The Unification of Public Relations and Social Media
Crystal Mussenden
The following article examines the expanding role of public relations practioners as technology and new media arise. Specifically, it seeks to add to the debate of the role of social media in a media-focus society.
Abstract
There are hundreds of definitions of public relations (PR). The field’s founder Edward Bernays published “Crystalizing Public Opinion” which does not include public relations in the title although it is considered one of the most defining and highly regarded texts in the field. The hesitancy to place definitions and characteristics around the field has carried over to the 21st century where technology and social media are dominating cultural relations. PR practitioners and researchers are debating implementing social media tactics and questioning whether or not to embrace social media as a public relations tool. By analyzing literature that supports or rejects the practice of social media within the profession, this paper will look at the details of the debate and provide insight on how social media should be utilized in the field of public relations.
Background of Public Relations
The nature of public relations is constantly evolving. The official definition that Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) outlines on its website reads, “Public relations is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics.” Many researchers have set out to define these strategies and the best methods to achieve the desired relationships. Historically, tools like press releases, media kits and special events have been used to fuel excitement or gain awareness about an organization or an item. The method behind each tool changes with time as society progresses and more resources become available, but ultimately public relations is a calculated communications process used to build relationships.
According to Romanian researcher S. Gabriel, “Professionals warn that ‘traditional’ PR is only one of the branches of the activities, alongside advocacy PR and social media, each of the three having strong claims for attention and investigation.” More and more social media is being considered as its own arm of public relations. Due to social media’s function as a means of communicating with mass audiences and effective history of customer interaction and engagement, it is important to continuously evaluate how it is best used in collaboration with PR.
Some researchers believe that social media has the potential to transform public relations where Twitter, Facebook or Instagram campaigns go hand in hand with press releases and media kits. Others see social media as its own field, due to its complex nature, and believe that it should therefore be kept separate from public relations.
Background of Social Media
Since the emergence of online social platforms in the early 2000s, the use of social media has steadily and exponentially increased. Twenty-eight percent of all time spent online in the United States is spent on social media (Salem Press Encyclopedia). User-generated applications have captured the attention of people of all ages from across the world. Many companies are taking to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and many other user-generated social media platforms to connect with customers. Public relations has historically been a one-way communication where practitioners are sending out press releases and planning events without any real-time feedback. Social media is transforming that model and opening the door to customer engagement and interaction.
The Merging of Public Relations and Social Media
Many PR practitioners have embraced social media, but may not be using it correctly and taking advantage of its maximum potential. Wigley and Zhang (2011) conducted a study in 2010 involving 251 respondents who were members of PRSA. The survey revealed that more than 82 percent of PRSA members utilized social media to achieve their organizational goals. Wigley and Zhang also noticed that for over half of all respondents none or only one person is responsible for maintaining social media tools for the organizations (See table 1 below). This signifies that although organizations are increasingly using social media, they are not assigning social media specific positions. It is being grouped in the broad term “public relations” and people are often left to learn the mechanisms of it through trial and error.
Table 1: Number of people in an organization dedicated to maintaining social media tools such as Facebook and/or Twitter (Wigley and Zhang)
| Percentage | |
| None
One person Several persons |
13.6%
43.5% 43% |
Social Media Campaigns
There is always risk that comes with communicating with mass audiences, with social media this risk is even further increased. Researchers at Clemson University conducted a study on a social media campaign employed by Florida State University (FSU). In 2014, the official FSU football Twitter account tweeted, “#Noles Fans: Do you have a question for our starting QB Jameis Winston? Tweet us using #AskJameis.”
This seemingly harmless tweet quickly escalated into a crisis. According to Fox Sports, Jameis Winston was notorious for his numerous legal encounters. He was accused of raping a female student in December of 2012, but was not charged due to lack of evidence. Winston also reportedly stole crab legs and soda on two separate occasions, but no charges were filed – he later issued a public apology (Vaughan).
As a result of Winston’s reputation, the Clemson research study found a large majority of reply tweets to be negative (see table 2 below). “Audiences quickly ‘turn the tables’ and perpetuate undesirable views of the organization,” the research group concluded that the use of social media can be dangerous as it often yields undesirable outcomes (Sanderson). Everyone has a voice in the world of social media. Though FSU may have been targeting fans, anyone is able to reply and there is no telling what will end up as the main story.
Table 2: Participant themes from FSU #AskJameis tweet (Sanderson)
| Theme | # Of incidents | Example |
| Criticizing Florida State University | 454 | “Want to know how not to run communication or social media correctly? Go see #AskJameis. Bad bad bad move FSU” |
| Referencing Winston’s legal incidents | 448 | “Jameis don’t you hate it when girls get all crabby after you rape them? #AskJameis” |
| General sarcasm | 137 | “How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop? #AskJameis” |
| Insinuating Winston received preferential treatment | 121 | “How much do the local cops cost there? #AskJameis #AskFSU” |
| Mocking Winston’s intellect | 54 | “What has bred more progress for human—cultivation of crops or development of defined national/state identities? #AskJameis” |
This unpredictable vulnerability is the main difference between social media campaigns and traditional PR campaigns. Both strategies involve anticipating crises, but there is greater risk when not properly anticipated for social media. “It may be prudent for organizations to expect that there is a considerable probability that public relations practices via social media will morph into narratives that frame the organization unfavorably,” (Sanderson). With so many people using social media, conversations spread quickly – which can be good or bad. If a campaign is spun in a negative direction there is virtually no way to stop it. Public relations is about reaching as many people as possible, but control is lost when doing this through social media platforms and risk therefore increases.
A wide, unpredictable audience is just one of the many contrasting elements social media has when compared to traditional PR. Ultimately, the juxtaposition between social and traditional media is still a constant battle.
Implications
There are a lot of risk factors that come with the use of social media as a PR tool, but I believe they can be countered by proper training. When sharing information via social media as a public relations practitioner it is imperative that the differences between traditional public relations campaigns and social media campaigns are taken into account (see table 3).
Table 3: Key differences between social media and traditional public relations (Roy)
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Moving forward, public relations practitioners should be wary of the implementation of social media in the workplace. Social media is undoubtedly a tool that can and should be used to reach the public, but it requires the proper training and understanding of the forum. In Social vs Traditional Media, Roy lays out five of the differences between social media and traditional public relations media (Table 3). Only after embracing these differences can public relations and social media be put under the same umbrella. There is a need for an in-depth understanding of the nature of social media and how to frame information in a way to predict the results.
This is where I believe the field needs to move toward in order to avoid failure and crisis campaigns.
Conclusion
Special events, press releases and media kits are still the fundamental tools for public relations. However, it is important to realize alongside these common PR tactics are social media tactics that represent and belong to an entirely different PR campaign cycle.
With the vast and growing nature of social media, I do not believe it should be bundled with public relations without the proper understanding of the nature of social media. Research shows the use of social media growing among PR professionals, but with repercussions like the one witnessed in the Florida State University public relations crisis, the field of public relations has a dire need to be educated on proper methodology behind social media. If this development of hazardous social media campaigns continues, I prognosticate it will be necessary to draw a line between traditional PR campaigns and social media based ones.
Public relations and social media do go hand in hand, they both accomplish the goal to “[build] mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics,” (PRSA). It is impossible to separate the two, but it is far worse to apply the same principles without knowledge or consideration of how drastically different they are.
Works Cited
Allagui, I., & Breslow, H. (2016). Social media for public relations: Lessons from four effective cases. Public Relations Review, 42(1), 20-30. doi:10.1016/j.pubrev.2015.12.001
CERNICOVA, M. (2016). REDEFINING “PUBLIC RELATIONS” IN THE 21ST CENTURY. PCTS Proceedings (Professional Communication & Translation Studies), 93-6.
Gabriel, S. P., & Chia-Hern, K. (2016). SOCIAL MEDIA USE BY PUBLIC RELATIONS PRACTITIONERS IN MALAYSIA: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY. Journal Of Developing Areas, 50469-477.
Roy, B. (2016). Social vs. Traditional Media: Has the Battle Already Ended?. Public Relations Tactics, 23(4), 7.
Sanderson, J., Barnes, K., Williamson, C., & Kian, E. T. (2016). ‘How could anyone have predicted that #AskJameis would go horribly wrong?’ public relations, social media, and hashtag hijacking. Public Relations Review, 42(1), 31-37. doi:10.1016/j.pubrev.2015.11.005
Vaughan, K. (2014a. September 17). Jameis Winston incidents timeline. Retrieved from http://www.foxsports.com/college-football/story/jameis-winston-incidents-timeline-091714