Maria M – författare

Essay from the year 2012 in the subject Communications - Public Relations, Advertising, Marketing, Social Media, grade: 1,7, Queen Margaret University, language: English, abstract: This paper aims to address the question, whether an understanding of traditional communication theory can contribute to the effective use of social media or not. The question will be addressed by utilising relevant theoretical frameworks as well as examining current developments and dominant debates within PR practice. In order to discuss this topic, it is first necessary to define what traditional communication theory is and what role it plays within PR practice. Thus, the assumption of PR to be an interdisciplinary study constituted of humanities, sociology and communication appears important. Whilst humanities studies focus on the viewpoint of rhetorical and discursive approaches and sociology studies understand communication in terms of systems process by adopting systems theory, communication studies address PR from different mindsets . Human communication is explained with psychological concepts; persuasion is considered to be a goal of both mediated and direct communication; and mass communication focuses on media relations theories and media effects. Derived from this we can conclude that communication theory can be identified as an element of PR practice. Correspondingly. the use of social media is a technique of building media relations, and therefore a subject of mass communication. However, these considerations do not explain which part of communication theory can be identified as traditional. Communication is inevitable in public relations (PR) practice, because it contributes to the building of good relationships between an organisation and its stakeholders with the desired outcome of earning understanding and support and influencing opinion and behavior . PR practitioners manage relations to community, employees, consumer and other stakeholders by understanding and using communication concepts and strategies. Recently, the communication practice of PR practitioners has been challenged by the heavy influence of the revolutionary character of the internet. In other words, they face the challenge of adapting their communication strategies at the same pace as the new technologies and tools are developing. Especially the rise of social media provided a rich debate ground for PR practitioners, PR theorists and academics of different disciplines.

Master's Thesis from the year 2012 in the subject Communications - Public Relations, Advertising, Marketing, Social Media, grade: 2,0, , language: English, abstract: The developments in the digital word introduced new communications channels in the Public Relations (PR) work, which encompass technologies such as social networking. PRand communications practitioners generally accept this development as an advantageous phenomenon. However, recent research on social media has shown that the PR industry in the nonprofit sector lacks a full integration of new media to its full extent in order to be more efficient. Limited research has been carried out to explore the challenges in the adoption of social media channels in this particular sector. This study sought to explore the experiences and perceptions on the process of social media integration in an international NGO. By using the findings of semi-structured interviews of the staff and that of the content analysis of the deployed social media channels, it aims to investigate the effect of social media communication on the relationship building with the supporters through dialogue. The study revealed that different concepts such as dialogical communication and relationship building have enormous value within the online PR work in organisations. The new online platforms can be used for building relationships with stakeholders by embracing two-way communication which leads to a mutual understanding and commitment from the donors. It seemed that strategic social media adoption is also dependant on the organisational culture and power structures in it. Providing for a different understanding of organisational goals and the value of social media on the management level can marginalise a successful contribution of these channels to the strategic communications and fundraising work. The conclusions from this research represent a broad theoretical framework for further research into the effects of social media on successful PR practice in NGOs on a local, national and international level.