The email I received from Virgin Airlines yesterday announcing their “Day in the Cloud” scavenger hunt reminded me of a question that many have been asking recently: when is digital, social?

The rise of online digital media, like YouTube, and even Twitter has given marketers new tools to ignite viral messaging online. Often, their use is described within those enterprises as examples of “social strategies,” but is it?

Digital media, like YouTube, allow brands to create relationships between the brand and people. It invites and makes easier the sharing of content between people – and in the process, also popularizes (even re-purposes) a lot of otherwise little-known stuff. It is much cheaper for Foot Locker to put up a video on a YouTube channel hoping that you’ll find it and share it than to buy banner ads or a TV spot, hoping for the same result. Essentially, digital media became electronic platforms designed to reduce marketing or customer acquisition or service costs between people and brands – and usually one person at a time.

But, does that mean that these types of initiatives also qualify as social strategies? I think not, although it’s true that sharing content with others does have a social element associated with it. The litmus test of a true social strategy is one in which brands create tight connections with their customers by creating or leveraging relationships among people – on or offline. Sears’ My SK-You created relationships with and among Sears customers by asking for their collective input on a variety of things like merchandise and store layouts. Value was created for Sears by using that feedback to improve their stores and their offers (and recently, their earnings), and created value for the community by engaging them to create a better experience, including discounts and previews of new items.

So, back to the original intent of this post. Is the Virgin America promotion a social or digital strategy? I say no, but would love your view.