Do we Hire for Free Media?

Again, it is an entry related to media.  Hmm, let’s me clarify the title first. 

We = New Media Executive, Free Media = New Media (i.e. including internet, social networking, etc.)

In some typical organization, there is New Media executive to coordinate, maintain and manage the information on new media.  Their roles and scopes are important and yet in the other hand they are not needed in some situation.  A short instance here is that the Public Relation Practitioners, the Advertising and the Marketing people will take over their work.  So, do they hired for the new media since their roles is clashed and can be substituted with workers from others major?

Toyota endless battle for its (Silver) reputation is not as easy.

When comes to managing information on the new media, we have to understand that it is not as easy as the traditional media, which is rather less interactive and not timeliness.  People may give response a second after a post, and sometime, frequently happen in a Crisis, the fastest response to their questions or doubts are very crucial.  Without someone to manage this feedbacks and questions efficiently, it will caused  eventual disaster to the company reputation.  In the Toyota Crisis in 2010 for example, the giant automobile company has done well in their feedback response in their Facebook Official page, and hence ended the crisis faster.  It is because there is a number of people were coordinating the new media.  However, those people in this case are PRP and not the New Media Executive.  Since PRP is here, what is the need to have another person then?  If the information is related to build brand image, to introduce new product and service, it should under the responsibility of both Advertising and Marketing people even it is in new media. Again, their roles and scope since  to be not very strong. 

PRP has a plenty things to do besides coordinating new media.  This goes the same to Advertising and Marketing people.  With such big roles and responsibility, it will creates tremendous stress on them.  In addition, can you imagine how messy it is if there is 3 different departments is taking charge of one single work?  In such situation, the New Media Executive is more than needed.  Unlike the Toyota case which is a part of PR jobs to manage crisis, the regular feedback and manage information is not the major role for PR.  If it is to keep the new media interesting with plenty of fresh content, it is neither marketing nor Advertising people’s jobs.  When things come systematic, the organization can perform more smoothly.  Here, the new media executive has a very strong reason to exist.

Yet, if the company is not a big one, with less online activity, hiring them will not make any sense as their roles are so little that the others can take over.  In fact, hiring ordinary people without any qualification is enough to manage this jobs.  In short, to answer whether to hire new media executive is very subjective and depends on situation.