Social Media: The Role of Digital & PR Agencies
The role of digital and PR agencies in supporting client social media activity has become a reoccurring theme. There is often question as to who is responsible for what. While this varies based on the specific client, client needs and agencies involved, in general we have come to the following position:
Public Relation efforts are focused on establishing third party credibility through focused outreach efforts and specific program development. This is where public relations agencies bring value to a client. Specifically this is represented in the development of programs and the outreach and introductions to pre determined influencers (such as editors, conferences, major bloggers, journalists and analysts) that there is an expectation and understanding that the PR agency provides a direct role.
Branded social media activity is focused on fostering direct, two-way (peer-to-peer) interactions. This is where digital agencies, such as VML, bring value to clients. While the expectation is that clients will leverage social media to connect directly to consumers, digital agencies should provide both the technical/creative development and strategic support to the client team tasked with these efforts.
While each of these paths has a unique focus they only work when executed in tandem in support of each other. With the PR effort focused on the key messaging and stories that resonate, and the social media efforts focused on providing a platform in which the client can connect and engage consumers around these messages.
