If you’re on Twitter, you’ve probably noticed how frequently Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff tweets.
He uses Twitter not only to promote his company but also to share thoughts, articles, and sometimes drive support for social issues.
According to a new report by CEO.com, Benioff is the most active CEO on Twitter among all Fortune 500 CEOs. He averages 5.55 tweets per day, nearly 30 times more than the average for other Fortune 500 CEOs.
Even compared to his peers in the tech industry, Benioff stands out. Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison has tweeted just once, despite having over 89,000 followers, while Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has only 10 tweets so far. HP Enterprise CEO Meg Whitman, who hasn’t tweeted since 2011, lost 878 followers in 2015, after more than 3,100 people unfollowed her the year before.
According to the report, only 62% of Fortune 500 CEOs are active on Twitter, with half of them tweeting only once a month or less. This is surprising given the clear demand for top CEOs’ Twitter engagement: Apple CEO Tim Cook gains 2,219 new followers a day, while Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffet’s first tweet in 2013 is still the most retweeted tweet of all time, with 43,000 retweets.
The report identifies several reasons for CEOs’ lack of engagement on Twitter and other social media platforms. CEOs are busy, the benefits of spending time on social media are not immediately clear, and many haven’t received proper training on how to use social media. Additionally, it could cause potential regulatory issues.
Despite these challenges, Benioff remains highly active on Twitter and other social media platforms for a simple reason: engaging with customers.
In a previous interview with the Ladders, Benioff explained his heavy social media use:
“The future of communicating with customers rests in engaging with them through every possible channel: phone, email, chat, Web, and social networks. Customers are discussing a company’s products and brand in real time. Companies need to join the conversation,” Benioff said.
Benioff even makes his email address, CEO@salesforce.com, publicly available to be more responsive and build relationships with customers.
This strategy seems to be paying off. Salesforce is on pace to hit .6 billion in revenue this year and is set to become the fastest enterprise software company to reach a billion annualized revenue run rate. Its shares were trading at all-time highs last year before the overall market correction this month.
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