In-house or Delegate? The Ongoing Social Media Question.

People often ask us if they can delegate their social media to an agency or consultant or if they should do it all in-house. The answer is: it depends. Whoever does social media has to be willing to immerse themselves in your company, messaging, products and position and they have to value and appreciate social media as a powerful channel of communications, not write it off as a frivolous afterthought. They need to know how to encourage interaction and take replies and comments seriously. IOW, they need to know what they're doing.

Social media is relentless. It never lets you sleep. It can't be shrugged off just because you got another assignment. If you have an in-house person or team with these skills and time, in-house may be the answer. But be sure to give the social media practitioner and/or team the responsibility and access to get the job done -- plus the title and salary.  Be certain the person/team is known to your inside experts and that they are encouraged to support and participate in the social program.  All of this is hard to do, but many companies make it work.

On the other hand, if you know an agency/consultant willing to accept that kind of responsibility and dedication, that may be most cost-effective and results-producing in the long run. You have better assurance and control of costs, the automatic respect accorded an “outside expert”, and a ton of oversight. An agency expert in social media can also bring new ideas to the table rapidly and their continued association with your company depends on them doing a good job from day one. In addition, an agency with experience in your field will likely have a greater grasp of your product, technology, and market messages more rapidly than an in-house person.

Weigh your options and explore your particular situation. The value of social media to companies and brands increases every day. It’s an important decision.