Yesterday my partner pointed out a blog post entitled “Why your IT person shouldn’t manage your social media!“ (opens in a new window) by local Adelaide marketer Diane Lee of mosaic communications. The entry had been trending on Twitter thanks to Nick Hortovanyi (@hortovanyi) and I was told it was worth a look.
It certainly was worth a look—particularly because of how ICT professionals are discussed—but that will not be the focus of this entry. Instead I want to talk about why your marketing professionals and your ICT professionals should work together on your social media strategy.
In Diane’s article, she asserts that ICT/Web Professionals lack the background in marketing to manage a businesses social network strategy, and gives an analogy that it’s like having your car serviced by somebody who knows nothing about mechanics but that knows how to drive a car. If we’re going with the car thing, a better analogy would be to have your car’s electrics serviced by a general mechanic. Sure, they are still a professional who works in the automotive industry, but they are not a specialist and they don’t have advanced knowledge of auto-electrics. Sometimes the mechanic will be able to fix the problem, but never as quickly or as well as a specialist could.
This analogy cuts both ways, of course—because neither a Marketer or a Web Developer could be considered a specialist with social media. For both, social media is just one part of their job, amongst many other concerns.
Web Professionals and digital natives spend a huge amount of time interacting with the Internet: whether it’s building websites and online software, or engaging in online communities, these people have a vast amount of useful, practical experience with the Internet and its users. Through prolonged use of the Internet they have an excellent understanding of online social norms, and know what is acceptable—and desired—when engaging with individuals, brands, and businesses online.
In contrast, the Internet is only one aspect of a Marketer’s job, but they have a wealth of experience to contribute with corporate communications or brand management. They know how to manipulate a company’s perceived image, and have strategies for when things go wrong.
So why don’t these different people work together more often? Who knows. With the lines between Marketing and ICT so rapidly blurring I can’t understand it.
Thankfully, I’m one of the lucky ones—Freerange Future often works with PR, Branding, and Marketing specialists when creating online tools and websites, and I’m lucky enough to have friends online such as Nick Hortovanyi who understand the importance of both skillsets.
EDIT: The original article “Why your IT person shouldn’t manage your social media!” has been taken offline.
