Who owns social media anyway (and why can't we just get along)?
My colleague Amber flagged this post titled "How PR People are Destroying Social Media". The author's conclusions on the damage PR is causing social media....
No Bottom-Line Results: De-emphasis on measurement and results, lack of critical thinking and lack of strategic creativity to achieve them
Too Much Talk: Over-emphasis on communication for the sake of communicating
Less Executive Support: Obfuscation of the potential of Social Media ROI, discouraging it as a goal, decreasing the enthusiasm of executives for Social Media
Lower Effectiveness: Confusion in corporate organization and control issues which decrease effectiveness of Social Media for the corporation
I was compelled to respond. While the author was clearly trying to pick a fight, it really isn't a case of "us" versus "them". It is worth reading the other comments - and here's my response in full.
Brian - I hear you. There are some bad old world PR (and marketing) practices being retrofitted into social media. And yes, there are bad practitioners who wouldn't know analytics from their...well, you know what I'm saying. But as a PR agency guy from way back who runs social media and digital things today, I need to defend my profession.
While the topic of social media ownership has been bounced around for awhile now, the conclusion I favour is that the business function best placed to own the customer / candidate / employee (and so on...) relationship should be in the driver's seat. Be that HR, Sales, Marketing, PR or Legal - these are the folks that are building relationships one tweet, blog post or forum comment at a time.
That said, someone has to get them in the car and make sure the oil's changed, tires are roadworthy and the destination is mapped out. PR folks - in our defence - have been keeping campaigns running since Ivy Lee put out the first press release in 1906. We've always taken a longer term view to communications and while I agree measurement has been a struggle (reflecting more the unwillingness for companies to spend as opposed to any lack of desire from my profession), this longer term view is where I feel the PR folks add the greatest amount of value.
Good PR folks build 1-1 relationships - we've done this with journalists for more than a century. We've built community relations programs, managed employee communications and driven discussions with industry analysts. We've also told stories that go beyond a one off promotion, 13 week marketing 'play' or new web app. The ability to look at long term objectives and create a comms program using a variety of tools is at the heart of our profession.
And while we don't always get it right, we also aspire to speak as human beings and not in the language or hyperbole, press release or brochure. Just because you can publish, doesn't mean you should - and folks who understand how people communicate will always have a role guiding those that struggle.
Jump in to the discussion - this one is worth beating around a little more...
