IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON PUBLIC RELATIONS

Title: IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON PUBLIC RELATIONS

Abstract
Public relations is dynamic and the handling of communications in the public spotlight and the use of
social media has intensified it. In this current era of democratized content, it is important for
organizations to develop modern methodologies of communicating with the digitally connected
customer. It will therefore require a shift in thinking that will move from strategy towards planning as
well as implementation and measurement. Professionals therefore have to discover new ways of
ensuring employee and public participation. It has become necessary to experiment with content
through the use of various social media channels and learn how to build and connect relations with
stakeholders using new technologies. The use of social media in public relations therefore assists in
shifting mindsets by uniting communications and colaborative technology.

INTRODUCTION
 Social media has become a valuable tool in public relations since it gives the organization a direct voice to speak to
the public. In public relations, communicating message using media will engage audiences in dialogue therefore
developing mutual understanding and ensuring the delivery of organizational objectives. Through previous modes of
media allowed for the transmission of information they could not cater to the human impulse to interact. The evolution
of media has therefore enabled improvement of PR practices. It provides organizations with the opportunity to better
understand public relations strategies. Use of social media in public relations has enabled listening to the audience and
reaching them individually and as groups. Social media has helped public relations to realize its full potential and
therefore led to the achievement of strategic objectives.

Maximizing on the use of social media in public relations will rely on the adoption of various skills to use the
platform in which one would want to engage in.The increasing use of social networks is therefore advantageous as it
ensures effective delivery of the targeted objectives. Due to the rise of social media usage among consumers there has
been an increase in social media tactics for public relations officials. The use of social media is increasing at a rapid pace
and it is therefore necessary to analyze the impact of social media and other media on public relations. Public relations
officials now understand the value and the implications of social media usage and they are capitalizing on it.The
implementation of social media grows in the public relations workforce and it is important to determine how this will
impact public relations procedures. Social media is therefore impacting how organizations communicate to their clients.

A social network is a structure that is created by social actors and these may be individuals or organizations. Social
media therefore allows users to form symbolic relations with each other. On social networking sites users form networks
by articulating a list of other users with whom they share a connection. Relationships and relationship building are the
cornerstones of public relationships. It is therefore necessary to understand that the use of social networks is a natural
form of understanding and evaluating public relations since it focusses on patterns of relationships. Social actors will
often create subgroups in which interconnections are more prevalent than the connections with others outside the
groups. An organization can therefore reach its public directly or indirectly through the use of social media networks.
Users are capable of taking unique structural positions within such a network. Thesestructural positions are able to
define the roles that such users play in the network.

Objective

 To investigate the impact of social media on public relations. The research will assess various ways in which
social media will improve the public relations procedures within an organization.
 To give recommendations of improving public relations performance through the use of social media.

SOURCES OF DATA COLLECTION

Both, primary and secondary data was collected for the study. Primary data was collected through a questionnaire
 Secondary data source: Secondary data is indirect data; it is already published data by other sources. In this
research we have referred secondary data from newspaper, websites, journals and videos.

LIMITATIONS:
 Time constraints while collecting the secondary data.
 Due to lockdown, it was difficult to gather information from libraries.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Sr. Date Source Author Review

No
1 February,2017 https://www.grin.com/document/262473 ILIYANA As social media changes
 STAREVA constantly, there is a continuous
need to frequently investigate how
social media is altering the PR
practice which is the main
justification and objective for this
research

2 April,2020 https://www.grand-pr.org/blog/the-impact-of- Since the invention of the internet

and therefore, the invention of
social-media-on-public-relations
social media, the public relations
world has not been the same.
Social media has become such an
important part of society, it’s hard
to imagine doing anything without
social media being involved. This
is especially relevant in the world
of public relations.

Implications of Using Social Media in Public Relations

Social media usage in public relations has considerable positive effects on the organization especially from a PR
perspective. It is therefore necessary to study how the usage of social media in the organizational setting assists
organizational procedures and especially public relations.It also analyzes the use of different aspects of social media as
well as how these affect how the organization operates. Taylor and Kent analyze how social media usage improves public
relations tactics and assists in professional communication.

Gillin (2008) also assesses the new social media usage as well as how this influences different perspectives of the
organization. The study analyzes the usage of social media initiatives within the organization and looks to determine
exactly how these influences how the organization functions. Through the article, Saffer, Sommerfeldt and Taylor look at
how the usage of Twitter has affected the organization. Furthermore it carefully analyzes various strategies that can be
used by the organization to improve public relations performance.Chou.Hunt and Beckford (2009).Have carefully
assessed the usage of social media in the US and manages to look at how this has influenced healthcare provision. The
article has also determined how internet health related strategies have successfully been implemented within the
organization.

Through this article one can understand the implications of healthcare usage especially in a healthcare perspective.
Flew (2007) looks at the usage of new media and analyzes the effectiveness of using this new media. Social media usage
has managed to maintain relevance in organizational aspects and the article therefore looks at how this has been
effectively done. Miller and Lammas (2010) have been able to analyze the use of social media especially in viral
marketing. Through the article one is able to understand how product developers use social forums to get various
reactions. Through the usage of social media it has become even easier for the product developers to implement new
technologies in the organization.Lovejoy and Saxton (2012) have carefully looked at how organizations can implement
the use of social media. The main focus of study as seen is the effect of social media especially in non
governmentalorganizations. Steyn et all (2010) has managed to understand how social media usage can apply as a tool for
bloggers’ implications of social media usage for bloggers has been explained in detail and one can see exactly how it
benefits their operations.

Valentini (2015) has carefully assessed how social media is good in the public relations profession. The article has
carefully analyzed how the usage of social media affects how organizations operate. The article has also used the
perspective of the public to understand how the usage of social media within the organization has improved how the
organization operates.Papasolomou and Melanthiou (2012) assess how marketing relies on the usage of social media.
Through the article one can understand how companies use social media to improve the organizational operations. It
offers a qualitative as well as quantitative research of how social media improves the organizations ability to market its
various products.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Qualitative Techniques

The use of in-depth interviews has been determined as the chosen method of analysis in this particular instance.
Thesein-depth interviews range from structured question and answer questions to fairly unstructured conversations.
Theuse of interviewing as a method of field research will ensure a greater validity than other methods such as surveys or
experiments. Interviews are more likely to have internal validity or measure and this will ensure a mutual understanding
between the researcher and the participant. The qualitative research will also rely on the understandingof the investigator
and it will rely more on credibility as related to validity. Various aspects of research can make it credible and this includes
the establishment of appropriate methods as well as the familiarity of the issue under investigation. The issue of
transferability is another important aspect in this research and this is concerned with the ability of the study to be
replicated. Interviewing is personal and relies on inferences as well as characterizations of the researcher and this is often
specific to the study. The researcher will also need to be aware of personal biases and experiences and how these may
impact the overall outcomes.

PRESENTATION OF DATA

Question 1

What impact has social media had on how public relations practitioners communicate?

90
80
70
60
 30
20
10 Respondents
Percentage

The above Figure shows that 79 people representing 73% of the total respondents agreed that social media has
changed0 the way media organizations communicate generally.
Internal communication External communication General communication
Question 2

What are the modes of social media platforms used by public relations officers?

40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Respondents
Percentage

The above figure shows that the modes of social media platforms used by public
relations officers encompasses Social Networks, Online videos, Newsgroup/Forums,
Blogs, Instant messaging,Socialbookmarking,Photo-sharing,Virtual
worlds,Wikis,Podcasting,andMusicSharing.However, 34 people representing 32% of
the total respondents agreed that instant messaging platform was more utilized.
Question 3

How has the use of social media enhanced the achievement of public relations
objectives?

35

30

25

20

Respondents
15
Percentage

10

0
Knowledge Tools/methods Attitude Relationships

The above Figure showed that the respondents generally felt that social media has
impacted most on public relations knowledge (28%), followed by relationships with
people (26%), the tools and methods of public relations (24%) and attitude(22%).
Question 4

What factors determine the preference of social media tools employed in public
relations practice?

35
30
25
20
15
10
Respondents
Percentage

5
0

Social Information Dialogue Publicity Advocacies

sharing

Figure shows that the respondents indicated highest preference for information
sharing, followed by publicity, dialogue, social and advocacies being the least. Many
of the respondents agreed that the social media were used to pass information on
services, policies, events and others that their department at work is involved with.
Question 5

What number of people can be reached by public relations officers through social
media?

50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10 Respondents
5 Percentage
0

1001,00010,000Over100,000

The above figure shows that the number of people who can be reached by social
media as revealed by the study was ambiguous. During interviews, most of the
respondents whose works were related to customer service and PRO responded
that in a day they could have inquiries from about 1000 people seeking clarifications
on services, procedures, and feedback.This implies that the inquiries that they
receive through emails, instant messaging, Facebook, Instagram, etc. on daily basis
can sometimes even go beyond 1000, which could be what the respondents based
their figure on.
Question 6

Which social media tools are mostly used for practice by PR professionals
 Facebook
 Instagram
 Twitter
 Pinterest

Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Pinterest

It revealed that the most popular site of communication with clients was
Facebook. The main reason according to clients is the ease to use as well as
quick accessibility and rapid response from the organization. Twitter was the
second most popular site with clients mainly because of the quick
response.Instagram and Pinterest followed next in that respective order.
 INTERPRETATION OF DATA

Question 1: Majority of the respondents agreed that social media has had a great
and significantimpact on how public relations practitioners communicate as it has
changed the way
mediaorganizationscommunicategenerally.Oneofsuchimpactsofsocialmediaisthatitn
owmakesit possible for people to interact with media organizations, especially radio
and television houses,to contribute to live programs and also make enquiry on
anything that appears not to be clear tothem.

Question 2: The modes of social media platforms used by public relations officers
encompassesSocialNetworks,Onlinevideos,Newsgroup/Forums,Blogs,Instantmessag
ing,Socialbookmarking,Photo-sharing,Virtual worlds,Wikis,Podcasting,and Music
Sharing.Itwashowever observed from the responses of the respondents that
majority of them still agreed thatinstantmessaging platform was more utilized, the
reason for this is not far-fetched; instantmessaging has become so popular
nowadays that almost everyone that has mobile devices canutilize its advantages,
devices like mobile phones, tablets, laptop computers, etc. are made suchthat they
have the facilities that make it possible to access instant messaging and media
houses have now incorporate the use of instant messaging into the ways that
people can interact with
them. With availability of internet access, various apps like Facebook, skype,

whatsapp, snapchats, etc. provide the means to have live video and text-based

chats.

Question 3:The respondents believed that the use of social media has enhanced the
achievement of public relations objectives; firstly, by impacting most on public
relations knowledge, followed by relationships with people, and also the tools and
methods of public relations, and lastly theattitude of those in publicrelations
practice.Technological advancement that brought about social media has really
helped a great deal in the area of acquiring public relations knowledge;internet has
made it so easy to for people to tap into the advantage of online encyclopedia
whereseveral of kinds of information can be obtained, and information about public
relations and itspractices are not also exempted. Information about new
innovations in term of public relationstools and methods which are yet be known to
all and sundry can quickly and easily be obtainedwith the aid of social media. Social
media has also enhanced the achievement of public relationobjectives in terms of
relationships with people and attitude of public relations practitioners; inthe time
past, internet was not easily accessible to people and so it was difficult to easily
haveinteractions with people remotely, the only way this could be done was
through telephone, fax or telegram which were relatively expensive and unreliable,
internet and social media have removed all these hurdles nowadays because
information sharing through social media is faster,cheaper, safer, and more reliable,
it should however be noted that good attitude especiallytowards the general
populace is the hallmark of a good public relations practitioner. It is against this
backdrop that social media has made it easy for public relations practitioners to
have good relationship with people.

Question 4: The responses of the respondents to the question “What factors

determine the preference of social media tools employed in public relations

practice?” indicated highest

preference for information sharing, followed by publicity, dialogue, social and
advocacies beingthe least. Many of the respondents agreed that the social media
were used to pass information onservices, policies, events and others that their
department at work is involved with. Social mediaprovide the means of passing
information across from one department to another within anorganization, it also
allows for sharing information across various organizations and
betweenindividuals. Aside from information sharing, it is also used for publicity
and advocacies whichmany onlinemarketers and other stakeholders are
nowmaking use of toreach their targetaudience. Social media is also used for
dialogue; instant messaging is the most used platform for this as it provides the
means to have a live chat that allows having instant conversations; this maybe in
form of video chat or text-based chat.

Question 5: The number of people who can be reached by social media as

revealed by the study was ambiguous. During interviews, most of the
respondents whose works were related to customer service and PRO responded
that in a day they could have inquiries from about 1000 people seeking
clarifications on services, procedures, and feedback. This implies that the inquiries
that they receive through emails, instant messaging, Facebook, Instagram, etc. on
dailybasis can sometimes even go beyond 1000, which could be what the
respondents based theirfigure on.

Question 6 : It revealed that the most popular site of communication with clients
was Facebook. The main reason according to clients is the ease to use as well as
quick accessibility and rapid response from the organization. Twitter was the
second most popular site with clients mainly because of the quick
response.Instagram and Pinterest followed next in that respective order.
 Conclusions
Social media has an important role to play in the modern organization and
establishing ways of using it within the PR setting will improve organizational
outcomes. Social media establishes the determination of a closer relationship
between the client and the organization and therefore has a pivotal role in
improving the organizational outcomes. Through the implementation of the
various recommendations that have been included, the organization will benefit
from the usage of social media.Organizations should also understand the
significances of social media in PR practices and develop strategies of ensuring
that it is effectively implemented in organizational frameworks.

Limitations of Social Media Usage in PR

It is however important to be cautious in using social media in PR practices and

this is due various factors. It is important to understand that a high number of
fans does not equal to success. Many organizations use the number of social
media followers as well as participants to measure effectiveness. It is however
superficial to measure successful practices based on these facts. Another major
issue is that it is difficult to measure the impact of social media campaigns and PR
practitioners often fail to properly analyze the outcomes of using social media
campaigns. Another major issue that has to be considered is the protection of
users’ privacy limits especially in data collection. Social networks themselves may
often limit the amount as well as the specificity of data collected and this is often
done to protect the privacy of social media users. Yet another concern is the fact
that data is often fragmented by platform and this means that it is difficult to find
all data required concerning the customer base through only one platform.

Data analysis is also tiresome especially since there is much concern about
specific outcomes. The process will usually be draining to all the individuals who
are involved. Another issue to consider in the usage of social media in public
relations is the possibility of business risks. There are a number of expected risks
with the use of social media and if one of the clients feel dissatisfied with the
service that the organization is offering then they may decide to air these
grievances in public. It may cause a loss of credibility to the organizations.There
are many occasions where customers have posted negative comments on the
social media profiles and this damages prospects with the new clients. If one
removes such comments then the clients may be suspicious that the organization
is covering up the truth. Another issue of concern is the legal risks that are
involved with the use of social media.

Social media usage will expose the company to a number of legal risks and
especially those that are associated with false advertising as well as a risk of
information that is considered to be private. Another major issue with the use of
social media is the occurrence of many platforms and this may confuse the
business owner. There are a number of social media sites and each one of these
has a different method of operation.Furthermore,each of these platforms appeals
to a different market segment and therefore operates in a particular manner. It
will be time-consuming in determining which of these social media sites would be
most effective for a particular organization. Another issue of consideration is the
hidden costs that may be associated with using social media for PR practices.
 SUGGESTIONS
Public relations specialists are gradually embracing the power of social media as a
public relations tool. It will therefore be necessary to establish an investigation of
how the use of social media improves the functions of public relations experts at
an organizational level. Research should also include various methodologies that
can effectively improve the usage of public relations at an organizational level.
The future of social media usage trends should also be investigated as this will
help give a better perspective on how social media should be used within the
organization. Another important implication of this is how to improve various
aspects of client engagement with the use of social media. It will ensure a more
effective determination of the role which social media has in PR.Another
important aspect of this involves study focusing on areas of improvement in social
media use in PR.The study would help improve outcomes related to the usage of
social media within organizations.PR practitioners need to challenge standing
organizational ecosystems and use social media to reinvent PR practices at an
organizational level. The challenge for PR practitioners does not only involve
finding the best way to incorporate social media strategically but also to
determine the best ways of measuring and evaluating it.

The primary objective of social media usage is to ensure two way

communication as well as mutual understanding between the organization and
the client. Future research should therefore establish ways in which this can be
done. It is important to realize that PR professionals understand how social media
is influencing and changing the practice. Further research should be carried out to
understand how these various social media tools can be implemented to improve
interaction with the customer base. Another area of future research involves the
methodologies that may be used to improve training of PR professionals to
embrace the use of social media in organizational PR activities. Such research will
have positive implications for PR practice and may possibly improve the use of PR
by organizations .It will also enhance the involvement of the PR team in ensuring
the professionalization of PR practices with the use of social media, thus leading
to positive outcomes.
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