Social media platforms have so many different and valuable uses for companies nowadays. They
can help provide an insight to the consumers and potential consumers, along with allowing brands
to interact with the people. Social media platforms can reach a much higher audience rate as well
as span greater distances to help brands market globally. On these platforms, companies can
highlight not only their products but also humanitarian ventures and push their values and missions
for the greater good of showing the company's culture. Explained by Cardon (2021), competence,
caring and character are what credibility consists of; All of which can be highlighted on these
platforms.
Public relations team members hold an advantage when it comes to controlling the narrative of a
situation that may arise whether good or bad for a company. a They can specifically target a small or
larger scale audience depending on the issue at hand. Information, updates, awareness, and
education are just some of the tools used in order to successfully handle an online PR issue.
Social media platforms can be utilized by posting relevant information pursuant to the company's
mission and values such as ways they give back to the communities or what they do to stay
involved with consumers and even employees. For example, my company holds a yearly picnic for
employees and they post the pictures on their social media page. They also do blood drives,
donations, and community events all of which get posted to the page as well. This helps people feel
connected and helps build that trusting relationship between the two.
Social media can be utilized to communicate internally and externally. From my own experience,
internally my organization utilizes social media to keep employees and stakeholders informed when
it comes to major organizational changes, events, and wins. I believe such communication internally
and externally can create trust with stakeholders and the general public because it shows a level of
transparency and that the company is open to engaging with their communities. a
Social media can be utilized to address public relations issues to create and grow trust with those
they are communicating with, and this is the paramount goal for those in public relations (Charest,
Bouffard, & Zajmovic, 2016). As I discussed with my own experience, public relations can utilize
social media to show transparency and build meaningful connections to their audience (Charest,
Bouffard, & Zajmovic, 2016). a
Internally public relations professionals can utilize social media to build internal relationships,
appeal to media, and allow research deep dives for their industry (Mekky, 2019). Externally social
media plays a major role for public relations. For example, it allows one to virtually reach anyone
they want, such as a new reporter for example (Mekky, 2019). Social media also provides a
company and PR department with their own media channel to control (Mekky, 2019). Externally,
social media also allows an organization to market and brand themselves to wider audiences than
ever before (Managing and Leveraging Workplace Usage of social media, n.d.).
Social media can be utilized to support culture, strategic vision, values, and the mission. An
organization can use social media to quickly spread information regarding the organization and in
turn all employees to feel involved and connected to the organization’s vision, mission, and values
(Managing and Leveraging Workplace Usage of social media, n.d.). Employees can then feel more
connected to the organization and see the big picture when it comes to the work they do. This may
also help lead to increased employee engagement because they are aware of the company’s state
and feel empowered to be a part of what is going on.
social media use both internally and externally, because social media is such a huge part of work
within companies these days in addition to communicating the brand externally. Building trust is
the foundation of credibility, both internally and externally. My company has an internal social
media page which includes announcements on important company topics and encourages
employees to post their personal life events, and fosters genuine engagement. My company has
offices in several cities, and received some feedback that employees who were in other cities
outside of the headquarters felt left out of the communications, so an effort was made to include
employees in all locations, which also demonstrates caring in building trust. (Cardon, page 17) My
company also sponsors a lot of volunteer activities and makes giving back to communities a key
component of our work culture, and always shares pictures on our social media of these activities.
It builds community with a purpose.
Externally, much of public relations work is building and maintaining trust. I think this quote from
the article was key: "above all, community managers must be credible in order to create these
relationships in an authentic and transparent manner." (Charest, 2016) As Cardon explained,
competence is a key element of trust. (Page 16) Businesses must not only be present on social
media, but show genuine interaction, and this explains how to create a genuine, credible presence:
"It is imperative to first identify the objectives and targets in order to develop relevant content
strategies. For example, the organization must transform marketing objectives into content
objectives, and identify the type of community desired. Organizations must also favour certain
platforms likely to meet, not only the objectives and targets of the organization, must also the
interests and information and communication needs of their audiences."
As an example of this strategy, the Wendy's Twitter account has a reputation for quippy, sarcastic
social media posts which appeal to its target audience--modern young adults, and this is a great
way to advertise their food products. In contrast, my employer is an insurance company which
wants to be seen as dependable and trustworthy to an older demographic. Making sarcastic social
media posts would be counterproductive to these goals. Knowing your audience, and what your
audience wants from you, is the key to a successful social media strategy.
References
Cardon, Peter. W. (2020.) Business Communication: Developing Leaders for a Networked World.
Fourth Edition. University of Southern California. McGraw-Hill Education.
Charest, Francine; Bouffard, Johanie; and Zajmovic, Ema. (2016.) "Public relations and social media:
Deliberate or creative strategic planning." Public Relations Review, Volume 42, Issue 4, Pages 530-
538. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2016.03.008.
Charest, F., Bouffard, J., & Zajmovic, E. (2016). Public relations and social media: Deliberate or
creative strategic planning, ScienceDirect. https://www-sciencedirect-
com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/science/article/pii/S036381111630090X?via%3Dihub a
Managing and Leveraging Workplace Usage of social media, (n.d). SHRM.
https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/tools-and-
samples/toolkits/pages/managingsocialmedia.aspx a
Mekky, M. (2019). How social media is changing the face of PR. Forbes.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2019/02/21/how-social-media-is-changing-the-
face-of-pr/?sh=28e755f8724f a
Cardon, P. W. (2021). Business communication: Developing leaders for a networked world (4th ed.).
New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.
