By Stephanie Walden2014-03-26 16:05:42 UTC
Rattling off the job titles "head of public relations," "director of marketing" and "social media manager" all in a row sounds like the start of a bad "walks-into-a-bar" joke.
In all seriousness, though, if you're wondering whether your business really needs all three teams and thus team leaders and how they should operate you're not alone.
It's no secret that the face of public relations has changed in a major way since the advent of social media, which typically falls under the larger umbrella of general marketing. So who is responsible for what? When does the PR team handle social? Does your business need a separate social media division? What's a growing business to do?
To sort through the confusion, we've talked to a few experts to get their opinions and advice on the matter.
For many larger corporations, it certainly makes sense to have a full-scale marketing team, complete with a division that exclusively handles social media and at least a few positions dedicated solely to public relations. For a smaller or growing business, however, the lines are often blurred.
"It totally depends on the size and nature of the business," says Dane Atkinson, CEO of SumAll, a social analytics tool. "In the startup world, you're strapped for resources, and [employees] may have to wear many hats; thus small companies might not have the capacity for a full-time social media team." Atkinson adds that each business' target market affects the need for dedicated team members to handle social. "If you're selling to enterprises, [expending resources on social] may not make any sense; but if you're selling directly to consumers, you want to be part of their direct environment." This is the major advantage of social for B2C companies, he explains the opportunity for direct interaction with consumers, a real-time help desk.
Peter Friedman, chairman and CEO of LiveWorld, a social content marketing company, equates the "marketing mix" to a party, explaining that each element of the planning and execution is crucial to its overall success.
"Think of advertising as the invitations, PR as the promotion and digital as the arcade game at the entrance. But the party itself the ambiance, the DJ, the bouncer, the guests themselves; talking to one another, dancing, forming relationships, having a great experience together that's social," he says.
View post:
Social Media, Marketing and PR: Who's Responsible for What?