I spoke at a panel dinner last night at the Seattle Direct Marketing Associations Social Media networking dinner and had a good time. The panel was 3 agency people and me – the brand. One of the questions that got discussed was where does social media fit into an org chart. Who’s responsibility is it? PR, marketing, customer support? I thought I’d pass along my answer because it seemed to resonate. The short answer is it depends…. on what? On what your goal is. Each of these departments focus on different business objectives and solve for different use cases. PR is about exposure, how many publications picked up the story and what was the reach of those publications. It’s about exposure through influential’s. PR is interested in a 1:few scenario where the outreach is targeted to key influential’s that will then trickle down their message to the masses. If this is your teams strategy then it makes sense to put social media engagement in your PR plan. Xbox and Zune drive their social media activities from their PR teams.
Customer support is about solving customer problems. The metrics are based on solve rate, lowering support costs and customer satisfaction. If your business needs are driving by customer sat numbers and decreased support costs then build a social media engagement program in your customer service department. Dell and Comcast do this.
The third option is the marketing team. This is where I sit. When I started the community/social media plan it was driven by a few precise business goals, increase brand favorability and likelihood to refer and lower customer churn for Windows Live. I knew if I exposed Hotmail users to what can be done on Messenger I had a better shot at increasing customer attach rate to our services, thereby lowering customer churn. My business objectives are rooted in marketing performance indicators so it makes sense I’m running this program from the marketing team.
It goes back to being articulate and concise about what the goals are for your company’s social media program. Your objectives will tell you where it should live.
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Great post.
Other places where I have seem Social Media work well too:
HR – Helping employees understand how to not get themselves, their employer and their employer’s vendors/clients in trouble. (There is no context on the internets: Even a simple passing comment on Twitter can offend A LOT of people.) By being Social Media-savvy, an HR Dept. can help the company it serves address possible problems before they become PR nightmares. (I am currently helping HR departments do this, and it is proving to be a MUCH needed service.)
Business Development: Business communities are growing in part due to Social Media tools. Most of my clients now are referrals, and platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, FaceBook and Ning are helping drive the velocity and depth of these professional connections. Instead of reaching one net new customer at a time (and using traditional means like mailings, awareness campaigns, etc.), you can reach micro-clusters of potential customers by having existing customers introduce you to their professional networks. Bonus: Faster growth, stickier connections/relationships, and a whole lot less time wasted on email campaigns and other low ROI tactics.
Social Media tools are also a terrific way to drive people/customers to your events (whether virtual or physical). Webinars, conferences, meetings, etc.
The sky is the limit with this space. We’ve taken the campfire, scaled it, and made it fit inside every laptop and cell phone on the planet. How cool is that!
Awesome blog. I wish I had found it sooner.