Who should "control" social media within a company is anything but cut and dry. It's like asking, "What department delivers the greatest value." The answer apparently depends upon whom you ask. A public relations person will likely say "PR" while a marketer will almost certainly indicate "Marketing".
"I think Public Relations is best suited to drive social media," says Chris Bechtel, CEO at iPressroom. "Social media best practices really call for jargon-free, clear, and authentic communications - which PR pros are best trained to provide."
Philadelphia-based PR Strategist Jim DeLorenzo agrees. "Social media is all about interaction with the "public" which last time I checked was a vital part of our training and role as public relations professionals."
While most of the 30 respondents to my recent LinkedIn forum question felt that HR and IT should play a supporting role in managing the social media function, only one thought IT should be responsible for controlling it.
"The better question, according to Rick Simmons, president at Dinkum Interactive, might be who should monitor it and the answer has to be IT and marketing."
Not everyone agreed. "IT enables the technology but does not usually know the strategy behind social media objectives," says Anthony Cirillo, ABC, owner of Fast Forward Consulting.
Similarly, Mary Deming Barber, communications consultant at The Barber Group, says, "Social media is about engagement and conversation, neither of which are strengths of IT or HR. Beyond that, the decision to place 'control' in PR, marketing, communications or other seems to be based on an individual company and its structure."
Several of the survey respondents indicated that the answer to the question is situational. "If it is for lead generation then maybe sales, says Patrick Murphy, director at SiliconCloud.com, "but for raising brand awareness then maybe PR."
Says Parissa Behnia, VP at the Pasfarda Arts and Cultural Exchange, "In instances of customer complaints, the voice of social media belongs to the PR function. If extending offers or making multiple touch points about offers/brands, then the messaging belongs to Marketing."
Judith Harlan, owner of Web Words at Work, says, "I put social media under marketing. But I'd also set it up so designated individuals in each department are on the social media project team, with authority to post department-specific comments."
In advising his introductory rhetoric students at Florida Atlantic University, Gary Brooten advises that we should "never offer a universal answer for a question that is sensitive to situational differences. It has to depend on the business goals, the resources and the skill sets on hand."
The underlying question to this Catch-22 is whether anyone can really "control" social media. "That seems antithetical to the ethos and diversity of social media," says Warren Levy, president at Compelling Meetings.
Collaboration across departments, according to several of the respondents, is key to any successful media operation. Jocelyn Canfield, owner of Communication Results, summed it up best. "Organizations are best served by collaboration, not control. PR, Marketing, HR, IR, Corp Communications all have a vested interest in effective social media activities, while IT and graphic design can be an important allies in seamless execution. If everyone feels ownership, everyone benefits.
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