SmartPulse — our weekly reader poll in Smartbrief on Social Media — tracks feedback from leading marketers about social media practices and issues. Paul Chaney, Internet marketing director for Bizzuka and member of the SmartBrief on Social Media Advisory Board, helps create the questions and analyzes the results. We run the poll question each Wednesday in our e-newsletter and feature Paul’s analysis on this blog.
Last week’s poll question: Should companies ever outsource their social-media activities?
- No, this runs counter to the idea behind social media, 56%
- It depends, 25%
- Yes, if it makes sense financially, 15%
- I’m undecided, 3%
“Ultimately, the best-case scenario is for organizations to own social media in-house. However, I believe there is room for some degree of outsourcing so long as there is transparency in the relationship. In other words, don’t appear to be someone you’re not. If you’re an outsourced content provider, let that be known.” — Paul Chaney
Edited to add: Paul posted on this very topic on his own blog last week, which generated a lively discussion. Check it out.