Does social media belong in PR or marketing divisions?

Time to stir up another social media debate -  does social media belong in a marketing or PR division? Or both? Or neither?

The answer, just like the answer to many social media questions, is “it depends.”

Social Media should belong in the marketing division if the purposes of your social media activities include the following:
*To increase sales
*To increase traffic to your website
*To increase exposure to your brand
*To increase conversation about the brand
*To launch new products
*To receive feedback and ideas for product or business development
*To establish relationships and connections with potential customers who become your fans or followers
*To be fully integrated with all marketing programs and initiatives (always mentioning your facebook/twitter accounts on your advertising and marketing material)

Social Media should belong in the pr/corporate communication division if the purposes of your social media activities include the following:
*To post the latest company news and articles
*To act as an official source of company information
*To act as a “quick response” to any immediate rumors/news about the company or brand
*To facilitate new relationships with bloggers and members of the media
*To monitor buzz and insights about the company
*To post new job opportunities with the company

And what happens if you are doing none of these activities? Then maybe you should consider defining your social media goals before creating a social campaign.

And what happens if your social campaign is a mix of all of this? You’ll either need to create a social marketing division (blog post coming soon!) or you’ll need to work and figure how the person or persons in charge of social media can work with both marketing and communication teams. Probably a good required item on a job description for any social media employee.

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