Social media campaigns: Who should clients turn to?

We are no longer at the stage where digital specialists are positioning social media as the 'Next Big Thing'. Social media has steadily established itself as a legitimate platform where advertisers, if they get it right, can generate brand awareness and effectively engage customers on a level that the majority of other media choices cannot.

According to Nielsen reports, global time spent on social media sites is up 82 per cent year on year. In the US, Twitter had by far the highest year-on-year increase in users of any social media platform with 579 per cent additional unique visitors recorded in December 2009.

As a result, advertisers are rushing to mark their social media territory and increasingly asking their agencies for direction. There is also a sense of urgency within agencies to make sure they have the necessary talent and resource available to help their clients migrate to social media and develop an effective presence.

However, a key question for clients is who they should turn to when developing a social media strategy? Which agency is best to use when pushing a social media agenda - creative, media, PR, stand alone social media agencies or one-man-bands who are self-declared experts?

Because many social media campaigns require creative development for group pages and applications, clients are apt to look to their creative agency for support. On the other hand, the social media space is now a key part of public relations activities which means PR agencies are often approached to manage messaging and positive awareness. Media agencies, with specific digital experience in tracking and channel management, are also approached by clients looking to establish a social media presence. In addition. over the past couple of years we have seen the rise of social media agencies that are actively winning business and have a valid presence on advertisers' pitch list.

Social media is a new channel for most advertisers and while most existing agencies are more than capable of covering some social media implementation requirements, not all are necessarily set up to offer a holistic social media service.

Development of applications and fan pages has been a key trend within social media and creative agencies have been at the front of this development. "Social media and digital is a key focus for our company," says Dennis Wong of Euro RSCG in Hong Kong. "We have been particularly successful in winning both local and global accounts based on our expertise in this area".

Similarly, PR agencies have also started to focus on digital communications and social media activity. There has been a noticeable trend among PR agencies in hiring digital professionals to extend their capability within this area. PR agencies are well practiced in flexible, proactive and reactive communication and therefore well suited to manage consumer generated feedback and direct interaction with consumers. Other agencies don’t necessarily have this skill-set embedded in their agency DNA.

PR specialist Yeelim Lee from Weber Shandwick feels that, "any agency or PR consultant who still does not want to, or cannot, embrace social media to some degree will be out of the job within five years. Digital media and social networking is a key area for all PR professionals and managing our clients in terms of how and where they communicate is increasingly important".