Social Media Influence

DEFINATION OF SOCIAL MEDIA: Unpacking the social media influence in Public Relations.

According to Daniel Nations, social media is referred to different web-based sites that are used for interaction and engaging with one another; it is used to share ideas and information among users including text and visual, through virtual networks and communications. Types of social media that are used are Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, Twitter which now changed its name to X.  However, Whatsapp, Facebook and Instagram are the largest social media platforms that are used worldwide. 

Reason behind the innovation of social media

Social media was innovated for people to engage with each other for instance friends and family but later it expanded to serve many different intentions. In 2003 August, MySpace was created to allow users to connect with friends, share and express themselves through their posts and customizable profiles. Then boom! Facebook took over in 2004 February, and Facebook doesn't offer only interaction between people, but it also promotes businesspeople to market and advertise their products and services to the potential audience instantly on a global scale including the current social media we use.  

For more information (Myspace | History, Creators, & Facts | Britannica)

Categories of social media

Social media intention is to influence collaboration and co- creation between the individuals, businesspeople, and researchers for knowledge sharing. It also allows organisations and individuals to spread information, promote products, and raise awareness. People can showcase their talents by posting videos or images of what they do that differentiates them from the others and with these talents they can earn from it. Is this not great and amazing? Well on my side it is the wonderful experience because our talents can be spotted by people who will later sponsor your work, imagine travelling locally and internationally to showcase your talent. Social media is divided into 6 categories that serve a wide range of intentions and users' interest (social networking, social bookmaking, social news, media sharing, microblogging, and online forums).

For more information (Why Was Social Media Developed? - Twenvy)

SOCIAL MEDIA IMPACTS TO THE PUBLIC RELATIONS PROFESSIONALS:

Challenges 

• Keeping with the trends

The speed of social media trends becomes a challenge to the PRPs as they are new platforms that emerging regularly forming how audiences interact with content. Therefore, PRs are expected to dedicate their time on ongoing education, research, adaption, and making sure that their strategies align with the ever-shifting landscape of media.

• Lack of strategy

Public relations industry is a difficult industry as PRs must be able to utilize different types of social media to influence their audience. Without a strategic foundation the PRs attempts on social media can become aimless and fail to achieve meaningful results. So, a clear planning that includes intention of social media, choosing the appropriate tone, creating and captivating messages, and establishing metrics for measuring success is quite a huge burden for PRs to learn.

Opportunities

• Brand visibility

Communication in PR has improved through the promptness of media, it has changed from pitching to participating. It allows PRPs to connect with other PRPs and journalist. Sharing important content on social media that will cause traffic on the comment section will boost the organisation visibility, interaction, and it will increase the website visitors.

• Promotes customer loyalty.

The more the organization frequently monitor and manage social media by engaging and interacting with the public on platforms like Instagram it develops strong connection with them, and it promote positive relationship and brand reputation.

For more information ((PDF) Social media and Public Relations (researchgate.net))

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PRPs and FUTURE PRPs:

Tips. 

• It is essential in their career field that they build strong relationships with journalist, and bloggers as they share the common function of conveying newsworthy information. 
• Do collaboration with influencers to boost their brand visibility and reach more audience.
• Share valuable information like keeping the audience updated about the organisational developments, products, launches or events, and achievements.  
•  For campaigns and events make use of #hashtags and encourage your followers to use these #hashtags on their posts.
• Monitor what other people say about your organisation or product on social media as this allows you as a PRP to conduct research and evaluate the variety of media monitoring tools that are available to use.

For more information (The Role of Social Media in Public Relations | Flume)

To conclude, social media as it is a universal platform for entertainment, communication, and information sharing it will continue to influence our daily lives. Therefore, public relations practitioners must be aware of types of social media and on how to utilize them for different purposes.