Introduction My investigation was conducted in order to find articles from an approved list of academic journals that summarise a few of the key debates in contemporary public relations, which also discuss some of the current “hot” topics in the field. These included the role of public relations, ethics and professionalism, public relations and social media/new media, and measurement and evaluation in public relations. I selected the sources that I did for each topic as I feel they most clearly demonstrated how each topic was a current and relevant debate in public relations practice. Also, all of these articles are from scholarly journals and they all came from the approved list, so I know the information they provided is reliable. The role …show more content…
The article ‘Starbuck’s marketing communications strategy on Twitter’ by Viriya Taecharungroj discusses the research conducted to categorize the types of content used by Starbucks and evaluate its effectiveness on Twitter (Taecharungroj, 2016). The results led to the understanding that the marketing communication strategy used by Starbucks includes three types of original and retweeted content (Taecharungroj, 2016). The most important point to take from this research is that in order to be successful on social media platforms, brands need to use different types of content, place emphasis on visual content and also, make sure customer interactions are managed properly (Taecharungroj, 2016). This is relevant to public relations practitioners as social media is very significant to their field of work and it is important for them to understand its significance and impact. Starbucks use of social media is just one of many, many different ways the new technology can help public relations practitioners and often, twitter is the most beneficial media platform for this field. Social media can be used to build up a reputation and spread messages to an organisations publics. However, despite its positive impacts, when social media is not managed properly, it can be very harmful to the public relations practitioners, as well as to the organisation it is representing. This is where the …show more content…
The article, ‘The evolution of public relations measurement and evaluation’ by Tom Watson discusses how public relations practice has changed over time and discusses how research methods have changed from opinion polls and basic media analysis in the first half of the 20th century, to a greater focus on media analysis and the general agreement that the ideas of measurement and evaluation are to be discussed, rather than undertaken, in the second half of the 20th century (Watson, 2012). This article essentially explores the academic and professional themes that have characterised the development of the measurement and evaluation of the effectiveness of public relations practice over the past 110 years (Watson, 2012). This is relevant to public relations practitioners today as it is important for those in the profession to have knowledge and an understanding of what makes good public relations practice and what does not. It is also important to understand which methods worked in the past and which didn’t, in order to avoid repeating
Newsom, D., Turk, J., & Kruckeberg, D. (2013). This Is PR: The Realities of Public Relations
Public relations have been a prominent aspect of society for millennia, dating back to 50 B.C. with Julius Caesar and referred by the Ancient Greeks as “semantikos”, which is the practice of persuading people into a belief or action (Witman, 2000). Public relations is still been influenced by the contributions of key historical and contemporary figures including Benjamin Franklin and Ivy Lee.
In the U.S., there are four public relations professionals for every working journalist. PR people feed journalists based on their agenda. They may aim to get information and positive opinions about a business into the news media by using events, video news releases, blogging, newsletters, policy documents, and social media. In general, people are not aware of how public relations efforts have shaped the content of newspaper articles, blog posts or other online
We now live in a liberal democracy were public opinion influences political action. So as public opinion has sustained an influential presence within politics we have now seen the emergence of public relations within politics. According to Moloney public relations is “the discipline which looks after reputation, with the aim of earning the understanding, support and influencing opinion and behaviour. It is the planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain good will and mutual understanding between organisations and its publics” (Moloney, 2:2006). In relation to politics public relations is about maintaining a positive relationship with the public. Public relations main concern in relation to politics would be the reputation and image...
The discipline of public relations is a modern profession which has been in existence for only close to a century; however, it has already taken an important role in the fields of business, government, entertainment and non-profit organizations including educational institutions and healthcare organizations. Public relations professionals are required to have excellent organizational, interpersonal and communication skills and have the ability to persuade the public. It is imperative for PR professionals to effectively communicate with its public in order to establish and maintain a positive relationship. Furthermore, public relations professionals must have the ability to work under pressure and effectively manage crisis which may have detrimental effect on the company and the public it serves. State purpose of paper and an overview of what will be covered in the introduction
He summarised that social media if done correctly with public relations will with no doubt create a two way communications channel with the business taking ownership of their social responsibilities. By using social media as a two-way interactive approach public relations practitioners can reach their audiences and try to diminish suspicion that public relations is solely about reputation management. While most studies celebrate the impact of social media in public relations it should be of note that there are a few scholars who see that there can be obstacles to the two-way interaction it provides. ‘two-way communications exist only if there is a flow of conversations between organizations—not as abstract entities, but as assemblages of recognizable individuals—and publics’ (Valentini, 2015) Here Valentini highlights that without engagements from publics social media becomes a one-way dialogue matching that of traditional media. Further studies (Lee et al) also show that in some cases practitioners are aware and are of acceptance that social media to them and their business is a one-way dialogue process. This securing the notion that practitioners sometimes use social media to keep with the times and not as a way of understanding and effectively shaping relationships with their publics. Other disadvantages of social media for public relations is the time it takes to look after these channels, with social media being constantly available to their publics practitioners must stay proactive in keeping users engaged with the business along with having an accurate understanding of these ever changing channels and demographics. (BinShaikh et al, 2011, Norton, C. 2012) Likewise fraud is seen as a potential disadvantage as anyone can claim to be a
Social media marketing is a simple option to add to the current promotional tactics being used by an organization. It is no longer optional; social media is mandatory for nonprofit organizations (Stengel). Studies have shown that many people think social media techniques complement traditional media; even more believe that blogs and social media influence the news coverage in traditional media tactics (Wright and Hinson 2008). There are a number of professionals that believe embracing social media is the only way for public relations to continue in the digital age. For example, Robert J. Key explains, “Public relations in the digital age requires understanding how your key constituents are gathering and sharing information and then influencing them at key points; doing so requires strategies that embrace the digital age” (Wright and Hinson 2008). Larry Weber, a renowned professional in implementing global public relations campaigns, also agrees that the communications world is moving in a drastically digital direction and in order to communicate effectively, one must understand this transformation (Wright and Hinson 2008).
The result is a plethora of different definitions of the latter as well as various recommendations for improving each individually and applying them to the two-way symmetrical communication model from the public relations field in order to foster better communication and relationships with the public and how using social media can ease this process. Instead of recommending his own solutions to the issue upfront, Feighery maintains a professional complexion and authoritative tone citing multiple experts on the three areas of problematic situations in journalism. Additionally, in doing so he creates room for the audience to figure out their own opinion on the matter by using scholarship that does not all point the same direction, but presents what some experts think as well as an alternate point of view of what other experts think, acknowledging that there is some disagreement surrounding the
This paper will discuss and identify the effects of social media, and what will make social media better through research on best practices. Social media is an imperative public relations tool for companies to utilize in their business practices. Social media cannot be regulated so anyone can say what they want about the company, whether it is good, bad or ugly. Social media is developing rapidly and there are new platforms daily, making it necessary for companies to not only be familiar with those platforms, but also know how to reach the consumer through them.
With social media’s rise in popularity, consumers were given another platform, a viral one, to discuss companies and their products/services. While the main focus of public relations has always been to promote communication and goodwill, the practice also promotes publicity for their clients. With the growth from traditional tools to more sophisticated tactics like video news releases, webcasts, blogs, and social networking, public relations has been able to transform its effectiveness in just a few short years. Any company that does not include the use of social media, is missing the opportunity to obtain valuable information about their brand while also losing a chance to spread its message on a platform that reaches
Furthermore, a public relations career is much more closely grouped with media relations these days than journalism. In the book, Making it in Public Relations: An Insider’s Guide, it is said that Media relations is the most dominant function of public relations. Its basic role is the origination of press information and the handling of requests from the media about a specialist’s subjects and activities. After all, the main goal of specialists is to present a positive public image of their client to the public (Mogel). The possible types of clients and fields vary wildly from each other. Some specialists can work in public relations consulting firms and hold campaigns for many clients. Other specialists can work in the advertising departments of major brands and w...
Today, public relations is a complex profession by thousands of thousands of people all the world to practice. Almost all large and small organizations have their own public relations department or they need to outsource their public relations to a company. Public relations practitioners work for schools and universities, companies, governments, professional and trade associations, hospitals, hotels, non-profit charities, and other else more (Grunig, 2001). Therefore, PR is an important department for organizations.
Similar to advertising, public relations have an intense influence on the news we read, the products we buy, the public officials who are elected, and the laws that are passed (Rodman 2012, p. 329). A good example of this is the story of Henry Ford. In 1903, Henry Ford hired a famous racer, Barney Oldfield to drive a Ford car; this was a way for Ford’s name to appear on the front page of newspapers, a great advertising
... dimension which affects communication and the need to understand the new structures and frameworks that was altered due to the effect of globalisation. Organisations need to remain vigilant and credible to ensure clients are provided with accurate and reliable information. It is crucial for practitioners to maintain a mutual understanding and communication with the organisation and the public relation team to ensure dissemination of information is in line with the organisation’s goals and targets. Practitioners need to be open to the socio-cultural and globally influenced world and adhere to complex conditions, situations and even tensions in order to achieve successful public relation practice with targeted clients. Hence, I offer a consideration to better definite public relations that reflects and create a more balanced context in communication and interaction.
Public relations practitioners are often described as an organization’s voice, positioning messages in the media to ensure the organization is perceived as beneficial, relevant, and credible. According to Zoch and Molleda (2006), this role is defined as “media relations” and is a pivotal aspect of the public relations profession. Two theoretical frameworks, agenda setting and framing are at the core of effective media engagement. Agenda setting is the process determining which social issues dominate public discourse, and framing is the way each issue is presented to the public (Dearing & Rogers, 1996; Hallahan, 1999). First, public relations practitioners use agenda setting to garner media coverage for its organization and its stakeholders