I’ve worked for digital agencies since 2007 and I witnessed the rise of social media. First it was a novelty but now brands, advertising agencies and media companies see the importance of social media presence. After endless interviews with Media bureau’s, advertising agency’s and brands it’s clear to me that everybody wants to take the lead in social media. Everybody wants a piece of the pie.
In the olden days it was simple, a marketer had a marketing plan, which he took to an advertising agency. The agency created a creative campaign. The Media company got briefed, bought the media and the campaign launched. But, with the rise of social everything changed. Is Facebook a media channel? Should it be owned by the brand or should it be a platform for the advertising agency? Every answer sound logical and this is where the battle starts.
Advertising agencies claim they should have the lead in social, because they have been creating content (read: advertising) and they have the experience. The media companies disagree. They see the social channels as media channels so they should own them. They have the experience, they have the big data so they have the best insights in the customer. Brands see social media as a extension of their communication means and start to hire social media specialist to set up and manage the social channels them selves.
Then there are the social media agencies who claim they have the niche experience. Most of them thrive on the fact they understand two-way communication, which is mandatory in social media. The services they offer differ from community management to developing and executing (content) strategies.
I think the most important question is: “ Should a brand outsource its social media?” Social media should be written from the heart of the brand, it should be written in the tone of voice of the brand and most important. It should be done by someone (or a team) who knows the company by hart. Can this be done by an external company?
I think there is a perfect mix and match. A brand should hire a social media agency who develops a social media strategy and a content strategy based on insight obtained by monitoring or from a third party (this might be a Media company). The social media agency “builds” the channels described in the strategy.
The social media agency trains and/ or hires people who manage the channels at the site of the brand. By managing I mean post content, respond and manage web care. The quarterly evaluation reports can either be written by the social media agency or by the employees of the brand if they are trained properly.
The advertising agencies are responsible for the campaigns within the social channels. That is, if they are able to create campaigns with interaction and engagement intertwined in the creative idea. The campaigns must be based on the Social media strategy (which is based on the brand value’s and the consumer insights).
The media company is responsible for the paid media within the social channels, although brands are able to do parts of this them self.
I think time will tell who will have the competitive advantage and who will get the biggest piece of the pie.
wickedwicher 