Since Donald Trump got elected, there has been an increasing trend for political figures, CEOs and other figures on influence to conduct themselves on social media with little to no regard for the type of impact they will be making.

Though there is a very clear use case for CEOs on social media, it can easily be said that social media is not the domain of c-suite executives. I’ll discuss my thoughts below.

In the recent months, Snap Inc, the company behind Snapchat has come increasingly under fire from celebrities upset with its content. With a single tweet, Kylie Jenner sent the stock plummeting to record lows when she admitted she had not used the social media network much lately. Only a few weeks later, and the stock plummeted again, this time off the back of a statement by singer Rihanna. Rihanna’s gripe would turn into a major headache for Snap. Rihanna’s issue (which was entirely fair) was around content that made light of her violent assault at the hands of Chris Brown. Not only did they hesitate to respond, but it was left to the company’s public relations department to pick up the pieces of the mess. The response was not only weak, but it showed the lack of willingness for their CEO Evan Spiegel to be able to respond swiftly to the accusations.

If Evan Spiegel had been willing to hold an account on other social media, specifically Twitter, he would have been able to nip this in the bud.

Lesson learned: If you run a social media company, or work in media, it’s probably a good idea to have a social media account so you can respond on behalf of the company.

We have all heard the phrase uttered during Donald Trump’s infamous tweet regarding negative press. In case you hadn’t, whilst under fire for allegedly rigging the election, Trump tweeted: “Despite the constant negative press covfefe”. The tweet went viral, placing the Trump administration even more into disrepute, as the tweet was lampooned across the nation.

There was absolutely no reason to sent this type of thing. Not only is it reputationally damaging, but it isn’t necessary. All it does is risk the valuable reputation of the company. If Trump had been the CEO of a company (which it must be added that he was), he would have sent the stock plummeting off his own buffoonery.

Lesson Learned: If you do anything of influence, don’t use social media to bring your company into direspute.

The vast majority of CEOs on social media seem to have a very bland personality, afraid of speaking out lest they attract unnecessary attention to themselves. Frankly, I don’t agree with this type of social media usage. If all you are doing is sharing articles, you aren’t really saying anything. It’s about as memorable as an overcast day.

The best way for CEOs to use social media is with an agency. Very rarely will a social media post be crafted by the personality that it was attributed to. Ghost writing is a great way to market yourself as a CEO, and also ensures you won’t make the same mistakes as Trump and his “covfefe”.