Brands Seek Social Media Strategy
Adweek has a great post about why big companies need to hire social media experts. As more and more consumers move online companies want to reach influencers so that they become the indirect company spokesman. The strategies employed to do this can be rather tricky. I agree with the article that if you want to reach that audience then it simply cannot be a marketing message. The tactics used have to keep changing with the times and therefore the social media strategist is essential.
The risk of specialized social-media czars is it becomes yet another marketing function, said Dachis. Indeed, some companies approach the role with a definite focus on finding new ways to market to consumers. Pepsi, for instance, describes its nascent social-media team in a job posting as “responsible for reaching new audiences, bloggers, Facebookers and other key influentials that live in the online world.” (A PepsiCo rep declined to make an executive available to discuss the role, e-mailing a statement that the company is “willing to put more resources into new media as it evolves to ensure that our message is heard.”)
Another interesting point that is made is that these new roles withing a social media strategy team do not necessarily come from strictly marketing careers. They also come from developers and project managers.
The diverse charter of the group is evidenced in the 50 candidates he interviewed over the past six months: some were in PR, but many more came from marketing or even technology backgrounds.
Source: Why Brands Need a New Kind of Leader [AdWeek]