A few years ago, social media was a niche cocktail party that was populated mostly by people who would categorize themselves as geeks. If companies were aware of the space, it was often from a communications perspective. Fast forward to today and the space is littered with case studies of company X, Y or Z making some serious coin off their community. Marketers are chomping at the bit to gain ownership or decision rights within the space.
In many cases, these overtures may turn into hostile takeovers from a marketer with no intimate knowledge of the space (I have had friends have this happen to them). The marketer gets wind of an agency known to work wonders and he’s eager to jump at the opportunity without taking advice from the communications people who have been managing the company’s presence.
Social media is something that no one can truly own. It should be managed like a ship with a captain and crew. Since the channel is generally social and conversational in nature, the captain’s role should be played by someone with a communications background who will not hit the panic (read sell, sell, sell) button when the money isn’t flowing in. The crew varies by organization but typically will encompass the functions of marketing, CRM, research, product teams, legal folks, etc.
With the conversational aspect out of the way, marketers can really do what they do best – market. The major networks offer the ability to insert marketing messages into the mix. So with some education on the space, their expertise in things like direct response can really blow out a social campaign. Don’t believe me? Think about these three examples:
Turning online to offline – Conversations are great in principle, but if they don’t translate to sales companies are going to lose interest. So if you have a great online presence in the social space, augmenting it with an “asses to the seats” mentality makes it an overall corporate win. Boston’s Boloco does a great job of this using Twitter and foursquare. They interact with everyone on Twitter plus they offer a “Mayor’s Special”- free products to the mayor and two friends on Mondays. The community is drawn in to try to get a freebie for connecting with the brand while giving Boloco the ability to track the effectiveness of their campaign.
Building an empire – Sure conversation is king, but marketing owns the masses. By incorporating social media into marketing campaigns and collateral, companies are able to increase awareness of their social profiles to existing customers (a good example is Planters Peanuts). By connecting them with the company, potential customers gain more of a personal relationship and brand affinity.
Measurement – Marketing folks are much better than us communications pros at running numbers and measuring things. It’s true in my case at least. At the end of the day, social media is nothing more than a novelty if you can’t measure anything. People in marketing tend to be numbers driven so it’s a good idea to tap into their knowledge bank to see if there is anything that you can utilize in terms of measuring success. You may be surprised at what you find out.
What do you think about marketing in the social space? Should they be leaders, followers, shiftmen or out of the picture?
You hit the nail on the head…from the brand side, SM needs to be a team game — comms, marketing, execs, legal, etc. While the speed of SM is night and day in terms of how we used to market brands 10 years ago, the same principles apply — message, audience, customer service, delivering on a brand promise. It just happens quicker these days and happens online. Marketers have a heavy role in that process.
@BigGuyD It has to be a team game at the end of the day and there is money and accolades to be made/won by any number of folks. At the end of the day, my gut tells me that markerters can’t lead the ship outright, because if there is a time when numbers are low, the green blinders go on and Ted Dibiase’s theme song starts to play. I think there needs to be a collective voice to serve as checks and balances.
@jeffespo No doubt. comms people tend to be the captains. good captains realize they need a good crew to steer the ship, so to speak.
@BigGuyD Valid point and I think that there also needs to be a bend don’t break mentality at times too.
@jeffespo Exactly…making those decisions are tough, but that’s why we have leaders.
@BigGuyD 🙂
In my experience the metrics determine the driver. If sales are weighted heavier than customer service, then Marketing takes the lead.
I agree with y’all regarding SM being a team game, but unlike any other area of business, SM ownership really tests the fabric of an organization. Without the right players involved, SM ownership/execution can do great damage both internally and externally.
@bryanjones Well I won’t argue on the metrics Bryan. I do think that leaving marketing as teh supreme driver as ethics and putting the customer first can really take a hit from a time when numbers are down.
I suggest companies use two twitter handles one for sales and one for interactions.
Hi Jeff,
Think that marketing, like PR, should play a key role in leveraging an organzation’s social media channels.
The depth and potential of social media require that they receive the attention and expertise, on some level, of multiple departments/team members.
That said, while every company’s org. chart is different, someone must be charged to lead social media and make sure the ojbectives of all internal stakeholders are accomplished (e.g., legal, sales, HR, C suite).
-Chris
@ChrisEhrlich Thanks for the comment Chris. I think it is a healthy balance of getting the ship set up straight. In my experience someone not tied to revenue goals should be in charge as to not bastardize the efforts when revenue is slow.
Depending on the overall objectives my utopia may not exist, but its one that I see companies using to succeed with.
@jeffespo @ChrisEhrlich Hear you. Really like your line about not hitting the panic button on social media (over broadcasting, etc.)!
@ChrisEhrlich You can’t its cyclical and needs to be seen as a relationship and conversation with real people not just dollar$ and cent$.
I’d suggest we see some of the best results in social media when marketing and communications acts as the facilitator and create spaces where the experts can converse directly with external constituents. For instance Marcomms pros can define the strategy for a blog and handle the internal enablement/training to make sure good quality content flows from subject experts.
I’d also suggest that social media breaks down the age-old barriers between marketing and support. Is there not a strong argument for customer support to lead social media initiatives? Just look at the success of Zappos and Comcast Cares.
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@cagedether I agree that support does have it’s role in an overarching social media strategy, but do not think that it can be the driver. Having a strong social presence often means that customers will get better treatment in some way shape or form. But leading with the CRM folks can also lead to an assumption that some customers are more special than others in terms of treatments. In some ways social makes companies focus on the customer more which should lead to a better experience including CRM.
Your example of Zappos is a really good on as the customer is the focal point of the corporate culture.
I think that in most organizations, marketing still owns social media. We’re just starting to see that HR, support, sales and customer service are seeing the value of social media but it’s the marketing department who is training them to use the tools or providing them with the industry reports about the ROI of “joining the conversation.” When internal conversations don’t lead anywhere, an outside consultant (basically a mediator) who has a marketing background comes in to get everyone on track.
That’s where I see the Social CRM cookie crumbling right now. I think the creation of social businesses is getting there but it’s not going to be a smooth transition for many.
@JanetAronica I think there are going to be a lot of growing pains for organizations within this space. In some organizations communications still falls under marketing, my company being one, but also wonder how sustainable the sales first mentality of many companies will pan out in the long run.