CEOs and Social Media: Zappos.com

I've always been a big fan of online shoe retailer Zappos.com (and not just because they always have my favorite pair of strappy three-inch heels available when everyone else seems to be out of them). During the past couple years Zappos.com has emerged as one of the shining examples of how a large company can successfully utilize social media to drive sales and increase customer engagement and service. In a world where many C-level execs haven't even looked at Twitter, Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh has redefined (or perhaps defined) how C-level executives should use social media to connect directly with their customers and employees. He has over a million followers on Twitter, his blog posts consistently get reposted and retweeted thousands of times a day and oh yeah, he's the CEO of a company that Amazon just purchased for almost a billion dollars. Amazing.

Obviously, not every CEO has the bandwidth and passion to follow in Tony's footsteps, but his commitment to social media has consistently pushed his company to the top of the customer service charts. His example is one to strive for, even if it seems unattainable.

You can read more about Tony here.