Back in December, I wrote a post centered on the social media land grab.  This is what it boiled down to: agencies have recognized that social media presents an opportunity to add a revenue stream.  Of course, agencies always follow the money and suddenly everyone was looking to grab a piece of the proverbial pie.  It didn’t matter if you were a branding shop, a digital agency, an ad agency or a PR agency—everyone had a story as to why they were best suited for social media.

Unfortunately, that conversation has continued unabated seven months later.  Debate is running rampant on who owns social media.  But my question is: who cares?

The constant debate about who owns pharmaceutical social media is not only useless chatter; it’s detrimental to the industry.  While an ad guy is selling a campaign concept and a PR guy is selling the idea of building a reputation—the pharma marketer is left scratching their head.  We often counsel our clients on clarity and consistency of message yet we muddy the process for the very people we are trying to convince.  I may not have learned much in school but one thing I do know is that confusing the buyer is not a recommended selling tactic.

So to all my cohorts out there on the agency side, who are we trying to convince—ourselves or the prospect?

Instead of making a decision based on the type of agency you are considering, I would encourage pharma marketers to focus on a different set of criteria.  Ask questions that cover:

• What is your process for setting strategy?
• What is the most compelling reason for us to be involved in social media?
• How will you handle a crisis communications situation online?
• What is the goal of our engagement on social media?
• How will you help me identify, create and extend the value of my content?
• How will you identify the appropriate audiences for me to engage with?
• How will you measure success during an engagement?
• What departments do you plan on getting involved internally (i.e. legal, IT, etc.)?

These types of questions and many more will provide you with better insight on the right social media partner.  It might be a digital agency, or it might be an agency like mine.  But if the debate continually focuses on who owns social media—they are not right for the job.

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