howell
Chief Financial Officer
VolunteerMatch
Wade Erickson
Chief Financial Officer
Horizon Health Care
Christine Gattenio
VP Finance & Admin Svcs.
IBM
Dani Monaghan
Chief Financial Officer
Annapolis Visitors Bureau
April Downing
Chief Financial Officer
WP Engine
Brian Whalen
Chief Financial Officer
Network for Good
Tyler Hoffman
Chief Financial Officer
Skyword
Mike Downey
Chief Financial Officer
New England Center for Children
Rich Pirrotta
Chief Financial Officer
Logicalis US
Social Insights for Decision Makers | CFOs & Finance Leaders 2015 | Page 7
8. While many of the CFOs we analyzed are located in major metro hubs, many are also
hard at work in smaller markets across North America.
Where Are CFOs Located?
Based on the location provided in the Twitter profile.
Social Insights for Decision Makers | CFOs & Finance Leaders 2015 | Page 8
9. How Do CFOs Describe Themselves?
The way these senior finance executive describe themselves on social media reveals
affinities, interests, and keywords that can help you reach and engage them across web.
Based on keywords used in the Twitter profile.
Social Insights for Decision Makers | CFOs & Finance Leaders 2015 | Page 9
10. What Do CFOs Talk About?
Hashtags reveal the topics and events, global and local, business-related and personal,
that captured the attention of CFOs during the report period.
Business Personal
Social Insights for Decision Makers | CFOs & Finance Leaders 2015 | Page 10
11. How Do CFOs Compare to Other Execs?
CFO Hashtags
#CFO
#entrepreneur
#finance
#smallbiz
#jobs
#accounting
#entrepreneurs
#video
#Twitter
#CEO
CIO Hashtags
#CIO
#IoT
#IT
#GartnerSYM
#CIOs
#security
#CMO
#technology
#healthcare
#infosec
CMO Hashtags
#CMO
#contentmarketing
#IoT
#Facebook
#social
#content
#Infographic
#advertising
#brand
#sales
Social Insights for Decision Makers | CFOs & Finance Leaders 2015 | Page 11
Each function has unique topics and key concerns, but the hashtags in the word cloud
below impact the entire C-Suite and are frequently used by CFOs, CIOs, and CMOs.
13. Which Social Networks Drive CFOs Twitter Sharing?
2%
2%
2%
2%
4%
5%
7%
13%
15%
21%
24%
100%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Google+
Yelp
Kickstarter
Vimeo
Slideshare
Paper.li
Vine
Facebook
LinkedIn
Instagram
YouTube
Twitter
% of CFOs that shared between this network + Twitter during the report period.
Twitter is an extremely popular
platform for cross-posting content
from other social networks. This
chart shows which social networks
CFOs use most often to share
content on Twitter.
Considering the “buttoned up”
image of CFOs, it’s somewhat
surprising to see that YouTube,
and Instagram drive more content
sharing to Twitter than LinkedIn.
Simply put, even CFOs like to
share videos and pictures on
social media!
Social Insights for Decision Makers | CFOs & Finance Leaders 2015 | Page 13
14. Which Apps + Platforms Drive Twitter Sharing with CFOs?
2%
3%
3%
3%
4%
5%
9%
12%
16%
16%
19%
21%
43%
50%
50%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
Twitter Mobile Web
Flipboard
Foursquare
Buffer
Facebook
TweetDeck
Hootsuite
Instagram
LinkedIn
Twitter for Android
iOS
Twitter for iPad
Twitter for Websites
Twitter for iPhone
Twitter Web Client
Increasingly, CFOs (and just about
everyone else!) consume content on
the go via mobile devices. Though 8
out of 15 of the most popular sharing
apps/platforms are mobile, also be
sure your content is easily shareable
via Twitter.com or the Tweet button,
as they remain among the most
popular ways to share content.
Desktop
Mobile
Social Insights for Decision Makers | CFOs & Finance Leaders 2015 | Page 14
15. What Types of Content Do CFOs Share?
Politics
2%
Sports
4% Other
5%
Social
11%
News/Lifestyle
34%
Business/Tech/
Finance
42%
Business, tech, and finance sites make up the
largest portion of shared content, comprising
42% of the top 100 content sources shared by
CFOs. These sites play an important role in
defining the conversations finance execs have
with their boss (CEOs), peers, and internal
teams. These sites help CFOs keep current
with both broader business trends and issues
impacting corporate finance.
News and lifestyle content makes up 34% of
the top sources. Shared content in this
category is typically focused on current
events, covering issues and trends that impact
the broader business climate.
Many of the top publications in both categories
feature submissions from business thought
leaders and experts, and have robust email
and social media distribution that keeps their
content in front of this audience every day.
% of 100 Most Popular Shared Content Sources
Social Insights for Decision Makers | CFOs & Finance Leaders 2015 | Page 15
16. Top News and Lifestyle Publications with CFOs
11. Quartz
12. Slate
13. Medium
14. VentureBeat
15. New York Post
16. ABC News
17. NPR
18. Fox News
19. Daily Mail
20. NBC News
21. BuzzFeed
22. Vox
23. The Telegraph
24. The Boston Globe
25. Yahoo! News
Following are the Top 25 News, Culture, and Lifestyle Content Sources shared by CFOs
during the report period, based on the number of unique CFOs who shared each source.
1. The New York Times
2. The Washington Post
3. The Huffington Post
4. USA Today
5. Time
6. The Atlantic
7. The Guardian
8. CNN
9. Mashable
10. The Los Angeles Times
Social Insights for Decision Makers | CFOs & Finance Leaders 2015 | Page 16
17. Top Business, Tech, and Finance Publications with CFOs
11. CNBC
12. Fortune
13. The Economist
14. WIRED
15. Fast Company
16. Yahoo! Finance
17. CFO.com
18. MarketWatch
19. Financial Times
20. Businessweek
21. Reuters
22. CNN Money
23. Accounting Today
24. Re/code
25. The Verge
Following are the Top 25 Business, Tech, and Finance Content Sources shared by CFOs
during the report period, based on the number of unique CFOs who shared each source.
1. The Wall Street Journal
2. Forbes
3. Business Insider
4. WSJ Blogs
5. TechCrunch
6. Harvard Business Review
7. Inc.
8. The Business Journals
9. Bloomberg
10. Entrepreneur
Social Insights for Decision Makers | CFOs & Finance Leaders 2015 | Page 17
19. Who Do CFOs Retweet the Most?
As social media continues to reshape
how information is consumed and
shared, creating high-quality content
has become an imperative – not only
for publishers, but for thought leaders
and industry influencers as well.
But creating content is only part of the
equation – successful creators must
also master the art of building a quality
social audience. (After all, you have to
tweet to get retweeted!)
The word cloud to the right reflects the
people and publications doing the best
job creating content that appeals to
CFOs in a way that drives retweets of
their content.
Social Insights for Decision Makers | CFOs & Finance Leaders 2015 | Page 19
21. Who Do CFOs Mention Most?
Looking at which brands CFOs mention
on Twitter can give us yet another
perspective on the forces that shape
their views on products, services, and
industry trends.
Mentions can be a reference to an
experience, attribution on a shared
piece of content, a big thank you (or no
thanks), or even the highly-coveted
social recommendation. That means
mentions can represent a deeper level
of engagement than a retweet.
This word cloud shows the publishers,
brands, and people most mentioned by
our sample of finance executives.
Social Insights for Decision Makers | CFOs & Finance Leaders 2015 | Page 21
23. Conclusion
Imagine you could listen to the daily conversations of hundreds of CFOs and finance
executives. What could you do with that information?
Would the collective intelligence of your colleagues provide pointers to the people and
companies that are influencing your industry? Surface new ways to tackle difficult
problems? Improve your ability to identify potential partners and reliable vendors?
Sure it would.
We created this special report to help you make more strategic decisions about how
(and with whom) to communicate, collaborate, and build your own influence on the
social web.
And since the topics, content sources, and influencers are constantly changing so,
too, are the social media insights.
Sign up to get future social insights reports on C-Suite decision makers delivered
to your inbox.
http://offers.leadtail.com/social-insights-reports
Social Insights for Decision Makers | CFOs & Finance Leaders 2015 | Page 23
24. Social Insights for Decision Makers | CFOs & Finance Leaders 2015 | Page 24
Intacct is 100% invested in meeting the needs of financial professionals, 100% focused on
customer success, and 100% committed to the cloud. We are the preferred provider of financial
applications for the AICPA.
More than 8,500 companies, from start-ups to global public companies, use Intacct best in class
cloud ERP software to help their organizations run better and grow faster. We give finance
professionals a solution that provides unsurpassed depth of functionality, real time insights
based on true financials, and the ability to automate critical processes. All this enables them to
use their time and people more wisely, improve results, and make their team and organization
the best they can be.
Headquartered in San Jose, we have a nationwide award-winning channel program, and a U.S.
based customer support team. But at the end of the day, what distinguishes Intacct most is the
company we keep—the customers, developers, partners, and employees that inspire our
continuous innovation.
Learn more at www.intacct.com.
LinkedIn.com/company/Intacct-Corporation
http://blog.intacct.com
@Intacct
25. Leadtail came about from our desire to help B2B marketing leaders tap into the power of social
media to get closer to target buyers and radically improve their marketing strategies.
We work with innovative companies to create social media strategies and leverage social
insights research. Our team has developed and implemented programs for leading business
brands and venture backed startups including: WageWorks, Robert Half, Hoover’s, Neustar,
Adaptive Insights, NetBase, and Brightidea.
We also publish social insights reports about different decision maker groups such as digital
marketers, HR executives, and CFOs. These reports are a must-read if you sell to businesses
and have been referenced in major publications including: The Wall St. Journal, Business
Insider, Forbes, Huffington Post, CFO.com, and Adweek.
Interested in collaborating on a future social insights report? Email us: hello@leadtail.com
LinkedIn.com/company/Leadtail
Leadtail.com/blog
@Leadtail
Social Insights for Decision Makers | CFOs & Finance Leaders 2015 | Page 25