In this episode of Thought Leader Life, Michael and I talk with thought leader Dr. Natalie Petouhoff about some of the most pressing questions CEOs ask themselves, including: “Why is social media important to me and my company?” and “How do I transform myself as a thought leader using social media?”

Dr. Petouhoff shares her insights on how success can be achieved by appreciating the uses of social media to create an advocate base (see http://bit.ly/tl-funnel). She makes commentary about how most senior leaders today fail to grasp the real value of social media to the company’s success. Quoting from the book she recently authored, Like My Book, Dr. Petouhoff relates the need to really engage advocates because, at the end of the day, they are the people who are selling the company’s products and services. People who post reviews on social media are the advocates of today and they can be your company’s future advocates if you are able to embrace their culture. CEOs should know how this word-of-mouth advocacy actually transform revenues and at what cost to the company.

Michael expounds on how social media has made it easier for customers to make decisions. Dr. Petouhoff agrees and says CEOs must realize that, given the rapid advancement in technology today, people can make a decision about their products and services in a nanosecond. The speed by which you react to people’s decisions will define your company and lead to failure if you are too slow, or to success if you are able to make a quick turnaround.

Finally, I make a summary of the relevance of social media to the corporate world as I paraphrase Dr. Petouhoff in saying, “Social Media = Organizational Change Management.” Thought leaders can change the world if they are able to create a culture where people feel free to say what they want to say and leaders view negative reviews as nuggets of gold.

Here are a few “‘aha’ moments” from the episode. See more in the upcoming book, soon to be a part of the THiNKaha app-only book series!

In the old days, getting feedback on a product took a long time. Now, social media shortens this process. #tll <http://www.twitter.com/michaelprocopio”>@MichaelProcopio

Integrating social media into a traditional business is really organizational change management. #tll @DrNatalie

Social media helps customers make decisions fast, a lot of companies will go out of business if they can’t keep up. #tll @DrNatalie