Who should manage social media, Marketing or PR?
Yesterday, 30 June was “World Social Media Day.” So, I thought it a good time to address this question which my students often ask.
‘Where should social media sit in the organisation?’
What they really mean to ask is, ‘Who should manage the social media function, the marketing or public relations (PR) department?’
My answer is usually really simple. Digital marketing should be managed by the marketing team and digital PR by the public relations team.
Nobody ever asks where “radio” should sit in the organisation. However, marketing and PR both use radio but they apply it to serve different purposes. You should think of social media in like manner. If you think of social media as an extension of the media mix, that is complementing print, radio, television and out-of-home media, its application becomes easier.
The confusion stems from a poor understanding of the meaning of social media. Most confuse social networks for social media. However, social media is broad.
Social media includes social networks such as Facebook and Linkedin, content sharing sites including YouTube, Instagram and Spotify as well as micro-blogging sites — Twitter, Tumbler, Yammer, and blogs and so on. But unlike traditional media, because of its diversity, the uses of social media goes beyond the marketing and PR functions.
Here’s what I mean.
Currently, Twitter serves different purposes to different organisations. It is used by customer service to manage product inquiries and queries. As a PR tool, Twitter is used to manage/ and or defend the company’s reputation when negative or slanderous comments are published. When an organisation promotes an offer aimed at driving sales using Twitter, it is serving a marketing function. Twitter also allows its users to create polls. The insights gathered from polls might be useful for marketing or the research and development unit.
Consequently, some organisation choose to set-up specific customer service Twitter handles while having another handle dedicated to corporate communications and marketing initiatives. In other organisations, it is a single handle with a cross-functional team manning it.
Similarly, Facebook. But the uses of the corporate blog is remarkably different.
Corporate blogs are a great platform for thought leadership. Thought leadership builds the profile of the organisation by positioning its leaders as experts. A corporate blog might also be used to promote the causes an organisation supports or to endear consumers to a brand. The “P & G Everyday” blog is a good example of the latter. It targets women with its wellness and lifestyle content. Such platforms create goodwill for the organisation.
Building the company’s profile and creating goodwill among stakeholders are squarely public relations goals which should not be managed by marketing. As such, vesting the management of social media in either marketing or PR would be limiting its use. The secret to maximising the benefits of social media, is to make it cross-functional in your organisation.
