Two-Way Symmetrical Communication and Interactivity on the Web: A Case Study of Two South African Non-Governmental Organisations (original) (raw)

Public relations – the tools for unilateral communication and dialogue on the Internet

Marketing of Scientific and Research Organizations , 2016

The development of technology and IT tools have brought about an extraordinary acceleration of the public relations branch around the whole world. We live in the times of revolution in communication, in which one year is whole eternity. Messages, the speed of their publication, the tools are changing. The sender and the recipient, who have become used to the dynamics of the message and the fact that it is and will be distributed without spatial and temporal limitations, are changing too. Netscape browser, wp.pl, the era of Wikipedia, Facebook, dynamically developing YouTube, or Nasza Klasa, Twitter and a whole range of other tools from the scope of social media, as well as monitoring systems – these are just chosen stages, or as others think, milestones in the pursuit of novelty and new forms of distribution of information. It is in times like these that public relations experts have to create, send and receive messages. Back at the end of 1990’s hardly anyone expected that such changes could take place. It is also hard to predict what we will see in a few, or a dozen years. One thing is certain, namely, that changes will be taking place and will be even faster than now. As the currently modern media already have a significant impact on voting decisions, or social transformation, the process is analysed and studied in detail. Moreover, what is subject to research is the question whether communication on the Internet should be based on mass communication, or rather on an individual approach. Private individuals make decisions based on their own needs, but companies have to analyse many factors that influence final decisions concerning the choice of tools, or the very decision concerning communication. Among these factors there are: scope, availability of tools, even the branch in which a company is active. This article includes a presentation of chosen tools used in the process of unilateral communication with the environment, but also tools used for dialogue. Unilateral communication discussed in this article doesn’t assume a response from the recipient, apart from a possible decision to take action in form of purchase, or clicking. At the same time dialogue gives the opportunity to interact, exchange thoughts and ideas, direct assessment. Moreover, the benefits from the process of conducting dialogue online, as well as the barriers hampering the dialogue will be presented. Also, the directions of changes taking place in association with the dynamic development of online communication tools and processes will be presented.

The Communication Model through Internet: Challenge to Public Relations Practices

One of the traditional functions of public relations is to influence perceptions of internal and external publics through communication. In order to accomplish this, appropriate use of communication channels is necessary to send accurate and timely information to the target audiences. Presently, more and more target audiences are equipped with information and communication technology that make them enable to access internet as the whole new arena where publics interact in a network of online computers. It means that whatever messages that are coming to their life would be checked across their online communities. This paper aims to show how internet link to public relations body of knowledge and how the development and the use of such technology have challenged the existing public relations practices.

Public relations practitioners’ perception of the world wide web as a communications tool

Public Relations Review, 2000

Interviews with public relations practitioners in organizations with Web sites explored perceptions about the value of the World Wide Web as a communications tool, and how it fits into the communications mix. Practitioners believe a Web site symbolizes an organization's competitiveness, enhances an organization's image, and increases the practitioner's personal sense of professionalism. However, they often have responsibility for a Web site without additional resources to maintain it and do not see it as a high priority on their to-do lists. Practitioners must juggle issues such as skepticism about the value of their site, inefficient evaluation methods, and control of the site.

The World Wide Web as Media for Public Relations: A Case Study of Organizations' Use of the Internet in Turkey

The transfer of online communications to public relations has also made an impact on the manners of public relations experts' information transfer for the target group. As the sole means of mass media that can send controllable messages, web has increased its importance in the field of public relations. By means of web, public relations experts can determine what will be said and when, how and who a thing will be said to. This study covering the Web sites as controllable means of public relations examines institutional messages and the manner of institutional communication found in web sites. This examination is carried out according to five essential criteria that are made up of institutional identity information, transparency, social services, two-way communication and direct media connections. Finally, although important steps have been taken on the way to "giving institutional information" of web sites regarding organizations in Turkey, it can be said that more efforts are needed to be transparent and interactive.

Public relations in an interactive age: the need for new practices, not just new media

2010

Much focus in industry and scholarly research is being placed on 'new' media and how these can be used in public relations practice. However, comparatively little attention is being paid to public relations practices in terms of whether Web 2.0 as a philosophy and way of practising, as well as a loosely described group of communication and media technologies, is being applied. This paper examines one of the major areas of public relations practice, media relations and publicity, and reviews current models and practices within the framework of Web 2.0 described by its leading architects and scholars as a 'philosophy' and a set of principles more than technologies. Analysis reported shows that there is a significant misalignment between public relations practices and contemporary theories and models of public communication, and particularly with conceptual shifts inherent in Web 2.0. It concludes by proposing a number of strategies for realigning public relations with ...

Examining the internet as a strategic corporate communication tool in public relations practice

The Internet as an innovative platform housing multiple channels of communication is largely responsible for the presence of businesses on the web space. As a result, businesses soon find themselves in a position, not only to feed Internet channels with content but also to manage the content vis-à-vis content on other platforms. In the context of the Nigerian financial services industry, this calls the attention of public relations (PR) practitioners who are positioned in the corporate affairs department to manage the image of the financial institutions they represent. The objective of this study, therefore, was to gain an understanding of the contributions in the literature with respect to the Internet as a communicative tool for businesses. Although the literature has little or no evidence from Nigerian markets, theoretical arguments indicate many uses of the Internet for business communication by PR practitioners resulting in a new communication model proposed by Hoffman& Novak (1996). An attempt to situate these theoretical positions within a local context led the researchers to carry out a pilot study which revealed that there is a gap between internet channels initiated by business and the business objective of opening up such channels. As a result, there is a tendency of such channels to target the wrong audience – calling for the need for further research with empirical evidence. Keywords: public relations, internet, corporate communication, media, image management

The Use of Social Media in Public Relations at Non-Governmental Organisations in South Africa

Journal of Economics and Behavioral Studies, 2018

Social media can be a useful tool in public relations in non-governmental organisations (NGOs), but do NGOs make use of social media in their quest for service delivery in South Africa? Social networking sites, blogging, email, instant messaging, and online journals are some of the technological changes that changed the way interaction between people and how they gather information. Although social media is mainly used for interactive dialogue and social interaction, the private sector soon realised that the web-based technologies (especially Facebook and Twitter) could also be a competitive business tool. Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) soon followed suit however at a slower pace than the general communication growth rate of social media in South Africa. This article examines if social networking sites have any impact on public relations practices of NGOs in South Africa – an environment where both customers and employees still struggle to take full advantage of social media....