Public Relations Presence in Social Media
Public relations practitioners have seen the impact of
social media for a company and the importance it has as a channel of
communication. (Phillips, 2009, p33) Social media are online mediums in which
companies and consumers are able to communicate, or socialise online, with one
another. Traditional styles of communication such as information in print were
a lot slower and due to social soon as something has happened or if news needs
to be released. Through having a social media account such as Facebook or
Twitter, publics are able to follow these business’s accounts and receive
updates as soon as they happen.
A new age important public relations tactic is running a
social media account. Accounts such as these allow their publics to remain
updated on new things happening in a company and also give their feedback.
Al-Deen and Hendricks state “if utilized with forethought, Twitter can be a
valuable and useful resource in the social media stratosphere.” This medium of
social media is ideal for shorter messages to be sent out to publics such as
information regarding new deals or responding to customers who contact the
company in this way. An example of this is the brand Office who have their own
account on twitter specifically set up to assist their customers with any
queries they may have (@OFFICEshoeshelp). Through doing this it gives a very
personal response to their customers and shows that they value their customers
and want to make sure they have the best experience possible. Using Twitter as
a way of releasing information may not always be the best public relations
choice for a company because there is a restriction of 140 characters per
tweet. It is essential that a company use the most effect source of social
media, through blogging a company does not have a restriction on the length of
a message they send out. This would
allow for a longer message, such as a press release, to be released while still
allowing their audience to post comments in response and interact with the
company.
Gattiker (2013) suggest that while social media is a good
public relations tactic to use it must be used with a solid plan behind it, if
it is created with no clear goal then it has a strong possibility to be a
hindrance rather than help to a company. Any tactic that is attempted will not
work without a clear direction though with social media it is sure to fail
without guidance. If a company set up a social media account and their
customers used it as a form of contact to discuss issues and the company didn’t
have a designated member of staff running the account problems could occur. The
customers would feel they were being ignored and no longer trust that
company. Social media is a brilliant way
for companies to relate to their publics but it is essential they monitor it
and know what their aims are through it.
Bibliography
Al-Deen, H and Hendricks, J (2012) Social
Media Usage and Impact. Lexington Books: Plymouth
Gattiker, U (2013) Social
Media Audit Measure for Impact. London: Springer
[online] DawsonEra
Available through https://www.dawsonera.com/abstract/9781461436034
[Assessed: 15th January 2014
[online] DawsonEra
Available through https://www.dawsonera.com/abstract/9781461436034
[Assessed: 15th January 2014
Phillips, David. (2009). Online PR: a practical way to developing an online strategy in the world of social media. 2nd Ed. CIPR.
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