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
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...
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).
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.
The development of social media becomes more frequent in various parts of the world. It makes the field of public relations experience changes both in the field of theory and practice. The changes are not directly caused by the presence of social media, but social media offers many opportunities for public relations practitioners to interact with the public through the adaptation of technology and integrate it into their daily activities (Curtis, 2010)
Seitel, F. P. (2007). The Practice of Public Relations. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Prentice Hall.
As the years begin to progress Public Relations is being shaped and modified because it is known to have many meanings. According to our text “public relations is a planned process to influence public opinion, through sound character and proper performance, based on mutually satisfactory two-way communications” (Seitel, 2007). Using this definition as guidance has helped in the research process during the 1989 crisis of Exxon Valdez. There were many things that the researchers have found to be informative. Therefore a brief summary will be given in the areas of...
What is public relations? PRIA (2014) defined that it is the process to build, maintain and reinforce mutual understanding between an organization or individual and its publics by the designed, planned and sustained effort. Also, it can be understood as a practice of managing the flow of information between an organization or individual and the public.(Grunig& Hunt 1984) However, these two definitions cannot fully describe the term of “public relations”. A long-standing CIPR definition mention a concept of “goodwill”.(Oliver 2009, p. 11) It implies that PR not only refers to publics’ awareness of the information about an organization or individual, but also highly
Grunig, J. E. (2009). Paradigms of global public relations in an age of digitalisation. PRism,
As organizations seeks ways to increase profits by filtering into international markets, many turn to the field of public relations as a way of reaching cross-cultural markets. Factors such as values, cultural differences, language barriers, beliefs, etc…in order to successfully promote an organization's products and services. Public relations practitioners have the responsibility to be the mediator between the organizations and public(s). According to Murphy and Dee (1992), " Public relations makes organizations more effective by building relationships with stakeholders in the environment that have the potential to constrain or enhance the mission of the organization." This role also involves disseminating and seeking information to the public. This information/feedback provides the public relations practitioners and the organizations with insight as how the publics perceive the organization.
Public relations professionals are strategic communicators. These professionals are often tasked with everything under the sun such as, managing the consumer and stakeholder’s perception of the company, writing press releases, manage a crisis situation, plan events, and work with the media. Within this field of work, there are various job titles with different job descriptions. The public relations panel provided a glimpse into the public relations world and provided useful information for entering the field.
To begin with, these words can be defined and analyse; The term Public Relations first appear in 1827, Eric F.Golman mentioned that O.P Hoyt used the term to describe the concise information of the public opinion (Goldman 1978). Today there are many different definitions of the topic but the generally accepted was offered by the Foundation for Public Relations Research and Education in 1976. They defined it as a management function which helps to build up common lines of correspondences, comprehension, acknowledgement and collaboration between an association and its publics;
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
Communication is now instantaneous. Electronic communication has come a long way in the past century. It started with person to person communication via the telegraph, eventually evolving with devices like the telephone. Communication became quicker and the ability to mass communicate became available to a select few. In recent years further development of the internet has made it possible for an individual or a business to mass communicate on its own. Started as a way for individuals to communicate and connect with one another over the internet, social media has evolved into a valuable tool for business. Social media is not only beneficial to modern business, but necessary.
Seitel, Fraser P. (2007). The Practice of Public Relations (10 Ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.