PR vs. Marketing: Who Owns Social Media

Posted by Jennifer on July 20, 2009

PR ladies and Marketing gentlemen let’s get ready to RUMBLE!!! Without being sexist (because we all know many men in PR and whip smart women in mktg), I think it’s an accurate statement to say that PR and marketing have squared off over who owns social media.

Both sides recognize that social media is a tool, a powerful tool in their strategy arsenal and they want to take control over its use and implementation. I say it’s a tool each can and should use in collaboration.  The role of PR and marketing hasn’t changed even if the lines have blurred, so why would social media suddenly upend these two distinct purposes.  Public relations and marketing need to work even more closely to make their social media strategies work in conjunction and amplify the power of social media.  If PR is paying attention to their efforts in terms of the traffic they deliver to a site, marketing needs to communicate even more clearly their strategies.  Are you working together or did the bell just ding for Round 1?