The conceptualisation of online PR activities by PR practitioners in Jordanian universities (original) (raw)

Advantages and disadvantages of online public relations from the lens of internal practitioners: evidence from Jordan

British Journal of Mass Communication and Media Research, 2023

This study explored the benefits and disadvantages of using online PR from the perspectives of university PR practitioners, employing in-depth face-to-face interviews with 22 PR managers from public and private Jordanian universities based on a purposive sampling technique. This research's main objective was to determine what these practitioners felt were the benefits and drawbacks of online PR. The data were analysed using NVivo 12 software to develop themes. The findings showed that the PR practitioners conceptualised online PR as a part of the modern technology revolution, effective and sustainable in this era. They said that online PR offered several benefits like potential cost savings, the ability to spread information, resolve studentrelated problems, and raise their organisation's visibility. However, they were concerned that online PR could lead to disadvantages like added costs because of the need to hire online experts. Among the recommendations drawn from the results are that strategies and their concomitant tactics must be developed to reach specific publics, qualified employees with the necessary skills must be hired and their skills updated with frequent training, employees must be incentivised to achieve their best performance, organisations should monitor social media to address and solve problems of their key publics, and metrics must be created to measure the impacts of online PR quantitatively.

Conceptualizing the Management of Online Public Relations among Public Relations Practitioners

Annals of Contemporary Developments in Management & HR (ACDMHR), 2019

Modern technology has become a very researched area in PR. Nevertheless, the literature examining online PR still in its early levels. Internet has become essential and has initiate to revolutionize the PR industry. Despite the study of technology and its effect on PR, online PR remains a non-standardized concept used as the varied studies often rely on the specific conceptualization of the practitioners and his experience in this field. This paper intends to show the conceptualization of online public relations among public relation practitioners and illation the factors that led to the understanding or lack of understanding among the practitioners. The paper follows conventional structure to elaborate on the topic for future scholars through proving a critical insight. The paper offers insight o the management of online public relations among the public practitioners with a detailed review of prominent literature to encourage future scholars for empirical attention.

Digital Public Relations: Trend and Required Skills Kehumasan Digital: Tren dan Kompetensi yang Dibutuhkan

Jurnal Aspikom, 2021

Public Relations have evolved adjusting its practices to fulfill the needs of its users. In this case, technology possesses a great influence on how PR operates and interacts within society. Various institutions move to digital Public Relations, relying heavily on digital platforms, forcing Public Relations practitioners to master a new set of skills. This research aimed to map digital public relations trends and investigate the digital public relations competencies needed. A number of public relations practitioners from various institutions were interviewed to meet the objectives. A qualitative descriptive approach was used to answer the research questions. The research found that today traditional and digital public relations work synergically and are still needed by organizations. Apart from having good communication, interpersonal, writing, analytical thinking, and soft skills, a public relations practitioner is expected to be familiar with the digital platform and have the ability to design digital content.

Promoting online media relations: Public relations departments’ use of Internet in the UAE

Public Relations Review, 2007

This paper discusses the use of electronic publications by public relations departments in the United Arab Emirates, to reach their 10 key publics online and to gather information and monitor data to perform their tasks and to promote and develop their relations with 11 the news media. Findings of the study show that all 24 organizations have a homepage, but only two thirds of them are posting their 12 publications on the net, and only one third are using electronic newspapers to monitor their coverage in the media and to gather 13 news, data and information of importance for the various tasks they perform. Only three organizations out of 24 have an online 14 newsroom, and only two have a virtual tour about the organization. None of the surveyed organizations' Web site has a film or 15 videos. Organizations in the United Arab Emirates still have a lot to do to take advantage fully and rationally of what interactive 16 communication, Internet and online publications are offering for a better performance and more effective public relations.

Social Media in PR

2016

The aim of this study is to investigate and discuss the reality of the usage & influence of Social Media in organizations in the United Arab Emirates, focused study is to identify the status of studies and research in the functions of Social Media in institutions, and to identify the background of Social Media in organizations. Questionnaires have been implemented by 76 employees in the various bodies and institutions mentioned above in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain. Researchers find that organizations or companies that simply use Facebook to broadcast offers or post to advertise don't have the similar demand as those that engage customers and asking them for their opinion.

The Use of Social Media Among Public Relations Practitioners in Malaysia

It has been found that the emergence of new communication technology had a huge impact on the public relations practice in Malaysia . Wright (2001) claimed that , the internet had put an overall impact on Public Relations and journalism. Previously, the used by traditional media had reached only a few numbers of audiences; in contrast , the used of new communication technology had increased the productivity of the public relation assignment with the stakeholders (Marchese ,2007) .For instance , the media utilization had been developed into varied forms including text, images, audio and video through the development of forums, message boards, photo sharing, live podcasts , video sharing, Wikis, social networks, professional networks and micro-blogging sites and others. With the use of social media in organization, the Public Relations department have a vast responsibility for monitoring an managing the social media websites and blogs. Hence , the new media have proven its efficiency in either corporate organization .

Satisfying Public Relations: The Promise of Social Media in the UAE

This paper assesses the state of PR in the UAE in relation to global media, and highlights needs in this area for both public and private enterprises. The paper explores the types of Social Media (SM) used for public relations in the UAE and what it plays in PR departments. The main research focus of this paper is how PR departments are utilizing social media to engage in advocacy work. Employing a qualitative method, interview data is taken from a cross section of 40 organizations throughout the UAE. It addresses perceptions of benefits, challenges, public acceptance, and future strategies of social media in relation to global SM as a whole. TheA limited number of research articles about the use of the internet in the UAE organizations have been published, but the author found no previous published studies specifically focusing on the use of SM in PR in this region, and this is the first paper that focuses on SM in 40 different organizations. It also offers suggestions for media planning and education strategies that can contribute to the future of PR in the UAE, and suggests further research focusing on the socioeconomic effects of social media be conducted and incorporated by educational institutions in the UAE and by private businesses with a vested interest. These new technologies are critical for improving organizational and PR processes in the UAE.

Social media use by public relations practitioners in Malaysia: An exploratory study

This exploratory study endeavored to examine if social media is being used by Public Relations (PR) practitioners in Malaysia to communicate about their organization with their constituents and if it is producing the desired results for their PR efforts. A previous study by Fitch (2009a; found that PR practitioners in Malaysia and Singapore were hesitant to use new media because it meant a loss of human connection. In the present study, a total of 26 PR practitioners of which 18 were PR consultants responded to an online survey. A reliability test conducted on three completed questionnaires conveyed a 0.95 Cronbach Alpha value indicating a high internal consistency of the questionnaire. Two cross-checking questions were included to increase the validity of this study and to check for gaps between an organization's existing PR practice and its future practices involving social media use for communication with its strategic publics. This study found that a large number of PR practitioners (22 or 84.6%) were actively using social media to communicate directly with their various constituents about their organizations and such communication involved their mission statements, value statements, the latest business news, updates and announcements. Social networking sites were the most used social media among all 22 (100%) respondents. 16 (72.7%) respondents agreed that social media communication with their constituents produced the desired results. These desired results included an increase in awareness, branding and popularity of the organization as well as an increase in sales. However, while respondents felt that social media puts the word out faster in addition to the fact that a majority of people are connected to it, there was caution from some practitioners that social media cannot be a standalone tool in PR. The implication for PR is that, it is not only about the tool being used but about the content being disseminated and the PR objective to be met suggesting that social media coupled with traditional media as well as direct audience-engagement needed to be used to support PR objectives. This study is valuable as it allowed the researchers to obtain responses from practitioners which are otherwise not easily obtainable. Most importantly, the findings of this study contradict Fitch's (2009b) research that PR practitioners in Malaysia were hesitant to use new media because of a loss of interpersonal or human connection.

How web 2.0 and social media are changing public relations practitioners’ work: a qualitative study

Int. J. Technology Enhanced Learning, 2016

This study employs a qualitative study with forty-three in-depth interviews, to explore the perceptions of 20 public relations executives working in digital interactive agencies on the use of web 2.0 and social media in communication practice of Public Relations, and the adoption of online interactivity within their communication strategies. The study took place in four countries: Cyprus, Greece, Romania and Malta. The results highlight the serious challenges these practices post to organisations, and identify internal and external factors that affect the day-to-day communication practices and decision-making processes. It concludes that the communication sector perceives the current context as a great opportunity for growing and consolidating the strategic conception of marketing and public relations.

Virtual public relations in the United Arab Emirates: A case study of 20 UAE organizations' use of the Internet

Public Relations Review, 2005

This paper analyzes the use of the Internet as a public relations tool by 20 government and private organizations in the United Arab Emirates. It concludes that, among other findings, UAE public relations staff members continue to play their traditional role in real world situations but when it comes to online communications, they do not seem to have a big say in controlling the flow of information to the public. This may suggest that what appears online about a certain organization may be in tune with what is carried out in real world communications.