Here’s a thought about social media – what your CEO and other senior executives want from it can differ from what you, the communicator or marketer, want from it.

So a briefing about social media for CEOs needs to have a very different focus than one designed for communicators and marketers. Obvious? Good.  That’s the foundational thinking behind Social Media for CEOs, a half-day briefing taking place in London on September 20.

I’ve joined Luke Brynley-Jones as co-host of Social Media for CEOs where we’ll offer participants an end-to-end view of the impact that adopting social media across multiple departments can have on medium-sized and large organizations.

With a strong focus on the strategy and leadership implications of the “socialisation of business,” this is the first event of its kind in the UK. The event is designed to answer the critical questions about social media for business that all CxOs need to address, including:

• What are the opportunities and risks for our organization?
• What should drive our social media strategy?
• How should we co-ordinate customer engagement?
• How can we use social media to harness staff knowledge and experience?
• What’s the ROI of adopting social media?
• What’s the role of the “social CEO”?

Guest speakers include Ian McNairn (Program Director, Web Technology and Innovation, IBM), Chris Buckley (Head of Social Brand Consultancy, Headstream), and Loic Moisand (CEO, Synthesio).

Places are limited so sign up soon (early bird pricing up to July 31). More information at the event website. Event hashtag: #socialceo.

• If you’re interested in this broad topic but think that this particular event isn’t for you, consider participating in Social Media Marketing and Monitoring on September 19 (the day before), also in London. The event brings together leading marketing experts, brands, agencies and journalists for an intensive one-day conference. I’ll be participating in a panel discussion on the topic “What Does Google+ Mean for Marketing?”