Social Media Communication practices in Public Relations: A study of two agencies in Kenya

Abstract

Social media has revolutionised the entire spectrum of public relations (PR) practice globally and practitioners are under growing pressure to optimize on it for the benefit of their various organizations. On this backdrop, the study explored the use of social media in the PR practice by two agencies in Kenya. The study was guided by three specific objectives including, to examine how PR professionals use social media in their daily practice in Kenya, to identify challenges that come with the use of social media by PR professionals and to evaluate the perceptions held by PR professionals on the use of social media. To contribute to this, the study was informed by Grunig and Hunts theory of Public Relations (1984) which illustrated the industries various management and organizational practices. A qualitative approach was employed in the study hence a case study of two PR firms in Kenya. Purposive sampling technique was employed to identify 10 public relations practitioners spread across two PR firms based in Nairobi. In depth interviews supplemented by document analysis were used to generate data. The data was then analyzed thematically in correspondence with the research questions. The findings of the study indicate that PR firms use social media for brand visibility, content creation and marketing, crisis communication and to build relationships with their target audiences and other professionals such as journalists and the media at large. However, the study revealed that in spite of the opportunities that social media has offered practitioners to engage effectively with their stakeholders, it has also posed a number of challenges to practitioners, including integrating both traditional and new media to any PR strategy. The emergence of social media opinion shapers known as influencers and in addition the rise of citizen journalists has posed a challenge to the social media aspect in the PR practice. Undistinguishable policy guidelines and regulations concerning social media have also emerged as a challenge in use of social media in the PR practice in Kenya. The study also revealed that PR practitioners are yet to fully take advantage of social media in enhancing the practice due to the belief that social media is informal and frivolous. There is need for PR practitioners to consider social media as an innovative, viable and inevitable option in engaging with the more enlightened audiences in Kenya. The importance of a well-crafted public relations strategy that includes social media as a key function has become a necessity to the PR practice. This includes not just generating social media coverage and visibility but also fostering meaningful relationships with stakeholders and the public. The study contributes to literature in the PR practice generally and offers a scholarly resource on the utilization of social media in the PR practice in the Kenyan context specifically.