Fortune 500 CEOs absence in social media affects company's future

Think everyone is on Twitter and Facebook? Think again.

Out of all Fortune 500 CEOs, 70 percent are not connected to any social network, according to a study by CEO.com.

Social media "provides tremendous opportunity for business," the study said. And these CEOs will need to step into the limelight of social media if they want to see their companies successfully grow.

Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, has taken the reigns of second-longest CEO on Twitter. However, he's only tweeted once.

Half of the consumers that read tweets from a company are more likely to buy the company's product, said a survey by Chadwick Martin Bailey, according to CEO.com.

On Twitter, only 19 Fortune 500 CEOs have an account, and only four have verified their accounts, said CEO.com. This study by CEO.com was sponsored by Domo.

Domo is a business intelligence company based in American Fork, Utah. It was founded by Josh James, who was CEO of Omniture. James also created CEO.com to executives know what's happening with top industries.

"Social media has become a transformative force for hundreds of millions of individuals over the past decade," said the report. "Thanks to services like Twitter, Facebook and Wikipedia, digital content is now permeating the globe. This new level of connection has transformed how individuals and business communicate."

Currently LinkedIn favors many CEOs at 25.9 percent, and Facebook falls in second place at a 7.6 percent presence from CEOs.

Employees believe a CEO that is active in social media will help with crisis management and enhance the brand, but also people will see the company as being more trustworthy, said a study by Brandfog according to CEO.com.

In the next few years CEOs that communicate with customers through social media will jump to 57 percent, from 16 percent today, said a study by IBM, according to CEO.com

Email: ehong@desnews.com