CCPA

By Rick Alcantara, Jerseycoachonline.com

Who should “control” social media within a company is anything but cut and dry.  It’s like asking, “What department delivers the greatest value.” The answer apparently depends upon whom you ask. A public relations person will likely say “PR” while a marketer will almost certainly indicate “Marketing”.

“I think Public Relations is best suited to drive social media,” says Chris Bechtel, CEO at iPressroom. “Social media best practices really call for jargon-free, clear, and authentic communications – which PR pros are best trained to provide.”

Philadelphia-based PR Strategist Jim DeLorenzo agrees. “Social media is all about interaction with the “public” which last time I checked was a vital part of our training and role as public relations professionals.”

While most of the 30 respondents to my recent LinkedIn forum question felt that HR and IT should play a supporting role in managing the social media function, only one thought IT should be responsible for controlling it.

“The better question, according to Rick Simmons, president at Dinkum Interactive, might be who should monitor it and the answer has to be IT and marketing.”

Not everyone agreed. “IT enables the technology but does not usually know the strategy behind social media objectives,” says Anthony Cirillo, ABC, owner of Fast Forward Consulting.

Similarly, Mary Deming Barber, communications consultant at The Barber Group, says, “Social media is about engagement and conversation, neither of which are strengths of IT or HR. Beyond that, the decision to place ‘control’ in PR, marketing, communications or other seems to be based on an individual company and its structure.”

Several of the survey respondents indicated that the answer to the question is situational. “If it is for lead generation then maybe sales, says Patrick Murphy, director at SiliconCloud.com, “but for raising brand awareness then maybe PR.”

Says Parissa Behnia, VP at the Pasfarda Arts and Cultural Exchange, “In instances of customer complaints, the voice of social media belongs to the PR function. If extending offers or making multiple touch points about offers/brands, then the messaging belongs to Marketing.”

Judith Harlan, owner of Web Words at Work, says, “I put social media under marketing. But I’d also set it up so designated individuals in each department are on the social media project team, with authority to post department-specific comments.”

In advising his introductory rhetoric students at Florida Atlantic University, Gary Brooten advises that we should “never offer a universal answer for a question that is sensitive to situational differences. It has to depend on the business goals, the resources and the skill sets on hand.”

The underlying question to this Catch-22 is whether anyone can really “control” social media. “That seems antithetical to the ethos and diversity of social media,” says Warren Levy, president at Compelling Meetings.

Collaboration across departments, according to several of the respondents, is key to any successful media operation. Jocelyn Canfield, owner of Communication Results, summed it up best. “Organizations are best served by collaboration, not control. PR, Marketing, HR, IR, Corp Communications all have a vested interest in effective social media activities, while IT and graphic design can be an important allies in seamless execution. If everyone feels ownership, everyone benefits.

Rick will be one of the featured presenters at the May 25 SocialMediaPlus Web 2.0 Business Summit in Philadelphia

Each week, CCPA will salute an article of interest found by one of the bloggers. This week:  “3 Things” by Valeria Maltoni – Converation Agent.

Valeria Maltoni helps businesses understand how customers and communities have changed marketing, public relations, and communications – and how to build value in this new environment. As a marketer with 20 years of experience, 10 of which online, she specializes in marketing communications, customer dialogue, and brand management. Valeria has come to define modern business as a long and open conversation. Conversation Agent is recognized among the world’s top online marketing blogs.

One of the secrets to becoming successful at anything in life is persistence. We can all work hard for a while. Head down, putting in long hours with an eye to an end goal. Why is the goal important? Because in order for us to visualize getting there, we need to know where we’re going.

Setting goals used to be easier in marketing: Read More

Each week, CCPA will salute an article of interest found by one of the bloggers.  “Trending generations: The Pew Research Center” by Richard Becker – Copywrite, Ink.

Richard Becker is an accredited business communicator and president of Copywrite, Ink., a writing services and strategic communication firm with experience on more than 1,000 accounts.

The Pew Internet and American Life Project, an independent public opinion survey research project that studies attitudes toward the press, politics and public policy issues, posted the results of its Generations Online in 2009. The comparative study evaluates data between 2005 and 2008.

In keeping pace with Harris Interactive’s poll in 2007 and the Universal McCann study in 2008, Internet users range from the very young to the young at heart. Right on. The Internet is for everybody. Read more.

Each week, CCPA will salute an article of interest found by one of the bloggers. This week, presented by Audrey Julienne from Raison d’Etre, “LinkedIn: 40 Million can’t be wrong” by Robert Clay – Marketing Wizdom.

Robert Clay has been growing businesses since age 19. He started his first business with no capital, reaching #3 in his field in the U.K. within 7 years. His second business reached #3 in Europe after 3 years. After selling both businesses to one of the largest company in Europe, he played a major part to taking his business unit to #1 in the world in its field, over 4 years.

“It seems that a lot of people join LinkedIn but really don’t know why. I’ve come accross many people who poke around the site every so often and accept occasional requests to link with other members and that’s about it. It’s clear that most people don’t really understand what LinkedIn is for; how to use it; what it’s good for; or how to leverage it.” Read more.