Why social media are neither cheap nor easy

Hugh Stephens blogs at Ragan's PR Daily:

Social media requires a significant investment to start and sustain. That includes internal costs (resourcing, training) and often external costs (marketing to consumers, prizes for your communities and even a consultant or two). 

But the attitude that you can easily create a social media strategy for an organization with more than $10 million in turnover in a half-day workshop is ludicrous. Sure, it's doable for a tiny nonprofit, but not for a large brand in need of a strategy that will reach across many marketing channels for a vast range of products.

Similarly, the idea that no one department can own social media is nearsighted. Yes, you have a PR department that manages media inquiries, but does the PR department actually provide quotes to the media or complete interviews? Generally, no. The job of the PR department is to facilitate connections and liaise with a range of internal departments.

While some group has to own and be responsible for social media, that doesn't mean that a small, defined group controls the purview of social media.