THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INDUSTRY
Executive Summary
Traditionally, public relations practitioners draw from a standard repertoire of communications techniques in an attempt to persuade journalists to select and disseminate their story to the general public. With social media, practitioners are able to by-pass traditional media outlets and directly reach a targeted audience instantaneously. This research paper is attempts to examine the extent to which the role of the public relations practitioner is evolving in response to the advent of social media.
To examine current thinking and practices surrounding this phenomenon, we conducted a literature review, in-depth interviews with leaders in the public relations field and a detailed survey of public relations practitioners.
Our findings suggest that social media has become a valuable tool in the practitioner’s arsenal. Usage of social media has increased across all sectors with the highest reported usage being amongst agency and corporate practitioners. Stymieing the growth of social media usage in other sectors are factors such as corporate culture and budget concerns. Our research revealed that the vast majority of practitioners believe that the use of social media compliments rather than detracts from traditional public relations tactics. As relationship building is at the core of public relations, social media has been adopted as an effective method of building and maintaining relationships with key audiences; a practice that enables the practitioner to develop more effective traditional public relations materials.
Introduction
Social media is changing the face of communications. Through a variety of channels, each one more innovative than the last, we can share good news, ideas and advancements in real time. By the same token, criticism, failures and gossip can also reach a widening audience faster than ever before. Social media is an ideal conduit of two-way communication. On one side you have a well informed audience and on the other, the gamut of groups, products and items they find newsworthy. With instant access to the opinions of the general public, practitioners of public relations have no choice but to pay attention to social media and its growing presence. To what extent, though, are practitioners to alter their traditional public relations methods in order to accommodate these ever-emerging communication techniques? Are traditional channels of public relations on their way out? With the ability to instantly reach journalists and enthusiasts around the globe, many wonder if the popularity and accessibility of social media will eclipse that of traditional public relations methods. This paper attempts to investigate the balancing act that practitioners have to conduct between traditional public relations practises and the new roles and responsibilities generated by social media outlets.
Our problem statement poses several questions about both the impact of social media on traditional public relations methods and to what extent adaptation to these new communications techniques is required or expected of public relations practitioners. Through primary and secondary research we seek to answer these questions while shining a spotlight on the constantly evolving sphere of social media.
Problem Statement
Social media is a new technology that is changing the landscape of public relations. The question this study will pose is: How is social media impacting the role of PR practitioners in the workplace?
The hypothesis is that social media will become a standard component of a professional public relations practitioners’ role. Some of the questions that need to be addressed in the research include:
· What is the definition of social media
· How can/should practitioners be trained to use social media?
· How can a practitioner successfully adapt or stay ahead of these trends?
· How does corporate culture affect the use of social media?
· How is social media understood by senior management?
· Is social media truly cost effective and how does that impact practitioner talent and experience?
· How do PR practitioners demonstrate return on investment (ROI) to senior management with the newness of quantitative and qualitative measurement?
· Does it isolate practitioners as technicians?
· What will social media titles and specialties mean in the long run for career development?
· Can it replace the way traditional outreach is done?
Methodology
The methodology used to research the impact of social media in the public relations workplace is a representation of primary and secondary research, analysis and evaluation, performed from both a qualitative and quantitative perspective.
The secondary research acted as a foundation in developing our problem statement and determining what elements of social media within the realm of public relations we wanted to examine. The secondary research included a literature review of approximately 20 peer-reviewed journal articles and textbooks by academic experts exploring social media and its impact, current and future, on the public relations workplace.
The literature review provided more condensed and targeted social media topics. As a relatively new aspect being facilitated in public relations, the literature provided an in-depth look at the current public relations environment as well as a suggestion of future trends.
Our primary research was formulated after our secondary research was evaluated and we were able to develop questions and strengthen our problem statement. Our primary research consisted of a general survey and one-on-one interviews with public relations practitioners.
The survey questions, distributed on Survey Monkey, elicited responses from 59 public relations practitioners and communications specialists. The survey explored the general understanding of social media, the individual’s personal and professional involvement in social media as well as their understanding of how and why social media is valued in the public relations workplace.
In addition, we posted a link to the survey on social media forums such as LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook for public relations practitioners and students of public relations/communications to access.
We interviewed ten top level public relations leaders on social media, who represented a wide range of sectors including public relations agencies, government, not-for-profit organizations and corporate. We also were able to interview a social media “guru.”
The interviews and our analysis aligned with our problem statement and our secondary research. The interview questions focused on what defines social media, how social media is used and implemented in organizations and the value of social media.
The survey and interviews worked in tandem to contribute insight to our problem statement and the direction of our research paper on social media in the workplace.
Literature Review
Analysis and Key Findings
Interviews with Canadian Public Relations Leaders
The group conducted interviews with ten key leaders in the public relations industry between June 8, 2010 and June 30, 2010. The interviewees were asked eight questions, based on the purpose of the study which was to examine the impacts of social media on the public relations practitioner. Although a few discrepancies exist in the views of each leader, the answers pointed to shared themes and trends not only on the use of social media, but also on the industry as a whole.
Defining social media
The common theme in all interviews is that social media is the use of web technology to have a conversation with audiences, or the cultivation of the relationship between the individual and a specific community. Warren Kinsella, President of Daisy Consulting group, described it as being “citizen driven, people are creating content and not just receiving” (personal communication, June 18, 2010). David Jones, Vice President of Digital Communications at Hill & Knowlton, explained the cooperative spirit of social media stating, “I define social media as a set of tools that fosters the consumption, creation, collaboration, sharing and discussion of content among a community of shared interest” (personal communication, June 12, 2010). Sandra Gabriel, TITLE, ORGANIZATION, gave a definition from the practitioner’s perspective, by stating that social media is “an outreach tool to say on top of what customers are thinking and saying, and it allows them to create marketing and communications plans that align better with their audience and produce maximum impact” (personal communication, June 24, 2010).
Is social media improving public relations?
When asked whether social media has improved the overall practise of public relations or detracted from it, most interviewees provided very similar answers. John Challinor II, Director of Corporate Affairs at Nestlé, stated that social media “has provided better access to targeted audiences but it has also provided a forum for all individuals and audiences to express themselves more publicly – with sometimes unfortunate results for a practitioner and his/her client” (personal communication, June 24, 2010). Michelle Blackwood, TITLE, ORGANIZATION, reported that “Social media has also contributed to the upward flow of information to PR practitioners by providing insight into the behaviour of our target audiences” (personal communication, June 24, 2010). Blackwood then added there are also detractions because, “our information now has the potential to exist alongside the work of anyone with an internet connection, so it is harder to position the work of PR practitioners as credible and reliable, when anyone can write a blog, for example, and design it to look as professional as the next.” Social media is providing practitioners with an opportunity to reach multitude of very specific audiences, however, it is creating a glut of information.
Challenges of implementing social media in the workplace
When asked about the challenges of implementing social media in the workplace, two distinct themes arose in the interviews: time management and human resources, and evaluation. Katie Gray, TITLE, of the Toronto Zoo, stated that the greatest challenges are “Resources needed to manage all the different social media outlets . . . there are so many” (personal communication, June 24, 2010). On the measurement side, Lisa Bednarski, Senior Vice President at Weber and Shandwick, contended that “Challenges are explaining what the return on investment would be. How can people understand the matrix? What is success, what does success look like? And that changes every day, there is no right way to answer, there is no answer to that question. So the challenge is for clients to understand that it is a bit of a moving target and budget” (personal communication, June 30, 2010). Andrea Karpala, Digital Communications Specialist at Faye Clack Communications brought campaign measurement in alignment with organizational objectives: “The greatest challenge with social media is ensuring that it is being used to achieve business objectives. Since there is no traditional social media measurement, it’s also difficult to measure success and convey the success to clients” (personal communication, June 28, 2010).
Criteria for using social media
The ten interviewees asked what criteria were used to determine whether to include social media as a campaign tool, nine of them indicated demographics were of great importance. As Challinor stated when asked what to consider, “First and foremost, the intended audience.” Christine Crosbie, TITLE, of the Ontario Science Centre, identified the following criteria that she uses: “Is this the way to reach our target audience? How do we measure if this is working? How will being involved in these platforms affect the perception and value of our brand? Are our competitors doing it?” (personal communication, June 24, 2010). Not specifically identifying demographics was Paula Morrison, Vice President at Temple Scott Associates, who rated budget as the most important criteria, “you don’t want to spend resources on something the (client) isn’t sure will bring in dividends. You can’t put a price on or measure “buzz” created by social media” (personal communication, June 18, 2010).
Budgeting for social media and perceptions of cost
Public relations leaders were asked about the perceptions of social media costs and how much budget should be allocated for social media. The general theme in the answers was that social media is cheaper than traditional media. It is not, however, necessarily lower priced in the human resource costs. Practitioners agreed there is a perception that social media expenses are lower than actual the cost of implementation. Karpala stated that, “Social media is a seemingly low cost tool, but in actuality it must be significantly budgeted for. Since accounts on social media platforms are generally free, it is often thought of as low-cost. But to really create an online community, there must be lots of time spent on community development and influencer outreach which results in service fees.” Bednarski added, “It really depends on the situation and what the best solution is for that particular challenge or opportunity.”
Is social media affecting salaries, titles and training requirements for practitioners?
There was a slight discrepancy in the answers to the question of social media affecting salaries and titles for practitioners. Jones, Kinsella and Crosbie argued that social media does not impact salaries or titles. Jones was very clear on this point, stating, “I don’t think it’s affecting salaries or positions at all.” While Gabriel and Bednarksi both believed that organizations (or agencies) are willing to invest in practitioners who are knowledgeable in social media. “[...] Savvy people who know what they are doing are few and far between so finding them is a challenge and keeping them is a challenge, so their salaries are particularly higher.” Specifically speaking as to whether social media training is an asset for practitioners, nearly all leaders agreed that training is indeed necessary.
Trends in social media
All interviewees agreed that social media in itself is a lasting trend. Most mentioned the evolutionary aspect of social media; the tools that can adapt will be the ones that have lasting power. Challinor stated that “Facebook, MySpace and Twitter will continue as long as they serve and protect the interests of their communities. As soon as they become too marketing-oriented and begin to sell off their value proposition, consumers will migrate elsewhere.” Karpala spoke to the use and importance of video and information sharing websites: “The McCann Erickson studies always show that worldwide people continue to use video as a main way to share info online. You’ll see lots of information sharing websites such as slideshare.com where people are literally sharing their intellectual property in the “social media spirit.””
Will social media ever replace traditional media?
When asked whether social media will ever replace traditional media, leaders in the field all unanimously agree that it will not. Social media is seen as a “compliment to traditional tools” (Karpala). Although the importance of social media and its usage among practitioners is growing, traditional media and face-to-face relationship building is seen as a core to the industry that will not be replaced any time soon. As Kinsella stated, “There are too many channels [in social media], and it can’t be commercialized. There is no single blog out there that someone can make a living out of.”