Despite the ever-increasing influence of social media on society, many executives are still under utilising social media channels as a means to network and build professional relationships. According to research by social media management platform Hootsuite, socially active executives are perceived as technologically-savvy, accessible and trustworthy - all traits which are important when establishing influential relationships.

However it seems that many senior executives are less inclined to foster and build their social networks, either because they perceive they have reached the peak of their career progression or do not see the value in social media. Senior executives might also be unfamiliar the technologies and social media platforms which can seem daunting, unnecessary, or too difficult.

But whether you are an executive managing your career or you are looking at ways to increase your influence over employees, customers and business stakeholders, you can benefit greatly from having a strong network both online and offline to set yourself up for new opportunities.

Unlocking your social network can open hidden doors for executives

Most of the reluctance in adopting or being active on social platforms comes from seeing social media as a distraction, a waste of time and lacking ROI. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth, as social media presents executives with potential to influence and control their personal brand, stakeholder engagement and networking efforts.

For instance, having a social media presence as an executive can boost your personal brand, as it positions you as a technologically savvy, forward-thinking leader who embraces current technologies.

Additionally, social media allows you to have better communication with stakeholders in real-time. If a customer has a complaint, you are able to respond to it immediately. Not only will this build rapport among customers and stakeholders, but it also creates a positive brand image for you across your networks. Executives who do this well can be perceived as great problem solvers and help to personalise a brand and your position in the industry as a thought leader.

Being active on social media, particularly when looking for new opportunities, can also unlock the hidden job market. With 80 per cent of available jobs never advertised, social media can help you connect with people and opportunities you may never otherwise hear of.

The best way to start to uncover the benefits of social media is to follow leaders who are already doing it well. A great example is Tesla founder Elon Musk. He uses his personal Twitter account to announce company news, respond to tweets and share personal anecdotes and jokes. This builds his profile, not only among key stakeholders and those he engages with, but also his following and the media. It positions him as a thought leader within his industry and shows his expertise to a wider audience. Musk uses Twitter to network as well, and this is how he reached out to leaders in South Australia to strike a deal in order to solve their energy problem.

Making a start

Choose your platform wisely and think about how much you want to engage. LinkedIn is the most widely used social platform for executives, and specifically caters to business-centric networking. It doesn’t require a huge amount of energy to manage a LinkedIn profile but decisions will need to be made about how much you want to engage in group communications or whether or not you want to develop articles to post on the platform. These are both good ways for executives to boost their profiles and position themselves as thought leaders.

For a slimmed down version, executives can use LinkedIn to explore opportunities. This can be achieved by searching companies and opportunities and seeing what connections you have in common. These connections can then potentially provide introductions to key decision makers or give you the inside scoop on upcoming opportunities or the company itself.

Twitter is less business-focused, and it is more acceptable to inject personality into your posts on this platform. However, it is a much more time intensive platform for executives, as news feeds move quickly and Tweets can often go unseen.

Twitter can be very useful to broadcast news, short opinions or updates to a large audience. It is also a platform that gets a lot of engagement if managed correctly. By jumping on the right conversations at the right time, executives can create meaningful engagement opportunities both for themselves and the business. However it requires time if you are starting from nothing, so be prepared to spend up to an hour a day if you want to build a strong Twitter presence.

Facebook is the most personal platform out of the three and many businesses have their own Facebook Page. Whilst it presents opportunities to be seen in a more personal and engaging light by your employees and customers it also presents risks as Facebook Friends, by default, have access to most of your activity on the platform, including what you have liked, uploaded, commented on and posted. These privacy settings can be changed so that certain people only see some, or none, of your activity but I would recommend caution as mistakes can be easily made and these days your social media brand is seen as an extension of a corporation's brand and therefore what you see and do must always reflect their values.

Across all these platforms, executives must remember to acknowledge tweets, comments, messages and posts from followers, and reciprocate with endorsements and positive feedback wherever possible – this is simple social media etiquette and helps to build online relationships with important stakeholders.

Become a social master

To make full use of the benefits these platforms have to offer, executives should network with industry peers by joining and engaging in groups on the social media platforms they choose, as well as following relevant thought-leaders.

This enables executives to join conversations and feeds on topics that are relevant and offer advice where possible. This helps to establish executives as a knowledge source.

Showing your personal support for social causes can also be extremely powerful, both for stakeholders and prospective employers. This is a simple way for executives to broadcast their values and align themselves with like-minded businesses, experts, customers, or potential employers. However, it should be noted it is important for executives to be wary of affiliating with political issues, as this does have the potential to alienate people. A good rule is, if you wouldn’t say it in person to a colleague, don’t say it on social media.

Despite how much the notion of networking has changed over the years, it is still important for executives to adapt to, and adopt these new methods. Doing so will pave the way for further skill development, opportunities and prospective employment. If anything, social media has actually made it easier to build and foster a professional network, through integrated tools and features which are easy to learn, convenient to use and provide tangible results when done well.

By Heather Parkinson, CEO of Directioneering

Heather is the CEO of Australia's leading executive career strategy firm, Directioneering, and has over 30 years of experience in human resource management and organisational development. As a senior executive she contributes to the achievement of organisation performance and strategic goals through the alignment of human resource strategies to the overall objectives of the business.