Social media: The implications for the public relations practice

Guest speaker Darren Wilcox delivered a refreshing and highly engaging lecture on social media as a strategic communication channel, as well as touching on other areas. We were presented with the opportunity to ‘tweet’ our notes along with the hashtag #smthefuture creating an interactive experience that was very enjoyable. In addition, it demonstrated how effective social media is as a communicative platform and reinforced its importance within the public relations (PR) industry.

Every aspect of how we exchange information is feeling the impact of the technological revolution (Brown, 2009).

Today, anyone with access to a computer, an Internet connection and basic literacy can make his or her voice heard to a global audience (Phillips and Young, 2009). Brown (2009) advocates, “We are seeing the democratisation of the means production, distribution and exchange”, through the rise in user-generated content, as social networks are transformed into vast public spaces and word of mouth drives influence. Web 2.0 has made our conversations increasingly digital. This has profound consequences for the PR industry.

More than four out of five marketing and PR bosses plan to increase their investment in social media during the next year (PR Week, 2010). This transition shows that PR now considers social media an important medium for communication. However, does the industry understand how use to this new medium successfully?

Social media tools such as blogs, YouTube, Flickr, Twitter and Facebook allow the average person to create content that can be shared with a worldwide audience (Lewis, 2010). The use of social media Web sites has increased exponentially, to the point where Facebook.com has in excess of 350 million active users (Econsultancy, 2010). According to Grunig (2009), these new media have the potential to make the PR profession more global, strategic, two-way and socially responsible.

Sheldrake (2008) argues that the social web has taken us back to the original definition of PR; “the building of relationships and the management of communication between organisations and its publics” (Thomsen, 1996). This can be argued because social media provides unique opportunities for PR professionals to engage actively and directly with consumers (Clapperton, 2009). Furthermore, it represents a powerful, and additional, channel to first listen to publics, and in turn, build two-way paths of conversations with them (Sheldrake, 2008). Hence, social media fits coherently into Grunig and Hunt’s model for two-way symmetrical communication (1984).

Facebook is the most recognised social media service (Vorvoreanu, 2009). It is a micro-website that allows people to exchange interactive, user-submitted content among a network of friends through personal profiles and comment discussion lists (Phillips and Young, 2009). The Web site introduced Facebook pages in 2006; “distinct, customised profiles designed for businesses, brands, celebrities and more to represent themselves on Facebook” (Pearlman, 2008). This created a direct, innovative platform where brands can generate and respond to content in a personal manner (Scott, 2010). Moreover, a user must tick the ‘like’ box to be able to access a Facebook fan page. This automatically means “you are not spamming people with information that they are forced to read” (Robertson 2008, cited Scott, 2010). However, companies must be mindful of Facebook culture, and their communication with the public must conform to Facebook social norms (Vorvoreanu, 2009).

Organisations shouldn’t be on Facebook just for the sake of it, as there will be no direction or consistency in their existence. PR practitioners must formulate a specific strategy before ‘jumping on the bandwagon’ and creating a Facebook page. This notion is echoed by Richards (Econsultancy, 2010), who argues that putting a page up onto Facebook, with no coherent social media strategy, is unlikely to do anything for an organisation. Regularity is also seen as an important factor whilst using Facebook as a communicative tool. If an organisation is on Facebook, but they aren’t updating their page frequently, this may damage reputation.

For an organisation to be seen positively within the online world, PR practitioners should facilitate social activity through the use of interactive content such as mobile applications, games and events. This is reiterated by Kent and Taylor (1998) who believe both organisation and public should contribute equally and with the aim to build relationships.

The Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange Project is a great example of an organisation that utilised Facebook to create a social community which appealed to a mass audience. The social media campaign used a voting system that united people and made users interact with one and other. Not only did Smirnoff put on a fantastic nightlife experience, they also took the time to interact and create a more competitive atmosphere. Thus, social media campaigns have the potential to positively engage consumers and consequently, enhance organisational perception on a large scale.

However, numerous practitioners remain rooted in the traditional paradigm of PR, in which cognitions, attitudes and behaviours of publics are influenced through asymmetrical communication (Grunig, 2009).

"Many practitioners are using new media in the same ways they used old; as a means of dumping messages on the general population rather than as a strategic means of interacting with publics and bringing information from the environment into organizational decision-making" (Grunig, 2009).

Facebook founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg (2006, cited Brown, 2008) reiterates Grunig’s viewpoint saying, “for the last hundred years media has been pushed out to people, but now communications professionals are going to be a part of the conversation and they must do this by using the social graph in the same way our users do”. Thus, social media has the potential to revolutionise PR but only if a paradigm shift occurs in the mind of practitioners (Grunig, 2009).

In conclusion, social media holds the potential to make PR more symmetrical. Thanks to Web 2.0, there is now space for PR practitioners to engage and in turn, influence consumers in a way that is personal and authentic. However, communications professionals must be wary of the strong cultural values that lie within social media. Messages should not be invasive or ultra-frequent to the point of annoyance. Inside the social web, PR campaigns should seek to facilitate social experience by creating information, events or products that are desirable. This will help to stimulate brand loyalty, awareness and reputation – assets that are highly attractive to an organisation.