Trust, authenticity, engagement and transparency — four key tenets of a successful social-media strategy — are not the kind of things that can be farmed out.
That’s why we were not at all surprised by the results of a recent Forrester study that show brands reluctant to entrust either traditional or interactive agencies with their social-media activities.
There are strong opinions on this topic, ranging from those who believe firmly in DIY social media, to those who use agencies or consultants to get up to speed before taking over themselves, to companies who find social media bringing them closer to their agencies. Some of the biggest companies are even moving their agencies in-house.
In Sean Corcoran’s opinion, “marketers should own their social-media strategy, since it is about creating direct conversations with consumers, with agencies playing a supporting role helping develop strategy, identify influentials, build out communities and infrastructure and help with analytics (to name a few).”
What do you think? Do you handle all your social media in-house? Has your organization found the right balance with outside help? Do you feel like social media has the potential to change the relationship between companies and ad/creative agencies?
Image Credit, thesuperph, via istock