Around mid-decade we went through a phase where corporations and agencies considered creating jobs such as “Manager, Blogger Relations”.  To this day that makes a lot of sense if you happen to work for a company that provides blog software, blog design, blog hosting, blog monitoring. For other kinds of companies, not so much. Because for other types of companies, blogs are just another communications vehicle. So are microblogs, like Twitter.

Chances are good that your company needs deep expertise in social media. Fill that need. Position yourself as the lead on the tech or the techniques. That’s a good thing to do.

But don’t let your expert role turn into a marketing silo. Social media specialization is a skill set — and a hot one — but that’s all it is.

Many C-level executives are deciding they can’t afford the luxury of marketing professionals with limited expertise, no matter how hot. They know that’s not the way markets operate. People touch companies through multiple channels — broadcast media, digital media, store visits, review sites, picking up the phone, writing an email, reading a newsletter and most importantly, through everyday casual 1-on-1 conversations taking place offline with people they know and trust. Blogs and Twitter alone won’t cut it — even Comcast’s Frank Eliason says so.

So get out there and bring your company into the 21st century. Just don’t let anyone stuff you into a marketing silo along the way.