Influence of Social Media on Public Relations Practices in Universities in South-East , Nigeria (original) (raw)

An Analysis of Social Media Usage by Public Relations Departments in Select Private Universities in Kenya

East African Journal of Information Technology, 2021

This paper investigates the use of Social Media by Public Relations departments in two large private universities in Kenya. Social media are web-based applications where the creation of profiles and connections of people takes place. Social media use is constantly growing amongst organizations, as technology and globalization evolve, so do the role of Public Relations hence becoming inevitable in everyday practice. Despite the availability of social media platforms, little is known on how they are used to communicate. Contrariwise, the extant literature discloses that at present, there is moderately negligible research with focus on the use of social media in public relations in private organizations. This study is grounded on the outcomes of a research submitted in lieu of a Doctoral degree in Mass Communication at the St Augustine University of Tanzania involving 270 survey participants and 2 in-depth interviews. Data was generated using questionnaires and analysed using SPSS vers...

MCPR 901 – Public Relations and Advertising Management Administration TERM PAPER I: THE INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS AS PUBLIC RELATIONS TOOLS BY SELECTED COMPANIES IN NIGERIA STUDENT-AKINRETI OLALERE QASIM

Abstract This term paper focused on the Influence of social media platforms as Public Relations tools by selected companies in Nigeria. The research was informed by the growing usage of social media platforms such as facebook, twitter, blog, LinkedIn among others, as a veritable tool of marketing communication. Taking into account the speed of change associated with this new media adoption, the authors examine 3 companies in three sectors of the Nigerian economy who have galvanised the effective usage of these social media tools. The companies are MTN in the telecommunications sector, Guaranty Trust Bank, GTB, in the banking sector and Jumia from the services sector. From my findings, on social media tracking of these companies, 2.8 million viewers on facebook,270,000 on Twitter and over 500,000 viewers on YouTube. The theoretical underpinning of this research is the development communication theory covering Technology Determinism and information processing theory. This theory shows that people are driven by social change occasioned by technology and quick access to information which invariably determines their preferences or choices for product and services. This study takes a narrative approach, based on a critical analysis of review of literatures on public relations, social media, and spiced it with interviews with the former chairman of institute of Public Relations, members of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR)working as PR Managers or Corporate Marketing Officer in some of these companies and lastly, some Nigerians who have used these social media tools to enjoy the services of these companies. While my findings indicate a growing demand for social media platforms, as public relations tools by three Nigerian companies, there still exist mixtures of traditional media outlets as one of the major tools of PR due to technological, infrastructural and level of literacy in the country. Suggestions were given on the way forward for more value addition on the usage of social media platforms by Public Relations firms for corporate organisations in Nigeria.

International Journal of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences Studies V 6 • I 7 • 28 An Appraisal of Social Media Use among PR Practitioners in Rivers State: A Synopsis

International Journal of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences Studies, 2022

The burgeoning posture of the social media makes it a preferred media for information dissemination by individuals and organization, this study, therefore sought to evaluate the extent public relation practitioners in Rivers State are making the most of the social media in building organizational image and goodwill with their publics. The study adopted the survey research method with the Technological Determinism Theory and the Uses and Gratification Theory as its theoretical anchor. The study population comprised 1,052 registered members of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relation Rivers State. Using the Check market online sample size calculator, a sample size of 282 was used for the study. The purposive sampling technique was used in selecting respondents for the study. Data were generated with the use of the questionnaire and analyzed using frequency distribution tables, percentages and weighted mean score. Finding revealed that PR practitioners' use of the social media in organizations in Rivers State is low (103 or 36.5%). Yet, the finding confirms that social media use by organizations can improve their image and publics' goodwill to a high extent (113 or 40.1%). Conversely, finding showed that most challenging in the use of the social media by PR practitioners in organizations in Rivers State is their aversion for the media (119). The study concluded that the exigency of meeting up the communication and information demands of organizations' publics' makes the use of the social media by PR practitioners incumbent. It recommended that organizations sub create a sub public relation unit, i.e e-public relations which will be saddled with managing all its social media platforms; the need for finding of the PR department to meet up the sustenance of social media presence and the need for promptness on feedback on issues raised by the public's on social media so as to bridge the communication gap.

IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN PUBLIC RELATIONS PRACTICES WITHIN NON-PROFIT ORGANISATIONS IN NIGERIA

Public Relations , 2024

This qualitative study explores the impact of social media on public relations (PR) practices within non-profit organisations (NPOs) in Nigeria. Through in-depth semi-structured interviews with 9 PR professionals from diverse NPOs, the research investigates how social media is strategically utilised to enhance stakeholder communication, foster community engagement, and support fundraising efforts. Findings reveal that social media platforms serve as vital tools for real-time interaction with stakeholders, facilitating broader reach and increased visibility for organisational initiatives. Challenges identified include resource limitations, skills gaps, and the need for robust content management strategies. The study provides rich insights into the effective integration of social media into PR strategies within the Nigerian non-profit sector, highlighting best practices and practical recommendations for optimising digital communication strategies. This research contributes valuable qualitative evidence to the discourse on digital PR practices in NPOs, emphasising the transformative potential of social media in amplifying organisational impact and community outreach.

Social Media Tools, Trends, Opportunities for Public Relations Practice in Lagos State, Nigeria

2020

This study examined the influence of social media on PR. Specifically, it examined the social media analytic tools, trends, opportunities as well as implications of social media adoption on PR with focus on practitioners in Lagos State. Interviews were conducted with selected PR practitioners in Lagos to obtain facts and views for this study. Findings revealed that social media has greatly influenced the practice of PR. However, social media use is shaped by communication strategy, objectives, engagement strategy, and the target audience. Furthermore, the common trends in use among practitioners include influencer push/influencer PR, listening and analytic (software) tools, brand neutralization, hashtagging, sponsored tweet/posts and use of social media pages of established news outlets. The result also showed that analytic tools like Hootsuite, Meltwater, Sprout Social are used for social media management and engagement. Therefore, social media has completely altered the pattern of...

The impact of social media on university communications

This research investigated the impact of social media communications on strategic communications and reputation in the Australian university sector. The sector is undergoing transformation through changes in government regulations and a changing sector for students and staff. Government and peak body stakeholders were interviewed with their answers being coded and analysed using thematic analysis and through discourse analysis. The research was brought together using first and second level agenda setting theory; imagined audience and context collapse. There were three primary findings from the research that include: why innovation and investment is important for social media in strategic communications; the importance and impact on communications planning; and the importance of empowering staff, especially research staff. Key outcomes included that the stakeholders did not believe that social media had a high possibility of affecting university reputation. What social media could achieve is the ability to set an agenda on research or regarding policy. It can also provide research staff with an additional avenue to communicate the outcomes and updates regarding their research, providing an important communication tool for researchers and research bodies. The research provides information and outcomes that can be used in the strategic communications profession and for reputation management in the Australian university sector along with similar sectors and university environments around the world. It has provided additional information for the theories investigated in this research and provides a basis for additional research into using social media for strategic communications purposes.

Social media use and its importance in institutional communication strategy

2018

Social media continues to develop and has increased in type and categories. It use has increased tremendously and this has been assist ed by the availability of affordable communication devices like smart phones. In titutions that want to engage the public cannot ignore social media in the ir communication strategy. The write-up discusses the types of social media, their characteristics that has made it possible for their increased adoption and use. It o u lines their advantages and disadvantages and indicates how institutions should safely use it. It recommends that Ghanaian tertiary institutions should develop a propriate social media use policies and also institute training schemes for p e sons who will want to engage the public on institution's behalf.

The Role of Public Relations of Universitas Negeri Jakarta as a Communication Facilitator on Social Media Instagram @unj_official

Al-I’lam; Jurnal Komunikasi dan Penyiaran Islam, 2023

This study aims to find out the role of public relations as a communication facilitator on Instagram @unj_official social media for information dissemination. In this case, public relations had an important role to be able to convey information so that it can be well received and fulfill the information needed by the public about the organization. Is based on one of the roles of public relations, namely as a communication facilitator for the organization and its public. This study uses a descriptive qualitative method because the author wants to provide an overview to be able to explain what happened. Data collection techniques using interviews, observation, and documentation. The results of this study are that the Public Relations of the Universitas Negeri Jakarta had a role in providing communication facilities between the Universitas Negeri Jakarta and the public through social media, but it is not optimal in answering questions from followers of the Instagram account @unj_official.

Assessment of Public Relations’ Practice of Edo State University Uzairue, Edo State, Nigeria

Randwick International of Education and Linguistics Science Journal

The study was carried out to assess public relations’ practice of Edo State University Uzairue. The study was predicated on Systems Theory (ST). The objectives were to determine the extent whether or not the Institution has a functional public relations department and to evaluate the extent of its public relations activities’ effectiveness, amongst others. Interview schedule was used to elicit information from the public relations office headed by the public relations officer. Findings indicates, amongst others, that the University has a public relations office, but does not have public relations department, and that the extent of her public relations activities’ effectiveness is average, amongst others. Given the above and the enormity of the importance of public relations to the educational institutions, the study, thus, recommend that Edo State University Uzairue should set-up a PR department with its ancillary compliments; step-up, and also, utilise effective public relations s...

An Overview of Nigerian Universities’ Presence on Social Media Platforms

2017

This study is an online survey on the presence of Nigerian universities on social media platforms. The purpose of the paper was to examine the level of presence of Nigerian universities on five social media platforms which include: Face book, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn and Google+. Three research questions were generated and one null hypothesis was formulated for this study. In the methodology, the internet served as the primary source of data, while Nigerian universities’ websites were used as secondary sources. All 129 accredited Nigerian Universities by the National Universities Commission were sampled for this study. Descriptive statistics (Percentage, Mean Rating and Standard Deviation) were used to answer research questions 1 and 2 while inferential statistics (Chi-Square) was used to test and analyse the null hypothesis. Report of Micaiah (2014) on Social Media Awareness in Nigeria Education which states that Nigerian universities’ presence on social media is minimal, was use...