This briefing explores social media team roles and responsibilities, whether to insource or outsource, how to work with agencies, and where to look for advice on skills development. It is an excerpt adapted from Econsultancy's Social Media Strategy Best Practice Guide.

A social media team of one can manage social channels, provide servicing, support and create brilliant content and engagement, delivering better results than a larger team with agency support. Social media can also successfully be absorbed organically into organisations without the need for a social media team or strict governance, while the best agencies might not only take away resourcing issues but also become a core part of the team.

But as platforms evolve, and as social media moves beyond the domain of brand marketing/communications and further into research, customer experience and ecommerce, mid- to large-sized organisations may need to rethink their structures. As such, developing new roles and skills, reorganising and integrating teams, and re-establishing the support roles of agencies has been something that many organisations are working through.