Advice From The Trenches
Social Media: Who's Responsible?
From the desk of Becky Powell-Schwartz
How are corporations determining which discipline is responsible for social media?
The debate over ownership of social media has largely raged between public relations and marketing. In several forums, both sides have made cases for centralizing social media activities under their jurisdictions. According to the sixth annual Communication and Public Relations Generally Accepted Practices (GAP) Study released this summer:
- Slightly more than one-fourth of companies put between 81-100% of budget control over social media to PR; only 12.6% of marketing departments had the same level of control.
- Budget isn't the only factor. Nearly a quarter of respondents said PR has strategic control over social media in their organizations, whereas only 9% of organizations have given strategic oversight to marketing.
- Just over 25% of respondents said marketing has no budgetary control at all, and about 22% said marketing had no strategic control.
The rationale, according to the Center's director is that social media "require a relatively non commercial approach; they entail dialogue rather than monologue; they often convey objective information rather than product features; and, they tend to be free-form in nature, which is just the opposite of the highly controlled world of marketing."
Measurement could be another reason leadership is entrusting social media to PR. The study revealed a connection between the amount PR departments spend measuring their efforts and the degree to which the CEO believes PR contributes to the company's success. As a result, respondents said, senior management is taking PR's recommendations more seriously. **
What's more, measurement efforts - which comprise an average of about 4.5% of PR department budgets – are earning their way to executive suite conversations.
"While we can't yet prove a casual relationship between what you spend on evaluation and management's attitudes, these correlations are certainly compelling and logical." says Jerry Swerling, Center Director.
The GAP study is produced every other year by the Strategic and Public Relations Center at the USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism. The purposes of the study are to provide practioneers with data they can use today to better manage their communication functions in their organizations and to point out trends and identify best practices. This study, unlike those of the past, has placed greater emphasis on mid-sized and large organizations because (1) the vast number and diversity of smaller organizations makes it almost impossible to draw broadly applicable conclusions and (2) larger organizations, with their greater resources, are more likely to be earlier developers and adopters of new techniques.
Our Point of View
For more than 20 years, we have collaborated with both marketing and public relations professionals. The companies that integrate the function with both departments are the most successful. Ensuring that the message is consistent is the responsibility of public relations/corporate communication departments. Social media is both earned and owned media. Public relations has an unique role in amplifying a brand's message in today's digitally focused social media world.
**The Powell Group is in the process of developing an integrated measurement tool. For more information, please email Becky at bp@powellgroup.net
