Lessons from Deepinder Goyal: Being a CEO in the age of Twitter

We take a look at how Deepinder Goyal has been leveraging his Twitter presence and half a million followers to communicate all things Zomato.

With over 12 years of watching Zomato grow, Deepinder Goyal has had a fair share of good and bad experiences of existence in the world of the internet and beyond. There have been moments where this Founder & CEO of Zomato, a restaurant aggregator app, has taken a strong stand for employees and the F&B community at large. There have also been instances where they have had to accept faults and promise to be better. With Goyal's profile, Zomato has been able to drive conversations on a more humane level than a corporate/business/brand one — especially when it comes to sensitive communication. He is a CEO in the age of Twitter, making calls that are very different from his predecessors — we take a closer look.

Standing Strong

Recently, a woman in Bengaluru alleged that a Zomato delivery partner had assaulted her. On his part, the driver denied the allegations, stating that the woman had punched herself, putting the blame on him. In the chaos that ensued on social media, a statement was released by Zomato — shared on Twitter by Goyal. It came with a caption where he mentioned that he was chiming in about the incident. This changed the narrative from it being a brand's statement to one that was coming in from the top leadership. The use of 'I' instead of 'We' helped Goyal take charge and communicate more effectively.

Earlier, in a case where religious sentiments were involved, Goyal had publicly supported the brand's stance. Back then though, the communication was still in 'We', highlighting how he was speaking as a brand and not just a leader.

Accepting Faults

In a report where Zomato had ranked at the bottom, Goyal's tweet of acknowledgment was a humble move. It highlighted how top leadership can accept faults and make promises to be better without harming the brand perception of their business. Again, it helped express how at the core of Zomato are people — real people.

Sharing Success Stories

Just like the bad bits, announcing good things from a personal handle makes them more humane and personal. Here, the communication is put forth in 'Our/We' rather than 'I' — interesting use of language that makes it impactful (and celebratory when the news is really good).

Making Corporate Announcements

Corporate announcements on Twitter are perhaps the most common and obvious communication one can expect from a CEO. Time and again, Goyal has leveraged his personal profile to communicate the ongoings at Zomato. Such tweets help people identify the core stakeholders at the organisation — and helps in holding them responsible.

Also Read: Tongue-in-cheek humour goes wrong for Burger King UK but works fine for Zomato India, here’s why

Updating With Live Commentary

As the country was moving towards a new year on 31st December 2020, in a socially-distanced manner, food was being ordered at lightning speed. It was a busy day for the team at Zomato, and the servers that connect them. That night, Deepinder Goyal took to Twitter to share a live commentary of how things were functioning behind-the-scenes. It helped the brand garner engagement (and potentially more orders). People became a part of the process. Things might not have been as exciting or intriguing had these tweets been shared by the brand's handle.

Industry-wide Advocacy

2020 was a year of all things tough for the Food & Beverages sector. While brands and businesses have been vocal about the issues they were facing, there was an added layer of professional emotions when these conversations were being spearheaded by top leaderships — as can be seen from Goyal's tweets on the issue.

Deepinder Goyal has been leveraging his Twitter presence to create waves of conversations. Sometimes, instead of putting across his two cents, he retweets other people — thoughts that align with his agenda. One of the best lessons one could learn from his communication on Twitter is how sometimes the copy is written in 'I' and sometimes 'We'. It helps differentiate the statements (when made on a (professionally) personal level and when as a brand representative) as well as add value to them.