The Power of Posting: An Examination of CEO Social Media Celebrity

Abstract

The increasing prevalence of social media has prompted discussions regarding its impact on the social evaluations of organizational leaders. In this study, we develop the construct of CEO social media celebrity, which arises when a CEO obtains high levels of attention and positive emotional responses from audiences on social media. Building upon parasocial interaction theory, we examine how a CEO's posting influences their likelihood of becoming a social media celebrity. Analyzing 320 S&P 1500 CEOs on X (formerly Twitter) from 2009 to 2021, who posted over 250,000 times and attracted 1.6 million mentions from social media users, we find that the volume, positivity, and variety of CEO posts relate positively to CEO social media celebrity attainment, while the uniqueness of their posts shows no such effect. [Corrections made on 16 September 2025, after first online publication, the preceding sentence has been updated for clarity in this version.] Additionally, we find evidence suggesting that the nature of the CEO's social media posts relates differently to the two dimensions of CEO social media celebrity (i.e., larger audience attention and positive emotional reactions). We offer suggestions for future research to further enrich the understanding of social evaluations in an increasingly digital world and provide practical insights for CEOs seeking to boost their public profile using social media.