Did you happen to catch the Let's Chat!#ciscosmt Social Media Training Series executive panel USTREAM broadcast on Wednesday April 3^rd? It was the first installment of an ongoing series we will provide through regular Twitter chats and occasional video chats.

Side Note: In between Wednesday's executive panel broadcast and our next Twitter chat, taking place in June, we have a robust Social Media for Savvy Marketers Conference coming up on April 18^thand 19^th. It's free and available both in-person and online. Join us, registration is still open! And follow#ciscosmt and#socialsavvy for more details.

From behind the scenes, we had a feeling this chat session would be eye-opening and would really open the door to having more transparent social media conversations in the future. It was enlightening to see the level of candid insights, personal experiences, and fresh perspectives shared by @JeanetteG @ChandlerCisco @CiscoSheila and @lanceperrycisco.

For those that viewed the broadcast and/or participated in the social conversation, what did you think of it? And were there any "ah ha" moments you walked away with afterwards?

After voraciously taking notes and tweeting during the broadcast, here are some of my key takeaways. (These are in addition to the great Top 10 Tips for Executive Social Media @CiscoSheila shared with us.)

• Social media gives executives a new way of conducting business, building reputations, and developing stronger relationships by accessing real-time feedback, receiving validation, and uncovering new ideas.
• It's important to keep in mind the value of internal and external social media channels and opportunities; creating internal opportunities to build communities and collaborate in new ways may take time to adopt, but will enable companies to move forward more efficiently and effectively.
• Learning about social media and the ways to leverage it, help executives to not only keep up with trends, but to stay relevant with different generations.
• Setting goals upfront and really understanding the purpose around using social media, specifically for an executive and for the company, will go a long way at being successful in leveraging it.
• Social media can be a powerful channel for direct access, both by executives/companies and also by customers and other audience members.
• It's important for executives to show their personalities, projecting something about themselves and being authentic.
• Embracing internal social media tools is a journey across the organization; understand that it's dependent on changing behaviors-some will gravitate quickly, while others may take longer to adopt.

Here are some quotes I especially liked from the panelists:

• From @lanceperrycisco: "The world is flat thanks to social media (not really of course), but it is an equalizer where we see contributions from everyone."
• From @CiscoSheila: "Mobile first! The combination of mobile and social is what helps us stay connected and provides executives with quick and immediate responses."
• From @ChandlerCisco: "Basic [social media policy] rules: courtesy, honesty, and respect."
• From @lanceperrycisco: "leaders don't give the message, they are the message. Use the capabilities and the team will too. Those that don't use them, do not have a strong social media presence."
• From @CiscoSheila: "Thought leadership comes from all levels of the company. With the rate of change in business, everyone is still figuring it out; use your whole network and help accelerate thinking."
• From @ChandlerCisco: "[Internal] social media becomes 'the' mode of communication, the only way to communicate. Get people involved, even using incentives at the beginning if needed."

For those that could not make it, it's definitely a must-see. Between all of the points of view, experiences, and roles, it really gave a good insiders' view of what executives think about social media. We would love to hear your feedback regarding the session and potential topics you would like to hear more about and participate in as we move forward. I look forward to reading your comments!

If you have any questions or are interested in other types of social media training, check out our new complimentary Cisco Social Media Training Program and follow the#ciscosmt hashtag.  To request  customized one-on-one team training sessions, email [email protected].