Use, Value and Impact of Social Media on Public Relations Practitioners in the Fox Cities

And the current state of college curriculum

Jessica Gordon

The Social Media Revolution

A quick look at the phenomenon via a popular social media channel

Situation

Because this new form of communication is growing at a rapid pace, it is transforming the way businesses are able to communicate with their customers

PR practitioners are embracing social media as a valuable tactic to communicate with consumers

Social media has created a new style of marketing characterized by conversation and community

Importance

“Americans have tripled the amount of time they spend on social networking and blog sites” from just one short year ago (Nielsen, 2009) Businesses are taking note of this and acting accordingly when

implementing PR and marketing campaigns

As a future PR professional, it is important to understand how these channels: are being used impact the industry; and are valued

Understanding these new media and effectively utilizing them is key for upcoming PR professionals

Purpose of this Study

Discover how PR professionals in the Fox Cities are actually using these new media

Uncover the impact and implications social media have on the industry

Determine how much PR professionals value social media as a means to communicate with the public

Investigate whether university journalism and/or public relations programs are keeping pace with this ever-growing phenomenon by offering adequate curriculum for their students

Current Use of Social Media

Wright & Hinson conducted two studies in 2009

Both sampled 574 public relations practitioners in U.S.

Questioned overall importance social media had on their communications and public relations efforts

Also asked how important these new media should be to their efforts

Current use results: Search Engine Marketing was number one Blogs, social networks, video sharing and forums followed Photo sharing and social bookmarking (used to store, organize,

search and manage web pages) were least important

Social Media Instruction in College Classrooms

Social media have grown exponentially in recent years making it difficult for colleges to integrate the new technologies into their curriculum

No research has produced any evidence of universities trying to implement this phenomenon into their communications or public relations programs

Thus, gaining primary research is very important

Methodology Northeastern Wisconsin Public Relations Society of America

(NEW PRSA) members were surveyed via an online survey

The 19 question survey was modeled after the studies completed by Wright and Hinson in 2009

Survey received a 30% return rate

Six select northeastern UW university journalism and/or public relations department chairs were surveyed

Questions probed whether they have integrated social media into their curriculum, or if they have plans to do so in the near future

Four of the six department chairs responded

Research Findings

Question #1 and #2 compare actual use with the value of certain social media channels

#1 #2

Research Findings Nearly 70 percent of

respondents agree or strongly agree that social media have changed the way their organization communicates

Nearly 75 percent of respondents agree or strongly agree that social media have changed the way their organization handles external communication

35 percent of respondents disagree that social media have affected internal communication, but 40 percent either agree or strongly agree that is has

Research Findings

Over 75 percent of respondents agree or strongly agree that social media and traditional media should be used congruently

60 percent disagree that they are in conflict with each other

Research Findings

Research Findings

Research Findings

People who receive information from mainstream media expect these outlets to be honest, tell the truth and advocate a transparent and

ethical culture

People who receive information from blogs and other social media expect

these outlets to be honest, tell the truth and advocate a

transparent and ethical culture

Research Findings 90 percent of respondents do not believe that a research or

measurement study has been conducted regarding what employees are saying about their organization via blogs

Nearly 65 percent of respondents don’t believe research has been conducted about what members of other publics are saying about their organization via social media

More than half of respondents agree that PR pros should measure the amount of info being said about their organization; nearly 40 percent strongly agree

All respondents agree or strongly agree that: content being said about organizations should be analyzed PR professionals should analyze the impact this communication has on

influentials or opinion leaders PR professionals should analyze the impact this communication has on

attitudes, opinions or behaviors

Research Findings

More than half of respondents only spend 1 – 10 percent of their time on social media

More than 75 percent of respondents indicated that no one employee is dedicated solely to social media

Social media is used to communicate mainly with current (68 percent) and potential (55 percent) customers and the news media (68 percent)

Currently, more than 75 percent of respondents use social media to see what people are saying about their company as compared to their competition and the industry

Results from UW Colleges UW Madison

Does not have entire curriculum focusing exclusively on social media Social media is addressed in following courses:

Intro & multi media courses Strategic communications course

Madison has always avoided over specializing its curriculum In early stages of a curriculum review Note: Madison does not have a separate public relations program

UW Milwaukee No curriculum focused on social media use or implementation Social media are briefly addressed in following courses:

Media graphics Publication design

Currently not taking any major steps to offer social media curriculum, but may add more to current classes

Results from UW Colleges cont. UW Oshkosh

Currently, social media are taught in courses where the professor finds it relevant Courses that cover social media briefly:

Advertising media Public relations techniques Advertising copy, layout and production Advertising and PR competition classes

Stand alone course is in the works and will be offered in Spring 2011 Social media will become a part of most courses in the near future

UW Whitewater Some curriculum is currently being implemented regarding social media UWW also hosts various social media summits to educate students and community Courses that address social media:

Tactics I & II Offers a Social Media Optimization (SMO) course In the process of adding more social media curriculum to its Organization

Communication curriculum

Discussion of Findings – PR Practitioners

There is a discrepancy between the use of certain new media compared to its value

Social media HAVE changed the way organizations communicate

Social media and traditional media work together more than against

Social media and traditional media interchangeably influence one another

Social media are viewed as less accurate, credible, trusted and truthful than traditional media

Public relations practitioners are not measuring what is being said about their organizations even though they believe measurement is important

Time spent using social media is very minimal and no one employee is responsible

Discussion of Findings – UW Colleges

Social media have not been completely integrated into curriculum

All universities briefly touch on subject in some courses

Oshkosh and Whitewater seem farthest along

Madison is undergoing curriculum review, but is unsure if social media will ever be a stand alone course due to the avoidance of over specialization

Milwaukee is not taking any major strides because it is currently understaffed

Recommendations

Because social media are viewed as untrustworthy, inaccurate and not credible, stricter regulations should be implemented and enforced i.e. A bloggers code of conduct

Public relations practitioners should focus on the measurement of social media more attentively

College campuses should implement stronger curriculum that better prepares future public relations professionals to use, implement and measure social media

The End

Questions, comments or concerns?