Who Owns Social Media?

When deciding where Social Media belongs in the client and in the agency world, a number of questions need to be answered.

My point of view is that Social Media is another media channel in the same way that press, or DM or the web are - therefore it comes down to what you are trying to achieve.

When brands step into social media they have to provide real benefit to the users. Who is best equipped to make these relationships and deliver positive outcomes for both parties? I’d say the client and agencies who have a deep understanding of the user base and their motivation, need, aspirations. This has to be coupled with an understanding of why the interaction takes place and the drivers or user need for social interaction about a subject/area etc. So who in the client and in the agency has that insight?

If we see the purpose of Social Media to be a lead generator, then it should come out of that area of the business that is responsible for generating those leads and is accountable for the ongoing measurement and evaluation.
A social platform is a channel that will forever build your brand, encourage engagement, and drive site traffic, leads, and commerce. So the maintaining, managing, tracking, and optimizing of the online channels and technologies is key. So who in the in client manages the relationships with the agencies that perform those tasks?
By having search, online media, creative, development and tracking technology under one roof qualifies an agency to deploy and manage a robust social media channel alive with good content, creative and interactive applications

And who will be responsible for governance from the client end to ensure that there is no conflict between any PR/awareness strategy and the lead generation strategy. So again, it depends on what you are trying to achieve.