Question
Explain how digital and social media have changed the practice of public relations. Explore how corporate communications, media relations and crisis communication are influenced by new media technologies. Outline how social and digital media can be used for image, reputational purposes.
Discuss how new digital media helps to facilitate two-way communication and analyse how theories of public relations apply. Please refer to contemporary public relations theories to support your answer, using references to literature, current case study examples and academic research.
Answer
Digital Media in Public Relations
Introduction
The speed and the accessibility of the social media have made it the highly popular for the communication with the stakeholders. The social media and the internet have revolutionized the communication system of the organizations. The business organizations use the social media methods to communicate directly with the stakeholders and the consumers.
Context of the Essay: The digital and the social media are commonly used by the business organizations in establishing better public relations with the customers and the stakeholders. In the last few years, the public relations field has undergone a lot of changes. The technological advancements and the growth and the popularity of the social media has been
Purpose of the Essay: The purpose of the essay is to examine the impact of the social media on the public relations of the organization. In the present competitive world, it is important that the organizations constantly kept in touch with the customers to build brand image of the organization. The social media can assist the organization to connect with the customers instantly.
Outline of the Essay:
Public Relations: The public relations can be defined as a strategic communication process which defines how the organization and their representatives will communicate with the media. The business organizations use public relations to influence the perception of the customers and create a positive brand image.
Public Relation Theories: The public relation theories define different types of communication used by the organizations to communicate with their stakeholders and customers. The theories provide guidelines for the accuracy, communication, tactics and strategies. The two way symmetric models is an effective model for the public communication process with the help of digital media. The aim of the dialogue is to establish dialogue with the customers and other stakeholders. The feedback from the customers will be used for changing the organizational practices in the organization.
An Overview of the Essay: Internet and the digital mediums have changed the way the business organizations communicate with their customers. The accessibility and outreach of the business organization has expanded with the digital media technology. It has also contributed to the competition among the business organization.
Various techniques have been introduced to engage the audience and uplift thee bran image of the organization (Matthews, 2010).
References
Matthews, L. (2010). Social Media and the Evolution of Corporate Communications. The Elon Journal of Undergraduate Research in Communications 1(1), pp. 17-23.
Albarran, A.B. (2013). The Social Media Industries. Routledge.
Kawasaki, G., & Fitzpatrick, P. (2014). The Art of Social Media: Power Tips for Power Users. Penguin UK.
