The Three Roles of Social in the Enterprise

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Welcome to this week's installment of Social Media Monday!
I've been researching the state of the field of social media within the enterprise (the largest companies) for about two years now. My first note: it's a constantly moving target. Where we are today, where we were just one year ago, and where we'll be in early 2012 are entirely different animals. If you want something established, Social Media is not for you.
If you want new and exciting, you've come to the right place.
As promised Saturday and again yesterday, here is a little about the three roles of Social within the largest organizations. I can't stress enough, results vary tremendously by company. Note: annual pay is an average within the US.
Social Media Community Manager. Pay: $50k. This is not a management position per se, but the term "community manager" is prevalent to describe one of perhaps several official tweeters for the company. This position is as likely to fall under customer service as under marketing. Think of this role as strictly tactical/reactive, although many community managers are earning their stripes by taking it upon themselves to think and act more strategically.
Social Media Leader. Pay $90-120k. Typically, this is the leader of the social media team within the enterprise. Management sees this, again, as a tactical/reactive position - when old-school executives decide their company needs to "get social" in order to keep up with the market, often a manager is appointed and given a small team and a smaller budget to "make it happen."
Some notes: Of the three positions I've researched, this one is the least settled. 1. Where does this leader fall on the org chart? 2. What prior role did they play within the company? Often they're hired from the outside; job descriptions I've read for this look like a train wreck, as the person tasked with creating the description may know little about Social beyond their own Facebook dabbling. 3. What should they be tasked with once they're hired? 4. Do they have any say in the formation or updating of the company's Social Media policy? 5. Are they de facto Strategist, or do they report to an official SM Strategist? 6. How will the company know when they are doing well? For many organizations, it helps to think of this role as a stew that as yet has no recipe.
Social Media Strategist. Pay $150k (up to $250k). There are two ways this position can go: actual expert in charge of crafting and implementing a well-constructed strategy, or help desk manager. Results vary accordingly.
Companies with a Social Strategist may bury this quasi-executive in the org chart, or - still rarely, but increasingly - they can elevate the Strategist as high as a direct report to the CEO (thus the pay discrepancy). It is important to note two things: 1. Most SM Strategists still report to marketing, and only about half directly to the CMO. 2. Most companies I've seen with a SM Strategist who reports to the CEO or at least who stands independent of the marketing department do so because the company has an image problem it is trying to "fix."

I can't stress this enough: this is a blog post. It is cursory at best. Yes, I've collected a tremendous amount of data over the past two years, most notably over the last eight months as I've started my deep-dive into all things Social. If you read this and think you're an expert on Social now... oh, boy.
What are your observations? Better yet, for those of you who are Social Media Strategists or practitioners, what is your own experience? I read every comment carefully, and I often learn from what my readers share. I'm eager to hear from you!