Social Media and Public Relations

Judy Motion is Professor of Communication at the University of New South Wales, Australia. Robert L. Heath is Professor Emeritus at the University of Houston, USA.Shirley Leitch is Dean and Professor of Communication at the Australian National University, Australia.

'Motion, Heath, and Leitch have done excellent work in the past and this is no exception. The area of social media and public relations has long needed an authoritative and critical text and Social Media and Public Relations fills that void.' - Michael L. Kent, Professor, University of Tennessee Knoxville, USA'Social Media and Public Relations provides an insight into a growing area of focus in social media while tying in emerging trends and historical perspectives in public relations. This book helps explore the current issues, risks, opportunities, and challenges involving social media from the audience perspective, which can be applicable for practitioners and researchers – adding a needed area of discussion in social media research and practice within public relations.' - Karen Freberg, Assistant Professor, University of Louisville, USA'Social Media and Public Relations disrupts the notion that social media has ameliorated public relations. Motion, Heath, and Leitch question the relationship between public relations and social media to reveal the complexities and tensions between social media cultures and the promotion-oriented goals of public relations. Sharply written and scrupulously documented, this is a must read for scholars, practitioners, and students interested in the future of social media in public relations.' - Adam J. Saffer, Assistant Professor, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA

• 1. Identify the Problems: Social media and public relations  2. “Don’t Do Anything Stupid”: Social media affordances, policies and governance agendas  3. Create Yourself: Corporate identity for interconnected publics  4. Speak the Truth: Transparency, power/knowledge and authenticity  5. Engage: One-way, two-way, and every-way  6. Connecting with Creativity: Worlds, identities, publics as content production and co-production  7. Activist Power: Critical public engagement  8. Protect Yourself: Issues of privacy and regulation  9. Know Your Risks: A collective orientation  10. Navigate the Issues: Situating power/knowledge within public relations  11. Public and Private Clashes and Collaborative Dialogue  12. Conclusion