use, value and impact of social media on public relations practitioners in the fox cities and the...
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Use, Value and Impact of Social Media on Public Relations Practitioners in the Fox Cities
And the current state of college curriculum
Jessica Gordon
The Social Media Revolution
A quick look at the phenomenon via a popular social media channel
Situation
Because this new form of communication is growing at a rapid pace, it is transforming the way businesses are able to communicate with their customers
PR practitioners are embracing social media as a valuable tactic to communicate with consumers
Social media has created a new style of marketing characterized by conversation and community
Importance
“Americans have tripled the amount of time they spend on social networking and blog sites” from just one short year ago (Nielsen, 2009) Businesses are taking note of this and acting accordingly when
implementing PR and marketing campaigns
As a future PR professional, it is important to understand how these channels: are being used impact the industry; and are valued
Understanding these new media and effectively utilizing them is key for upcoming PR professionals
Purpose of this Study
Discover how PR professionals in the Fox Cities are actually using these new media
Uncover the impact and implications social media have on the industry
Determine how much PR professionals value social media as a means to communicate with the public
Investigate whether university journalism and/or public relations programs are keeping pace with this ever-growing phenomenon by offering adequate curriculum for their students
Current Use of Social Media
Wright & Hinson conducted two studies in 2009
Both sampled 574 public relations practitioners in U.S.
Questioned overall importance social media had on their communications and public relations efforts
Also asked how important these new media should be to their efforts
Current use results: Search Engine Marketing was number one Blogs, social networks, video sharing and forums followed Photo sharing and social bookmarking (used to store, organize,
search and manage web pages) were least important
Social Media Instruction in College Classrooms
Social media have grown exponentially in recent years making it difficult for colleges to integrate the new technologies into their curriculum
No research has produced any evidence of universities trying to implement this phenomenon into their communications or public relations programs
Thus, gaining primary research is very important
Methodology Northeastern Wisconsin Public Relations Society of America
(NEW PRSA) members were surveyed via an online survey
The 19 question survey was modeled after the studies completed by Wright and Hinson in 2009
Survey received a 30% return rate
Six select northeastern UW university journalism and/or public relations department chairs were surveyed
Questions probed whether they have integrated social media into their curriculum, or if they have plans to do so in the near future
Four of the six department chairs responded
Research Findings
Question #1 and #2 compare actual use with the value of certain social media channels
#1 #2
Research Findings Nearly 70 percent of
respondents agree or strongly agree that social media have changed the way their organization communicates
Nearly 75 percent of respondents agree or strongly agree that social media have changed the way their organization handles external communication
35 percent of respondents disagree that social media have affected internal communication, but 40 percent either agree or strongly agree that is has
Research Findings
Over 75 percent of respondents agree or strongly agree that social media and traditional media should be used congruently
60 percent disagree that they are in conflict with each other
Research Findings
Research Findings
Research Findings
People who receive information from mainstream media expect these outlets to be honest, tell the truth and advocate a transparent and
ethical culture
People who receive information from blogs and other social media expect
these outlets to be honest, tell the truth and advocate a
transparent and ethical culture
Research Findings 90 percent of respondents do not believe that a research or
measurement study has been conducted regarding what employees are saying about their organization via blogs
Nearly 65 percent of respondents don’t believe research has been conducted about what members of other publics are saying about their organization via social media
More than half of respondents agree that PR pros should measure the amount of info being said about their organization; nearly 40 percent strongly agree
All respondents agree or strongly agree that: content being said about organizations should be analyzed PR professionals should analyze the impact this communication has on
influentials or opinion leaders PR professionals should analyze the impact this communication has on
attitudes, opinions or behaviors
Research Findings
More than half of respondents only spend 1 – 10 percent of their time on social media
More than 75 percent of respondents indicated that no one employee is dedicated solely to social media
Social media is used to communicate mainly with current (68 percent) and potential (55 percent) customers and the news media (68 percent)
Currently, more than 75 percent of respondents use social media to see what people are saying about their company as compared to their competition and the industry
Results from UW Colleges UW Madison
Does not have entire curriculum focusing exclusively on social media Social media is addressed in following courses:
Intro & multi media courses Strategic communications course
Madison has always avoided over specializing its curriculum In early stages of a curriculum review Note: Madison does not have a separate public relations program
UW Milwaukee No curriculum focused on social media use or implementation Social media are briefly addressed in following courses:
Media graphics Publication design
Currently not taking any major steps to offer social media curriculum, but may add more to current classes
Results from UW Colleges cont. UW Oshkosh
Currently, social media are taught in courses where the professor finds it relevant Courses that cover social media briefly:
Advertising media Public relations techniques Advertising copy, layout and production Advertising and PR competition classes
Stand alone course is in the works and will be offered in Spring 2011 Social media will become a part of most courses in the near future
UW Whitewater Some curriculum is currently being implemented regarding social media UWW also hosts various social media summits to educate students and community Courses that address social media:
Tactics I & II Offers a Social Media Optimization (SMO) course In the process of adding more social media curriculum to its Organization
Communication curriculum
Discussion of Findings – PR Practitioners
There is a discrepancy between the use of certain new media compared to its value
Social media HAVE changed the way organizations communicate
Social media and traditional media work together more than against
Social media and traditional media interchangeably influence one another
Social media are viewed as less accurate, credible, trusted and truthful than traditional media
Public relations practitioners are not measuring what is being said about their organizations even though they believe measurement is important
Time spent using social media is very minimal and no one employee is responsible
Discussion of Findings – UW Colleges
Social media have not been completely integrated into curriculum
All universities briefly touch on subject in some courses
Oshkosh and Whitewater seem farthest along
Madison is undergoing curriculum review, but is unsure if social media will ever be a stand alone course due to the avoidance of over specialization
Milwaukee is not taking any major strides because it is currently understaffed
Recommendations
Because social media are viewed as untrustworthy, inaccurate and not credible, stricter regulations should be implemented and enforced i.e. A bloggers code of conduct
Public relations practitioners should focus on the measurement of social media more attentively
College campuses should implement stronger curriculum that better prepares future public relations professionals to use, implement and measure social media
The End
Questions, comments or concerns?
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