SOCIAL MEDIA AS AN EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION AND FEEDBACK PLATFORM FOR PUBLIC RELATIONS

SOCIAL MEDIA AS AN EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION AND FEEDBACK PLATFORM FOR PUBLIC RELATIONS

Abstract
The core objective of this research was to examine the influence of Social Media as an effective communication and feedback platform on the Practice of Public Relations using Global Communication Nigeria Limited as a case study. Basically, the use of social media has increased among consumers around the world, causing an increase in the adoption of social media as tactics and means of sharing information and interactions among many public relations professionals and its publics. Technological Determinism Theory was employed to justify the research objective. The quantitative research design was used in which cross-sectional survey method was adopted while the data collection instrument was a questionnaire. 100 copies of questionnaires were administered to one hundred respondents who were drawn using simple random sampling technique within the GLO Office, Ibadan. The data collected were analysed and interpreted using simple statistics frequency and percentage table method. Findings of the research revealed that Social media are an effective tool for communicating and redistributing news from traditional media sources. Finally, it was recommended that digital media or new media should form part of the curriculum for undergraduates in mass communication and public relations, in particular, this will equip them for digital practice.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1       Background to the Study

Advancement in modern technology which resulted in building computer/internet in short information and communication technology (ICT) in the late 20 century and with more powerful and sophisticated ones in this 21 century which has transformed the world into a global village as postulated by a Canadian English professor, Marshal Mcluham.   This new technology has compressed the whole world into a single electronic to where information about far and near can be exchanged and shared with just a click of mouse.   Internet being the host of many other media tagged socio-media like: Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Ebay, Ebuddy, Eskimi, 2go, Yahoo, Google e.t.c making information distribution faster, cheaper and easier. The arrival of this information and communication technology has affected and the usual shapes of every human activities ranging from education to agriculture, business, mass communication, politics, health.   However, the practice of public relation is not exceptional as ICT has influenced the PRS being practice in this century.   Carrying out project work relating to the effect of social media on the practice of PRS will lead to the definition of ‘core word’ like public relations from different perspectives.   According to the institute of public relations, “public relations are a deliberate planned and sustained effort to establish and maintained mutual understanding between an organization and its various publics.   Therefore, there is no gain saying in the fact that, the practices of PR in this century has moved from manual to the digital public relations.

Digital public relations or an e-public relation is the latest concept in corporate reputation management.   It is the practice of public relations through the new ICT, it is an innovation concept that is computer mediated yet it is cheaper.   Today organization and clients are making greater demand as on public relations professionals that are more ICT creative, more innovation and more efficiency in