THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INDUSTRY
Executive Summary
Traditionally, public relations practitioners draw from a standard repertoire of communications
techniques in an attempt to persuade journalists to select and disseminate their story to the general
public. With social media, practitioners are able to by-pass traditional media outlets and directly reach a
targeted audience instantaneously. This research paper is attempts to examine the extent to which the
role of the public relations practitioner is evolving in response to the advent of social media.
To examine current thinking and practices surrounding this phenomenon, we conducted a
literature review, in-depth interviews with leaders in the public relations field and a detailed survey of
public relations practitioners.
Our findings suggest that social media has become a valuable tool in the practitioner’s arsenal.
Usage of social media has increased across all sectors with the highest reported usage being amongst
agency and corporate practitioners. Stymieing the growth of social media usage in other sectors are
factors such as corporate culture and budget concerns. Our research revealed that the vast majority of
practitioners believe that the use of social media compliments rather than detracts from traditional
public relations tactics. As relationship building is at the core of public relations, social media has been
adopted as an effective method of building and maintaining relationships with key audiences; a practice
that enables the practitioner to develop more effective traditional public relations materials.
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Introduction
Social media is changing the face of communications. Through a variety of channels, each one
more innovative than the last, we can share good news, ideas and advancements in real time. By the
same token, criticism, failures and gossip can also reach a widening audience faster than ever before.
Social media is an ideal conduit of two-way communication. On one side you have a well informed
audience and on the other, the gamut of groups, products and items they find newsworthy. With instant
access to the opinions of the general public, practitioners of public relations have no choice but to pay
attention to social media and its growing presence. To what extent, though, are practitioners to alter
their traditional public relations methods in order to accommodate these ever-emerging communication
techniques? Are traditional channels of public relations on their way out? With the ability to instantly
reach journalists and enthusiasts around the globe, many wonder if the popularity and accessibility of
social media will eclipse that of traditional public relations methods. This paper attempts to investigate
the balancing act that practitioners have to conduct between traditional public relations practises and
the new roles and responsibilities generated by social media outlets.
Our problem statement poses several questions about both the impact of social media on
traditional public relations methods and to what extent adaptation to these new communications
techniques is required or expected of public relations practitioners. Through primary and secondary
research we seek to answer these questions while shining a spotlight on the constantly evolving sphere
of social media.
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Problem Statement
Social media is a new technology that is changing the landscape of public relations. The question this
study will pose is: How is social media impacting the role of PR practitioners in the workplace?
The hypothesis is that social media will become a standard component of a professional public
relations practitioners’ role. Some of the questions that need to be addressed in the research include:

What is the definition of social media

How can/should practitioners be trained to use social media?

How can a practitioner successfully adapt or stay ahead of these trends?

How does corporate culture affect the use of social media?

How is social media understood by senior management?

Is social media truly cost effective and how does that impact practitioner talent and experience?

How do PR practitioners demonstrate return on investment (ROI) to senior management with
the newness of quantitative and qualitative measurement?

Does it isolate practitioners as technicians?

What will social media titles and specialties mean in the long run for career development?

Can it replace the way traditional outreach is done?
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Methodology
The methodology used to research the impact of social media in the public relations workplace
is a representation of primary and secondary research, analysis and evaluation, performed from both a
qualitative and quantitative perspective.
The secondary research acted as a foundation in developing our problem statement and
determining what elements of social media within the realm of public relations we wanted to examine.
The secondary research included a literature review of approximately 20 peer-reviewed journal articles
and textbooks by academic experts exploring social media and its impact, current and future, on the
public relations workplace.
The literature review provided more condensed and targeted social media topics. As a relatively
new aspect being facilitated in public relations, the literature provided an in-depth look at the current
public relations environment as well as a suggestion of future trends.
Our primary research was formulated after our secondary research was evaluated and we were
able to develop questions and strengthen our problem statement. Our primary research consisted of a
general survey and one-on-one interviews with public relations practitioners.
The survey questions, distributed on Survey Monkey, elicited responses from 59 public relations
practitioners and communications specialists. The survey explored the general understanding of social
media, the individual’s personal and professional involvement in social media as well as their
understanding of how and why social media is valued in the public relations workplace.
In addition, we posted a link to the survey on social media forums such as LinkedIn, Twitter and
Facebook for public relations practitioners and students of public relations/communications to access.
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We interviewed ten top level public relations leaders on social media, who represented a wide
range of sectors including public relations agencies, government, not-for-profit organizations and
corporate. We also were able to interview a social media “guru.”
The interviews and our analysis aligned with our problem statement and our secondary
research. The interview questions focused on what defines social media, how social media is used and
implemented in organizations and the value of social media.
The survey and interviews worked in tandem to contribute insight to our problem statement
and the direction of our research paper on social media in the workplace.
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Literature Review
THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INDUSTRY
Analysis and Key Findings
Interviews with Canadian Public Relations Leaders
The group conducted interviews with ten key leaders in the public relations industry between
June 8, 2010 and June 30, 2010. The interviewees were asked eight questions, based on the purpose of
the study which was to examine the impacts of social media on the public relations practitioner.
Although a few discrepancies exist in the views of each leader, the answers pointed to shared themes
and trends not only on the use of social media, but also on the industry as a whole.
Defining social media
The common theme in all interviews is that social media is the use of web technology to have a
conversation with audiences, or the cultivation of the relationship between the individual and a specific
community. Warren Kinsella, President of Daisy Consulting group, described it as being “citizen driven,
people are creating content and not just receiving” (personal communication, June 18, 2010). David
Jones, Vice President of Digital Communications at Hill & Knowlton, explained the cooperative spirit of
social media stating, “I define social media as a set of tools that fosters the consumption, creation,
collaboration, sharing and discussion of content among a community of shared interest” (personal
communication, June 12, 2010). Sandra Gabriel, TITLE, ORGANIZATION, gave a definition from the
practitioner’s perspective, by stating that social media is “an outreach tool to say on top of what
customers are thinking and saying, and it allows them to create marketing and communications plans
that align better with their audience and produce maximum impact” (personal communication, June 24,
2010).
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Is social media improving public relations?
When asked whether social media has improved the overall practise of public relations or
detracted from it, most interviewees provided very similar answers. John Challinor II, Director of
Corporate Affairs at Nestlé, stated that social media “has provided better access to targeted audiences
but it has also provided a forum for all individuals and audiences to express themselves more publicly –
with sometimes unfortunate results for a practitioner and his/her client” (personal communication, June
24, 2010). Michelle Blackwood, TITLE, ORGANIZATION, reported that “Social media has also contributed
to the upward flow of information to PR practitioners by providing insight into the behaviour of our
target audiences” (personal communication, June 24, 2010). Blackwood then added there are also
detractions because, “our information now has the potential to exist alongside the work of anyone with
an internet connection, so it is harder to position the work of PR practitioners as credible and reliable,
when anyone can write a blog, for example, and design it to look as professional as the next.” Social
media is providing practitioners with an opportunity to reach multitude of very specific audiences,
however, it is creating a glut of information.
Challenges of implementing social media in the workplace
When asked about the challenges of implementing social media in the workplace, two distinct
themes arose in the interviews: time management and human resources, and evaluation. Katie Gray,
TITLE, of the Toronto Zoo, stated that the greatest challenges are “Resources needed to manage all the
different social media outlets . . . there are so many” (personal communication, June 24, 2010). On the
measurement side, Lisa Bednarski, Senior Vice President at Weber and Shandwick, contended that
“Challenges are explaining what the return on investment would be. How can people understand the
matrix? What is success, what does success look like? And that changes every day, there is no right way
to answer, there is no answer to that question. So the challenge is for clients to understand that it is a
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bit of a moving target and budget” (personal communication, June 30, 2010). Andrea Karpala, Digital
Communications Specialist at Faye Clack Communications brought campaign measurement in alignment
with organizational objectives: “The greatest challenge with social media is ensuring that it is being used
to achieve business objectives. Since there is no traditional social media measurement, it’s also difficult
to measure success and convey the success to clients” (personal communication, June 28, 2010).
Criteria for using social media
The ten interviewees asked what criteria were used to determine whether to include social
media as a campaign tool, nine of them indicated demographics were of great importance. As Challinor
stated when asked what to consider, “First and foremost, the intended audience.” Christine Crosbie,
TITLE, of the Ontario Science Centre, identified the following criteria that she uses: “Is this the way to
reach our target audience? How do we measure if this is working? How will being involved in these
platforms affect the perception and value of our brand? Are our competitors doing it?” (personal
communication, June 24, 2010). Not specifically identifying demographics was Paula Morrison, Vice
President at Temple Scott Associates, who rated budget as the most important criteria, “you don’t want
to spend resources on something the (client) isn’t sure will bring in dividends. You can’t put a price on or
measure “buzz” created by social media” (personal communication, June 18, 2010).
Budgeting for social media and perceptions of cost
Public relations leaders were asked about the perceptions of social media costs and how much
budget should be allocated for social media. The general theme in the answers was that social media is
cheaper than traditional media. It is not, however, necessarily lower priced in the human resource costs.
Practitioners agreed there is a perception that social media expenses are lower than actual the cost of
implementation. Karpala stated that, “Social media is a seemingly low cost tool, but in actuality it must
be significantly budgeted for. Since accounts on social media platforms are generally free, it is often
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thought of as low-cost. But to really create an online community, there must be lots of time spent on
community development and influencer outreach which results in service fees.” Bednarski added, “It
really depends on the situation and what the best solution is for that particular challenge or
opportunity.”
Is social media affecting salaries, titles and training requirements for practitioners?
There was a slight discrepancy in the answers to the question of social media affecting salaries
and titles for practitioners. Jones, Kinsella and Crosbie argued that social media does not impact salaries
or titles. Jones was very clear on this point, stating, “I don’t think it’s affecting salaries or positions at
all.” While Gabriel and Bednarksi both believed that organizations (or agencies) are willing to invest in
practitioners who are knowledgeable in social media. “[...] Savvy people who know what they are doing
are few and far between so finding them is a challenge and keeping them is a challenge, so their salaries
are particularly higher.” Specifically speaking as to whether social media training is an asset for
practitioners, nearly all leaders agreed that training is indeed necessary.
Trends in social media
All interviewees agreed that social media in itself is a lasting trend. Most mentioned the
evolutionary aspect of social media; the tools that can adapt will be the ones that have lasting power.
Challinor stated that “Facebook, MySpace and Twitter will continue as long as they serve and protect
the interests of their communities. As soon as they become too marketing-oriented and begin to sell off
their value proposition, consumers will migrate elsewhere.” Karpala spoke to the use and importance of
video and information sharing websites: “The McCann Erickson studies always show that worldwide
people continue to use video as a main way to share info online. You’ll see lots of information sharing
websites such as slideshare.com where people are literally sharing their intellectual property in the
“social media spirit.””
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Will social media ever replace traditional media?
When asked whether social media will ever replace traditional media, leaders in the field all
unanimously agree that it will not. Social media is seen as a “compliment to traditional tools” (Karpala).
Although the importance of social media and its usage among practitioners is growing, traditional media
and face-to-face relationship building is seen as a core to the industry that will not be replaced any time
soon. As Kinsella stated, “There are too many channels [in social media], and it can’t be commercialized.
There is no single blog out there that someone can make a living out of.”
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Survey Results 1
In addition to interviews with leaders in the public relations industry, the group also conducted
a 13-question survey, open to practitioners. The group used a combination of “purposive sampling,”
sending out emails to specific industry contacts, and “snowball sampling,” by posting links to group
members’ twitter and facebook pages (Stacks, 2002). A total of 59 practitioners participated in the
survey with 54 completing the entire survey (five respondents did not answer all 13 questions). The
survey allowed the group to collect and validate information from front-line users of social media tools
and first hand perceptions of social media in the industry.
When asked if the practitioners’ organization embraced social media, 42 respondents or 72.4%
said yes, while 16 respondents or 27.6% said no (one respondent did not provide an answer). Although
42 answered that their organizations embraced social media, 43 or 74.1% said they are using social
media in their roles, with the other 25.9% or 15 saying they do not use social media (one respondent did
not provide an answer). The survey asked those 16 respondents not using social media, if anyone in
their department is using social media. The answers for this question were split down the middle, with
eight, or 50% answering yes and the other eight saying no.
Of those not using social media, the survey inquired why their organizations are not using it. Of
the 16 respondents, only four chose to answer this question. Budget constraints and lack of knowledge
and training was cited by 25% of the respondents. Not aligned with organizational goals was cited by
50% of the respondents. Half of the respondents also answered that their organizations intend to use
social media in the future.
1
Certain questions may have results higher than 100% as respondents had the opportunity to choose
more than one answer.
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Chart 1 demonstrates that Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Blogs are by far the top four tools
used by practitioners. Respondents who chose “other” identified tools such as Vimeo, digg (appeared
twice), Flikr (appeared twice), drupalgardens, Facebook Connect, internal wikis, Digg, YouTube
(appeared three times), FourSquare, Forums and Website.
After establishing use of social media, the survey moved to gauge the workplace environment of
practitioners using social media. It is important to note this to validate the research; those who are not
using social media did not answer questions in the section regarding roles and impact of social media in
the workplace. On roles of practitioners using social media, 40 or 78.4% are managers, while 11 or
21.6% are technicians. An overwhelming 86.5% or 45 of the respondents believed that social media
usage is necessary to advance career goals, only seven or 13.5% believe it is not.
In terms of role changes for public relations practitioners, there were some clearly identifiable
trends. Very few respondents reported “no change” to their role (five or less for each category).
Changes were mostly neutral (an average of 14 responses for each category) or positive, with the fewest
responses in the “very negative” category. “Negative” changes are most apparent in time management,
compensation and training requirements. “Positive” changes recorded mostly in media relations,
evaluation, and developing key messages. “Very positive” changes were experienced mostly in public
outreach, reputation management and a tie between developing key messages and media relations. The
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responses are summarized in chart 2. This section presents an interesting contrast between these
results and those of the interviews with key leaders in the public relations field. Whereas leaders
identified evaluation/measurement as one of the greatest challenges with social media, the survey of
practitioners rates this category as one of the most “positive” changes social media has introduced.
When asked if senior management is supportive of using social media, 46 or 92% of respondents
answered yes, while four answered no. The survey drilled down to enquire regarding management’s
expectations around social media. Participants were asked whether senior management’s expectations
are aligned with realities or limitations of social media in considering two categories. When considering
the knowledge of social media strategy and implementation, only four or 8.3% answered “very aligned,”
32 or 66% said expectations are “aligned,” and 12 or 25% said expectations are “not aligned” (three
participants did not know or chose not to answer this question). When considered measurement, only
four or 8% answered “very aligned,” 26 or 52% answered “aligned,” and 20 or 40% answered not aligned
(one participant did not know or chose not to answer this question).
The final question posed was in regards to whether change social media has assisted in reaching
target audience. Similar to the leaders’ interviews, an overwhelming 89.8% or 44 answered yes, with the
remainder 10.2% answering no.
Of those surveyed, 35.2% or 19 of the participants indicated they have been in the industry for
1-5 years, 24.1% or 13 participants for 6-10 years, 9.3% or 5 participants for 11-15 years, and 31.5% or
17 participants for over 16 years. Because of the mention of age as a key demographic indicator for
social media usage and consumption the survey also asked for participants’ ages. Only 5.6% or 3 of the
participants were under 25 years of age, 35.2% or 19 of the participants were between 25-34 years of
age, 22.2% or 12 of the participants were between 35-44 years of age, 24.1% or 13 of the participants
were between 45-54 years of age, and 13% or 7 of the participants were 55 years of age or older.
THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INDUSTRY
The survey validates the answers provided during interviews with key leaders in the industry.
Throughout the analysis, the prevalence in usage and impact of social media on the public relations
professional is growing.
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Discussion and Implications
Social media is a topic of massive interest in the field of public relations. Over the last few years,
practitioners have seen the shift of traditional media usage to a focus on how social media can be used
strategically to achieve client and/or organizational objectives. The aim of this research was to explore
the impact and implications of social media understanding and usage by organizations on the public
relations practitioners’ role. The research included peer reviewed resources as well as surveys and
interviews of professionals in the field.
Our results indicated that social media is becoming a powerful tactic in public relations
practitioners’ work. It should be noted that based on the sample size of our surveys and interviews,
more research would be required to ensure the reliability of our data. Since social media does not have
any geographic restraints, it would also be recommended that further research with more time and
resources be conducted outside of North America to better understand worldwide trends based on
geographic region.
One of the interesting pieces discovered through our research has been on defining what social
media actually is. For the most part, there has been consensus reached that includes the idea it usually
involves web technology to have a conversation with audiences, or the cultivation of the relationship
between the individual and a specific community using the worldwide web. One of the implications
involved in having achieved a common understanding, is that it still does not satisfy how quickly this
technology has evolved from web technology to include mobile technology such as the development of
mobile applications for smartphones like Research in Motion’s (RIM) Blackberry and Apple’s iPhone.
Since social media is recognized as a fast paced technology, it is likely that the definition of social media
will also continue to evolve to encapsulate all of the ever-changing technologies that grow out of using
it.
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An important aspect of this definition for public relations practitioners to note is that social
media is an outreach tool useful for staying on top of what customers are thinking and saying. This
quality can enable practitioners to create marketing and communications plans that align better with
their audience, thereby producing maximum impact (Gabriel). Recognizing that social media has a
specific definition for public relations is an important determinant for how the industry uses it.
Through our research we found that there has been increased usage of social media by public
relations practitioners, predominantly at the agency and corporate levels but there is also increased
usage in the education, non-profit and government sectors as well (Eyricha, Padmana and Sweetser,
p.3). Additionally, in our research, leaders from all sectors agreed that social media was a lasting trend
that would not replace traditional media but is seen as a complimentary tool to traditional tactics
(Karpala). This was supported through our literature review whereby a PR survey indicated that 85 per
cent of those surveyed believe that social media compliments traditional media. An even higher
number, 92 per cent, believe that blogs and social media can influence coverage in traditional media
(Wright and Hinson, 2009, p.16). Although many people turn to social media to get information, it will
not replace traditional media. More importantly, traditional media and face-to-face relationship
building is seen as a core to the industry.
Our literature review reflected that many public relations practitioners agreed that they were
using social media to build relationships with audiences which corresponded directly to our statistical
findings through our surveys and interviews. There were apparent disconnects on those entering the
industry with more than 75 per cent of beginning practitioners believing they are quite or completely
knowledgeable in the area of relationships and relationship building while only 39 per cent of employers
rated them in the same level in this area (Kim, p.7).
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Across the board in both our literature and other research methods, the need for training on
social media usage was unanimous. At every level it was expressed that learning how to use social
media is an extremely important part of public relations. New practitioners entering the field are
encouraged to understand how to use social media and those in the field are encouraged to get training.
Our interviews and survey results reflected that many businesses saw the value in getting involved in
using social media, but whether or not that impacted the training, titles or salaries of practitioners
varied. Respondents were split – some saying that it had no impact at all and others saying that it
would have impact on salaries because finding savvy people who know how to use it for business are
few and far between (Gabriel and Bednarksi).
However, an implication to this in our literature review highlighted that corporate culture had a
lot of impact on whether or not using social media could be adopted by practitioners. 40 per cent of
organizations surveyed by the IABC responded that their organization has policies in place to block
employee access to external social media sites (Williams and Williams, 2008, p.2). Findings in this survey
also showed that smaller organizations (less than 100 employees) were more likely to use social media
because of their cultural environment while large corporations and government agencies were least
likely to have a supportive culture.
This data reveals that while the public relations industry see social media education and training
as an important element in career development, many practitioners may not receive the support in their
work environments to make this happen. Practitioners willing to personally invest in their own
development, may see benefits outside of their current employers which serves to reinforce Gabriel and
Bednarski’s thoughts on retaining savvy practitioners.
Our literature review demonstrated that there was often no differentiation between managers
and technicians for public relations practitioners when it came to working with social media. This was
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often a result of the fact that many of the same relationship building techniques required for traditional
media relations were highly applicable to social media usage.
Our research revealed that the public relations industry is extremely interested in how social
media is used and measured. There was consensus that it could be used to measure return on
investment (ROI) for a company but there was really no standard method used. This could be the result
of many social media platforms creating their own evaluation systems that serves their particular
system, and with so many of them on the market there is no real way to incorporate them into one
standard and accepted measurement. Each one provides a demonstrably real and viral impact. Many
systems are also being created to assist in aggregating this data such as Cision’s Social Media Dashboard,
Radian 6 and Market Wire’s Sysomos. A lot of practitioners consider using the way media reach and
buys are measured, dividing financial costs by the amount of click throughs. “The greatest challenge
with social media is ensuring that it is being used to achieve business objectives. Since there is no
traditional social media measurement, it’s also difficult to measure success and convey the success to
clients” (Karpala). We believe this to be an important area of development that will see a lot of focus in
the coming years.
The concept of time and human resources were an important element in our research, many
companies want to begin using social media but 40 per cent do not have a budget allocated to spend on
it (Williams and Williams, 2008). The idea behind the social media tools being free, quite often
overlooked the need for the time and human resource investment that would need to be made to
monitor activity, manage communities, develop content, provide feedback and ensure that the
continued activity serves organizational objectives. Some companies saw that the need for budget was
important and 80 per cent of participants in Vocus’s survey want to do more with social media (Vocus,
2009, p.7).
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In summary, the following trends emerged from our literature review, interviews and surveys:

Social media is not a trend; it is here to stay and acts as a complimentary tool to
traditional public relations tactics.

Relationship building is the core business of public relations; therefore relationship
building extends itself from traditional public relations tactics to social media.

Social media can provide return on investment (ROI) for companies; its usage and
measurement are of great interest to the industry although no standard on
measurement has yet to be achieved.

Whether or not public relations practitioners’ roles are affected by using social media
was undetermined. Some felt that it had no impact while other’s believed that at least
for the short term, those who were social media savvy may see an increase in salary
because of their specialty and in order to retain them.

Many companies will make the shift to using social media, but many do not allocate
time and human resources, along with budgeting to accommodate the move into this
space.

Many companies were not culturally in a place where the adoption of social media
would be practical or beneficial. This impacts the practitioners in those environments
because the industry has stated knowledge, education and training of social media is
extremely important because it is a lasting trend that is being used more frequently.
Through our interviews, surveys and literature reviews, our group collected thought and opinions from
many of the leaders in the social media space. Many of these findings require further study, especially
in the area of measurement and return on investment (ROI) and usage around the world. It is clear that
social media has been recognized as an official part of a public relations practitioners role. It is crucial
THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INDUSTRY
that businesses understand how to properly use and evaluate their successes using social media, and
that this usage is clearly tied to organizational goals and objectives.
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Conclusion
While social media has stormed to significance as a communications tool over the past few
years, we conclude that while it should not replace traditional public relations practises, social media is
an effective compliment to those practises, in particular, for activities such as engaging and
understanding audiences. As the core of public relations is relationship building, social media’s ability to
facilitate this process while encouraging two-way dialogue, makes it an attractive tool. Even though it is
a relatively new phenomenon, social media is not a passing trend. Due to this belief, our research
uncovered unanimous support for public relations practitioners undergoing social media training.
While we found there to be increased usage across all sectors, those making the most use out of
social media were practitioners in either a corporate or agency setting. Inclusion of social media as a
communications tool depended on a few factors including corporate culture and budget. Our research
was divided on whether or not a social media savvy practitioner can expect to receive higher pay as a
reward for their skill set.
Our research indicates that while many organizations are interested in being able to measure
ROI as it relates to social media, a standard for measurement has yet to be achieved. Many such
measurement systems are in development and we expect more practitioners to join the social media
wave as once they are able to demonstrate its benefits in monetary terms to both clients and senior
management.
From our research, it is clear that social media is quickly becoming a standard consideration
when designing any professional communications plan. Going forward, it is vital that businesses
comprehend how to properly leverage and evaluate their social media successes and that usage of this
medium is clearly tied to organizational goals and objectives
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Appendix A: Interview Transcripts
Interviewee: Warren Kinsella
Title: President
Organization: Daisy Consulting Group
Interviewer: Licinio Miguelo
Date: June 18, 2010
1. How would you define social media and its use in public relations and what is your sense in how
people are defining social media these days?
Two levels – it’s citizen driven, meaning people are creating content and not just receiving.
The first level is serious usage, such as news. For example, during the unfortunate Virginia Tech disaster
information was being received from the students through sm outlets.
The second level is less serious, please creating Facebook pages, using twitter, citizen media, etc. Again,
it’s people creating content. It’s also legitimate, but not as serious.
2. Has social media improved the overall work of public relations practitioners or detracted from it?
For example opened new ways of reaching targeted audiences or turned the PR practitioner into more
of a technician? Why?
Yes, it’s cheaper than traditional ad purchasing (from a marketing perspective). Young people don’t read
or watch traditional news – they need to provide input. A good example of using social media to reach
new audiences was [Prime Minister Stephen] Harper’s usage against the coalition. He was able to
mobilize a large number of people against it. A bad example was the Prime Minister letting the
prorogation issue get away from the conservatives. They failed to see how effective the usage social
media was against their decisions.
3. What are the greatest challenges organizations are faced with in implementing social media in the
workplace.
People don’t understand or get social media. Often times, people will ask for or request for “viral
campaigns” without even knowing what that is. The Internet, and social media, has millions of channels,
traditional media doesn’t.
4. When building a public relations plans for your client/organization, what criteria do you use to
include social media as a tool?
It’s demographically driven. It can be used to mobilize young people. With older people, don’t even
bother.
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5. Is social media seen as a low cost tool to communicate messages and develop relationships with
audiences? Compared to other tools, how much time and budget is allocated to social media?
Again, it’s dictated by circumstances. Every campaign should take social media into consideration, but it
depends on budget. It is only a tool, but not the only one. It’s definitely cheaper than traditional media,
a full page ad in a national newspaper will cost you $90,000.
6. How is social media affecting salaries and position titles of pr practitioners . . . Do you think social
media specific training is necessary for emerging pr practitioners?
SM is not really changing salaries and positions. When hiring, I don’t see knowledge in social media as a
crucial factor. I’m looking for people who are creative and smart. I don’t think it’s [social media] that
complicated, the technology is personal. People can carry it with them on a 24 hour basis and have a
continuous conversation.
7. What do you see as the lasting or new trends in social media... for example facebook, twitter?
Sites like facebook and blogs. Blogs are for guys, over 70% of blog users are male. There’s an angrier
tone to blog pages. Facebook is for women, approximately 75% of users are female. I prefer to use
facebook, audience is generally more perceptive to new ideas.
8. Do you think social media tools have or will replace or modify traditional tools (ie. Media relations
through twitter etc.)?
Never. There are way too many channels, and it can’t be commercialized. There is no single blog
someone can make a living out of.
THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INDUSTRY
Interviewee: David Jones
Title: Vice President, Digital Communications
Organization: Hill & Knowlton
Interviewer: Stefany Singh
Date: June 12, 2010
1. How would you define social media and its use in public relations and what is your sense in how
people are defining social media these days?
Social media is used throughout my PR agency. Internally, as part of new business development and as
part of the suite of tactics we offer clients. I define social media as a set of tools that fosters the
consumption, creation, collaboration, sharing and discussion of content among a community of shared
interest.
2. Has social media improved the overall work of public relations practitioners or detracted from it?
For example opened new ways of reaching targeted audiences or turned the PR practitioner into more
of a technician? Why?
It has enhanced our ability to connect and converse directly with our clients publics. It is challenging
PR's traditional role as message crafter/disseminator. We are now becoming conversationalists.
3. What are the greatest challenges organizations are faced with in implementing social media in the
workplace?
Human resources
4. When building a public relations plans for your client/organization, what criteria do you use to
include social media as a tool?
Is it an effective way to reach and engage with an audience. Is the audience we're trying to reach
involved in social media and talking about our client already. Are there influencers within social media
who are likely to be interested in what our client is trying to share with its publics.
5. Is social media seen as a low cost tool to communicate messages and develop relationships with
audiences? Compared to other tools, how much time and budget is allocated to social media?
In PR, I'd say it's not low cost. Mid to high in most cases. In marketing, I'd say it's low cost.
6. How is social media affecting salaries and position titles of pr practitioners . . . Do you think social
media specific training is necessary for emerging pr practitioners?
THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INDUSTRY
I don't think its affecting salaries or positions at all. I think training is imperative
7. What do you see as the lasting or new trends in social media... for example facebook, twitter?
Location-based, mobile, tablet form factor
8. Do you think social media tools have or will replace or modify traditional tools (ie. Media relations
through twitter etc.)
social media will be another way to communicate among many. Good PR practitioners recognize the
right tool for the job based on the preferences of the end audience.
THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INDUSTRY
Interviewee: Paula Morrison
Title: Vice President
Organization: Temple Scott Associates
Interviewer: Kim England
Date: June 18, 2010
1. How would you define social media and its use in public relations and what is your sense in how
people are defining social media these days?
Her colleagues view sm as just another tool to use for reaching their target audience. They understand
that if they aren't part of the sm conversation, they don't know what is being said about them or their
clients. Her clients view sm as chatter and are only using it to be "in". They tend to use sm as a reactive
tool and just feel its something they have to do. Sm viewed as a tool to get/stay connected with others.
2. Has social media improved the overall work of public relations practitioners or detracted from it?
For example opened new ways of reaching targeted audiences or turned the PR practitioner into more
of a technician? Why?
There are many different types of pr practitioners i.e. strategists, etc. Unless an organization is big
enough, she finds sm to be a hard sell to her clients. Because you can't put a dollar figure on the return
from sm, its hard to convince people to pay you to do it on their behalf.
3. What are the greatest challenges organizations are faced with in implementing social media in the
workplace.
Education and budget. Can't determine the value of sm so how do you know how much to pay.
4. When building a public relations plans for your client/organization, what criteria do you use to
include social media as a tool?
Comes back to budget as you don't want to spend resources on something they (client) isn't sure will
bring in dividends. You can't put a price on or measure "buzz" created by sm.
5. Is social media seen as a low cost tool to communicate messages and develop relationships with
audiences? Compared to other tools, how much time and budget is allocated to social media.
No. Human resources, CNW prices, etc. The average joe can't put out an effective sm news release.
6. How is social media affecting salaries and position titles of pr practitioners . . . Do you think social
media specific training is necessary for emerging pr practitioners?
Yes. Until its confirmed that sm presence does not add to the bottom line, knowledge of sm is
necessary.
7. What do you see as the lasting or new trends in social media... for example facebook, twitter
THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INDUSTRY
Sm is a tool that is only as useful as the conversation its able to facilitate and the community its able to
attract.
8. Do you think social media tools have or will replace or modify traditional tools (ie. Media relations
through twitter etc.)
No. It may work for some clients but not for everyone.
THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INDUSTRY
Interviewee: Andrea Karpala
Title: Digital Communications Specialist
Organization: Faye Clack Communications
Interviewer: Irit Shtock
Date: June 28, 2010
1. How would you define social media and its use in public relations and what is your sense in how
people are defining social media these days?
To me, social media can be defined as: Online applications, platforms and media which aim to facilitate
interaction, collaboration and the sharing of content. I believe social media is being used in public
relations as yet another channel to connect with media and key influencers. It’s also being used as a
way to provide consumers with a way to form personal connections with brands. Through social media
consumers are empowered to ask the questions that really matter- this can truly help PR practitioners
really understand the issues that mean the most to consumers.
2. Has social media improved the overall work of public relations practitioners or detracted from it?
For example opened new ways of reaching targeted audiences or turned the PR practitioner into more
of a technician? Why?
I believe that social media has helped PR practitioners as it provides additional channels to convey key
messages. It also allows for open dialogue where consumers can ask questions and can quickly receive
relevant answers. This sometimes skews the PR practitioner’s role which is traditionally intended to
reach the consumer via the media, with social media the PR practitioner has direct consumer contact. I
think big business is still conflicted if social media should be a customer service responsibility or public
relations responsibility and I truly feel it should be a collaborative effort among all departments in an
organization.
3. What are the greatest challenges organizations are faced with in implementing social media in the
workplace?
The greatest challenge with social media is ensuring that it is being used to achieve business objectives.
Since there is no traditional “social media measurement” it’s also difficult to measure success and
convey the success to clients. Social media is different than any other form of communication as it isn’t
just an outward facing message- it is a conversation. Companies need to understand that to be part of
the conversation you need to be available and you must respond quickly. Assigning a social media
community manager to monitor all account is key to ensure that consumers are responded to in a tight
timeline.
4. When building a public relations plans for your client/organization, what criteria do you use to
include social media as a tool?
THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INDUSTRY
After assessing the target audience, we determine if social media platforms such as Facebook or Twitter
would be a good way of connecting with that audience. We form a specific strategy to reach target
influencers currently using the social media platforms. For example, if we are targeting mommy
bloggers, we research the top mommy bloggers and figure out a way to get their attention so they will
ultimately become a third party endorser of our product. Although we believe social media is an
important tool for most of our client, there are times when setting up social media account does not
make sense. We are very sensitive to this and only begin social media campaigns when we know we
have the budget and time to ensure we are able to staff them properly.
5. Is social media seen as a low cost tool to communicate messages and develop relationships with
audiences? Compared to other tools, how much time and budget is allocated to social media.
Social media is a seemingly low cost tool but in actuality it must be significantly budgeted for. Since
accounts on social media platforms are generally free, it is often thought of as low-cost but to really
create an online community, there must be lots of time spent on community development and
influencer outreach which results in service fees. In many ways, social media is a great way for PR
companies to make significant profits as it only requires the cost of time.
6. How is social media affecting salaries and position titles of pr practitioners . . . Do you think social
media specific training is necessary for emerging pr practitioners?
I believe traditional media is still extremely important at influencing public opinion and that social media
is an important new communications channel that completes an integrated public relations campaign
strategy. Social media knowledge is crucial for PR practitioners and those who currently have the social
media knowledge have significant opportunities and can request more pay than those who do not have
social media knowledge. I believe in the future, it will just become part of the job requirements. I do
believe social media specific training is necessary for emerging PR practioners. Interns and account
coordinators and account execs are skilled enough to manage many of the day to day tasks on social
media platforms. Difficult questions, like anything else in account work, will always be directed to
decision makers.
7. What do you see as the lasting or new trends in social media... for example facebook, twitter?
FourSquare is definitely gaining popularity and I think video sharing websites such as YouTube continue
to gain momentum. The McCann Erickson studies always show that worldwide people continue to use
video as a main way to share info online. You’ll see lots of information sharing websites such as
slideshare.com where people are literally sharing their intellectual property in the “social media spirit”
8. Do you think social media tools have or will replace or modify traditional tools (ie. Media relations
through twitter etc.)?
I think social media tools will continue to complement traditional tools. Due to environmental concerns
I feel like e-media kits will gain popularity and although some clients can completely communicate via
social media channels I do think there will always be a need for traditional PR and traditional tools. Like
anything in PR it is all about knowing your client and their target audience. If the target audience is very
active on social media, then the budget should be dedicated to social media with complimentary
traditional outreach.
THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INDUSTRY
Interviewee: John Challinor
Title: Director of Corporate Affairs
Organization: Nestlé Waters Canada
Interviewer: Sam Basie
Date: June 24, 2010
1. How would you define social media and its use in public relations and what is your sense in how
people are defining social media these days?
Social Media is an interactive means of electronic communications between individuals and individuals
and communities (whether formal or informal). Social media is yet another communications tool used
by public relations practitioners to create awareness, understanding and support for the advancement
of ideas. I have no idea how other people are defining social media these days. You'd have to ask others
for their opinion.
2. Has social media improved the overall work of public relations practitioners or detracted from it?
For example opened new ways of reaching targeted audiences or turned the PR practitioner into more
of a technician? Why?
It has improved it in some ways and made it more difficult in other ways. It has provided better access
to targeted audiences but it has also provided a forum for all individuals and audiences to express
themselves more publicly -- with sometimes unfortunate results for a practitioner and his/her client. It
has necessitated that practitioners become more timely in their work effort, more precise in their
communications and more aware of what their intended audiences are saying/thinking/doing, but I
don't believe it has turned them into technicians.
3. What are the greatest challenges organizations are faced with in implementing social media in the
workplace?
Timely, affordable and relevant monitoring and messaging management.
4. When building a public relations plans for your client/organization, what criteria do you use to
include social media as a tool?
First and foremost, the intended audience, their accessibility through social media and the ability of
social media technology to deliver key messages in a compelling, timely manner.
5. Is social media seen as a low cost tool to communicate messages and develop relationships with
audiences? Compared to other tools, how much time and budget is allocated to social media.
No, it's not low-cost. It requires more human monitoring and management than other electronic tools,
like web sites, for example, or more traditional media forms.
THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INDUSTRY
6. How is social media affecting salaries and position titles of pr practitioners . . . Do you think social
media specific training is necessary for emerging pr practitioners?
I don't believe it is affecting salaries, etc. Practitioners are expected to be proficient with it. It is a part of
a practitioner's core competency. Specialized training is always helpful.
7. What do you see as the lasting or new trends in social media... for example facebook, twitter?
Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace and Twitter will continue as long as they serve and protect the interests
of their communities. As soon as they become too marketing-oriented and begin to sell off their value
proposition, consumers will migrate elsewhere. Social media will continue to grow, but the hosts of the
various offerings will change over time as consumers seek greater exclusivity and privacy.
8. Do you think social media tools have or will replace or modify traditional tools (ie. Media relations
through twitter etc.)?
No. There is no single silver bullet in marketing communications. You need many arrows in your quiver
to reach your intended audience.
THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INDUSTRY
Interviewee: M. Blackwood
Title:
Organization:
Interviewer: Sam Basie
Date: June 24, 2010
1. How would you define social media and its use in public relations and what is your sense in how
people are defining social media these days?
Social media is interactive web-based tools that allow user engagement across networks /web
communities that have a common interest or linkage.
I think most people are defining social media based on its applications (facebook, blogs) and tools and
less on its philosophy of interactivity and dimension.
2. Has social media improved the overall work of public relations practitioners or detracted from it?
For example opened new ways of reaching targeted audiences or turned the PR practitioner into more
of a technician? Why?
I believe that social media has improved the overall work of public relations practitoners, particularly
from a non-profit point of view. I have been able to reach communities that primarily existed online in
their social interaction (i.e. lesbian, gay, bisexual and Trans communities online for safety, networking,
and reduction of social isolation). Social media has also contributed to the upward flow of information
to PR practitioners by providing insight into the behaviour of our target audiences. The use of facebook
for example with LGBT groups I was serving, allowed me to see what other groups they were joining,
what events they were attending, what interests they were logging, and their status updates about
feelings/moods/causes. I could then tailor our Group facebook fan page to use that information to
become more relevant to the target audience. It has also given the PR practitioner more technical skills
in helping to leverage the existing information of Web 1.0 to a broader audience. Also in being able to
provide options for tailor-made information and personalization, which again allows for the material to
have a broader reach for its audiences, and perhaps sometimes an unmet need of its audiences (for
example, in using a blog for a health and racism working group* which started out in profiling
information of the group’s activities, with interest from other bloggers outside the group, it led to a
broader sharing of information more generally on topics of health disparities)
*www.healthandracism.blogspot.com.In some ways there have been detractions from the work of PR
practitioners because our information now has the potential to exist alongside the work of anyone with
an internet connection, so it is harder to position the work of PR practitioners as credible and reliable,
when anyone can write a blog, for example, and design it to look as professional as the next. Also, the
privacy and provider
THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INDUSTRY
3. What are the greatest challenges organizations are faced with in implementing social media in the
workplace?
Privacy issues are big. Control of the space created, i.e. interactivity is wonderful, but moderation of
discussions without being ‘big brother’ (hence turning off users who want freedom of space) is difficult
to navigate. Keeping up with the technology, many PR professionals who are not savvy with social media
in their personal lives are less likely to suggest, use and adapt the tools for their clients. Keeping up with
the technology in terms of time, copy and content may be shorter but posting may be more frequent
than a newsletter for example. Keeping it relevant…I’ve seen PR professionals want to turn their
newsletter into a twitter status….adapting copy and content to the medium.
4. When building a public relations plans for your client/organization, what criteria do you use to
include social media as a tool?
Who is your target audience? What barriers do they face in accessing information? (I.e. low English
proficiency, web-only, discrimination, etc.)
How web-savvy are they? Are they currently accessing web 1.0 information? I.e. seniors still like
paper...they are unlikely to blog although there are exceptions
Will you be connecting your clients to a myriad of resources? Providing links in social media is incredibly
easy, and easy to track using user statistics.
What is the shelf life of the information you are communicating? More permanent features, like a policy
for example, should be on a static place like a website and referenced to in social media.
What are the privacy considerations of your target audience?
Do you have someone on your team that can maintain a constant nurturing of the application? Posting
once a month on a facebook account is not a good use of social media.
5. Is social media seen as a low cost tool to communicate messages and develop relationships with
audiences? Compared to other tools, how much time and budget is allocated to social media.
Absolutely. Very low cost for larger reach to audiences. It can be more time consuming in the sense
there is daily maintenance, but it can be less time consuming in bundles (i.e. the intensive time bundle
used to produce a quarterly newsletter). It is far more cost effective than print media, and ad space is
cheaper.
6. How is social media affecting salaries and position titles of pr practitioners . . . Do you think social
media specific training is necessary for emerging pr practitioners?
I’m not sure on this one. But I do think social media workshops and training is necessary for emerging
practitioners…even if Facebook goes away, the web behaviour of social interactivity and customized
information will likely be uploaded to a new platform for users.
7. What do you see as the lasting or new trends in social media... for example facebook, twitter?
Facebook will likely stick around for a while, by may morph into a less user active forum. Twitter is likely
to stagnate and be replaced by some other kind of microblogging…since it lost its simplicity by now
THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INDUSTRY
being able to add photos etc. I haven’t used googlebuzz but competition for facebook will likely emerge
as the apps for iphones and others grow in popularity.
8. Do you think social media tools have or will replace or modify traditional tools (ie. Media relations
through twitter etc.)?
I don’t think it will replace traditional tools, particularly in non-profit because we are dealing with multigenerations of people.
THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INDUSTRY
Interviewee: Katie Gray
Title:
Organization: The Toronto Zoo
Interviewer: Sam Basie
Date: June 24, 2010
1. How would you define social media and its use in public relations and what is your sense in how
people are defining social media these days?
I would define social media as an evolution of media from a more traditionally institutionalized driven
form of media to a consumer-driven promotional outlet.
2. Has social media improved the overall work of public relations practitioners or detracted from it?
For example opened new ways of reaching targeted audiences or turned the PR practitioner into more
of a technician? Why?
I think both really... it has made reaching people easier as there are more avenues and opportunities to
reach people and certainly offers more cost-effective options, but really you need to have staff fully
dedicated to this in order for it to be successful, so that may become challenging. It can also backfire if
people are not fully prepared or equipped to manage their social media, and I think a lot of people are
jumping in without learning all the aspects of it first.
3. What are the greatest challenges organizations are faced with in implementing social media in the
workplace?
Resources needed to manage all the different social media outlets - there are SO many out there. Also,
figuring out which are the best fit for your company... there are so many, and they are constantly
changing and evolving.
4. When building a public relations plans for your client/organization, what criteria do you use to
include social media as a tool?
We don't right now very extensively, for the very reason that we don't have resources to manage it. We
have selectively used Facebook and Twitter as part of media campaigns, or to promote events, but we
ensure it is always something that we can handle.
5. Is social media seen as a low cost tool to communicate messages and develop relationships with
audiences? Compared to other tools, how much time and budget is allocated to social media.
Again, we don't use it much, but I think the hard cost would be minimal, but the staffing cost to monitor
would be high.
6. How is social media affecting salaries and position titles of pr practitioners . . . Do you think social
media specific training is necessary for emerging pr practitioners?
I really don't know anything about this I'm afraid!
THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INDUSTRY
7. What do you see as the lasting or new trends in social media... for example facebook, twitter?
I don't think Facebook is going anywhere... Twitter seems to be lasting... I'm sure there will be a lot of
new ones in time!
8. Do you think social media tools have or will replace or modify traditional tools (ie. Media relations
through twitter etc.)?
No, but I do think they should be integrated at least to some degree to maximize the effectiveness of
promotion.
THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INDUSTRY
Interviewee: C. Crosbie
Title:
Organization: Ontario Science Centre
Interviewer: Sam Basie
Date: June 24, 2010
1. How would you define social media and its use in public relations and what is your sense in how
people are defining social media these days?
My idea of social media is internet-based media that allow the public to provide content and
commentary. The public now has direct access to various audiences via blogs, twitter feeds, facebook,
comment boxes on mainstream media websites (newspapers, etc), linked-in, and other similar
platforms. I think the public defines social media as media where they are equally content consumers
and providers. Social media can be an effective PR tool if your targeted audiences are avid users of the
various platforms, and if you can provide interesting content that is not strictly made up of marketing
messages. It is also useful to monitor what consumers are saying about your brand or product, and to
interact with dissatisfied, or even happy consumers in a public way that allows others to see your
concern and responsiveness to your customers, providing transparency.
2. Has social media improved the overall work of public relations practitioners or detracted from it?
For example opened new ways of reaching targeted audiences or turned the PR practitioner into more
of a technician? Why?
I think that if social media is used strategically it can be a useful tool in the PR arsenal. The messaging
must be determined in consultation with management. The dissemination is more of a technician's role
(interns, for example), but also gives the practitioner a good overall view of the brand in a certain sector
of the marketplace.
3. What are the greatest challenges organizations are faced with in implementing social media in the
workplace?
I believe organizations must develop a plan before going out into the internet "wilderness". I think some
PR agencies have experience is this very new field, and are more capable of staying on the cutting-edge
of what's going on in social media, as things change every day. Consulting management for a message,
and then with an agency to get the plan started is probably the best way to go. Just putting up a
facebook fan page and twitter feed is not good enough, you have to have a plan.
4. When building a public relations plans for your client/organization, what criteria do you use to
include social media as a tool?
Is this the way to reach our target audiences? How do we measure if this is working? How will being
involved in these platforms affect the perception and value of our brand? Are our competitors doing it?
THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INDUSTRY
5. Is social media seen as a low cost tool to communicate messages and develop relationships with
audiences? Compared to other tools, how much time and budget is allocated to social media.
I believe that the number one appeal of social media marketing/pr is its low cost. There are few ways to
get a message out so inexpensively. I suspect for many organizations the cost is made up solely of salary,
maybe some ads on Facebook, Google, etc. I think some money should be spent in designing a plan and
perhaps hiring outside consultants for ideas.
6. How is social media affecting salaries and position titles of pr practitioners . . . Do you think social
media specific training is necessary for emerging pr practitioners?
I do believe that social media training is valuable to all PR practitioners, emerging or established. Social
media has really only been a serious PR presence for the past five years or so, so everyone is a beginner,
regardless of experience in PR field. Also, social media is a moving target, we could all benefit from
updates every six months or so. Who has time to keep on top of all the trends? At this point I don't think
it affects salaries, but it probably has an impact on hiring.
7. What do you see as the lasting or new trends in social media... for example facebook, twitter?
I think Twitter, like facebook, will continue to evolve, in ways I can't even imagine. Facebook is waning
somewhat, and twitter continues to pick up speed among a slightly older demographic (30's, 40's),
although the vast majority of Twitter-ers don't tweet often and have very little interesting material to
contribute.
8. Do you think social media tools have or will replace or modify traditional tools (ie. Media relations
through twitter etc.)?
I think social media tools enhance traditional media relations. We can send out a news release on CNW,
who then puts the link on Twitter. We can email releases to our media lists, and put the same material
on our FB page for our fans to read. It adds another layer of dissemination.
THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INDUSTRY
Interviewee: Sandra Gabriel
Title:
Organization:
Interviewer: Sam Basie
Date: June 24, 2010
1. How would you define social media and its use in public relations and what is your sense in how
people are defining social media these days?
Social media is PR 2.0. It's a communication tool of PR that allows you to listen, speak to and share
information with a businesses supporters. Front-end social media users (the fans and followers) define
social media as a tool that allows you to connect with friends, family, colleagues and more. Back-end
social media users (PR and marketing professional) define social media as an outreach tool to stay on
top of what customers are thinking and saying and it allows them to create marketing and
communications plans that align better with their audiences and produce the maximum impact.
2. Has social media improved the overall work of public relations practitioners or detracted from it?
For example opened new ways of reaching targeted audiences or turned the PR practitioner into more
of a technician? Why?
Social media has had both a positive and negative effect. On the positive side it has improved our work
in that we now have direct access to the thoughts and opinions of company stakeholders, the process of
collecting and analyzing this information is also facilitated through social media and communication with
stakeholders is also streamlined, however, on the negative side, the true essence of PR is becoming
more and more degraded. The relationship building process through more traditional research and
evaluation methods and really meeting stakeholder needs is almost an after-thought.
3. What are the greatest challenges organizations are faced with in implementing social media in the
workplace?
I think a lot of organizations are still not segmenting their audiences. Even though the online audience is
a segment in and of itself, they could drill down even further to target the right people with the right
messages.
4. When building a public relations plans for your client/organization, what criteria do you use to
include social media as a tool?
It's the most cost effective communication tool and it allows for greater reach in a shorter space of time.
If used properly, it allows for segmenting and more strategic marketing and communications practices.
5. Is social media seen as a low cost tool to communicate messages and develop relationships with
audiences? Compared to other tools, how much time and budget is allocated to social media.
THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INDUSTRY
Yes. the budget for social media at the low-end (suitable for startup businesses or entrepreneurs) is
nearly free, whereas if you incorporate additional measurement, analysis, management and evaluation
tools, the budget could range from 2,500 to almost 20,000 annually. The lower the budget the more
time consuming as all management is most likely done manually. But the higher the budget the less time
consuming as the tools are all automated and reporting is quicker and more accurate.
6. How is social media affecting salaries and position titles of pr practitioners . . . Do you think social
media specific training is necessary for emerging pr practitioners?
In-house PR professionals might feel the effect of social media on their salaries a little more than
independent practitioners. The work-load of in-house practitioners is significantly reduced since most of
their social media systems will be automated and so less time is spent on the RACE (Research, Analysis,
Communication and Evaluation). Whereas independent practitioners can leverage social media tools as
part of their services and clients are willing to invest more to have the process taken care of for them.
7. What do you see as the lasting or new trends in social media... for example facebook, twitter?
social media itself is a lasting trend. Suppliers are now creating 2.0 systems that allow for automated
sales and marketing and the integration of cloud computing. Tools like facebook and twitter will
eventually be reduced to simple communication tools while things like lead generation and lead
nurturing move into the forefront.
8. Do you think social media tools have or will replace or modify traditional tools (ie. Media relations
through twitter etc.)?
social media will NEVER replace true and proper media relations. It's one thing to connect with a
journalist or reporter online, but to build that relationship requires direct connection either through
telephone or face-to-face communications. There is more value in offering an exclusive to a reporter
than them pulling the information from a social media space where everyone has access.
THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INDUSTRY
Interviewee: Lisa Bednarski
Title: Senior Vice President
Organization: Weber & Shandwick
Interviewer: Jelena Bubanja
Date: June 30, 2010
1. How would you define SM and its use in PR and what is your sense in how people are defining SM
these days?
Well, it’s kind of a very broad question and I don’t know how easy it is to answer. I think how SM works
best is when it’s not perceived as something that is on to itself. And it can really work with traditional PR
but integrated more closely with the traditional PR. So where you use to give media the tools to tell your
story on your behalf you now find a way to engage other audiences and getting involved with the story
and telling it on your behalf.
2. Do you see SM as a low cost tool to communicate messages and develop relationships with
audiences?
I wouldn’t necessarily consider it as a low cost tool, but I wouldn’t consider it a high cost tool aider. It
really depends on the situation and what the best solution is for that particular challenge or
opportunity. So if the mountain is high to climb that doesn’t always mean that the most expensive
solution is the best, you just have to find the smartest one or the smartest within the budget that you
are allocated.
3. Compared to other tools how much time and budget is allocated to SM? And is there a certain
budget that is allocated at all?
Just so you know when I’m answering these questions I’m answering them through the filter of
providing advice for clients. I can give you the answer the question from the prospective of the majority
of clients. I would say that it is increasing every day and the percentage of the overall budget that is
allocated towards SM is increasing every day. I would also say that US is ahead of Canada in terms of
allocating budget to it which is (well, it’s not surprising, because Canadian budgets are much smaller
than in the US) but It’s interesting because considering that Canadians are by nature much more wired
and much more engaged with SM then Americans.
4. Has SM improved the overall work of PR practitioners or detracted it? For example, opened new
ways of reaching targeted audience or turned the PR practitioners into more of technicians? Why?
No, I don’t see that because I think that you still need to be strategic as you were with the traditional PR
as with SM. It is not necessarily a new discipline I see it as an evolution of PR as oppose.
5. What are the greatest challenges organizations are facing with in implementing SM in the
workplace?
THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INDUSTRY
Challenges are explaining what the return on investment would be. So how can people understand the
matrix? What is success, what does success look like. And that changes every day, there is no right way
to answer, there is no answer to that question. So the challenge Is for clients to understand that it is a
bit of a moving target and budget. And also convincing people who happen to be in a company that is a
little bit old school that it is relevant and were the other time versus some of the more traditional
activities that they’ve been undertaken.
6. When building PR plans for you clients what criteria do you use to include SM as a tool?
The problem usually does take the solution. So when client come to us and they say “we want to get
coverage for our new knives” and I mean knives are a very low engagement category. The media pole to
get coverage for knives is very shallow so… But the target audience for this particular project is young
woman in their 20ties and early 30s who just bought a new condo and are standing up in their kitchens
for the first time. That’s a group that is very actively engaged with social media but not necessarily with
traditional media. So the best way to reach that target audience in to develop a plan of attack that
reaches them where they live. So if that happens to be online then that’s the best way to go.
7. That means that in your opinion it is not mandatory to include SM in communications plan?
No! It depends on the actual problem. The problem dictates the solution.
8. How is SM affecting salaries and position titles of PR practitioners?
That’s a really good question because and the one you should really pay attention to because really
savvy people who know what they are doing are few and far between so finding them is a challenge and
kipping them is a challenge so their salaries are particularly higher.
9. So you can’t hire a 17-year old to do your SM communications just because they know how to use
it?
It still needs to be strategic! It still needs to address the problem. It can’t just be cool it actually has to be
smart.
10. Do you think that SM specific training is necessary for emerging PR practitioners and does WS
provide SM training to their employees?
Yes and yes.
11. Do you train all of your practitioners or only those whose job is to coordinate SM?
Yes, we have a specialist and he has a couple of people who work with his team but their job is also to
educate the rest of the agency. And that extends not only for our officers here in Canada that’s part of
the WS global network.
12. Do you think that SM will replace or modify traditional tools?
I think that they will be integrated with traditional tools I think that they are evolution of traditional
tools, but I don’t see them as or going away.
13. So the good combination is the best?
THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INDUSTRY
Well again problem dictates the solution but you can’t throw a baby in a bath with water so we always
have to be mindful of traditional channels as well.
THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INDUSTRY
Appendix B: Survey Results
THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INDUSTRY
Appendix C: Progress Reports
Report #: 1 of 6
To: Irene Tysall, Instructor
From: Social media impact in the public relations industry - Sam Baisie, Jelena Bubanjo, Kim England,
Danika Lochhead, Licinio Miguelo, Irit Shtock, Stefany Singh
Date: Saturday June 5th, 2010
The following summary of progress is for the period May 8th – June 5th
Actions complete:
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Team determined report topic and sub-themes; received approval from instructor
Jelena collected all e-mail addresses and sent out action items to team
Stefany set-up Wikispaces page; invited team to join
Team researched articles on internet and library and uploaded to Wikispaces
Team developed questions to be answered in the report and analyzed in-class
With the help of the team, Stefany finalized first draft of problem statement and revised
questions to be answered in the report and submitted to Irene May 22nd
Team reviewed and revised problem statement in-class May 29th with Irene
Team developed timeline of due dates for all parts of the project; uploaded to Wikispaces
Jelena researched peer evaluated materials related to the subject including EBSCO
Team forwarded top-line summary of research articles to Irit
Team submitted questions for survey and interviews to Danika; Danika compiled and brought to
class June 5th for discussion and review
Kim confirmed an interview with Paula Morrison, vice-president, Temple Scott Associates (a PR
and government relations firm)
Sam confirmed an interviews with senior level public relations practitioners Howard Brown and
Wendy Kauffman
Sam contacted a number of CPRS members regarding the project and they have expressed a
willingness to participate
Actions planned for next week:
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Finalize survey and interview questions
Team to distribute survey questions to personal contact lists June 14th
Confirm interview subjects and book date/time
Ongoing research
Problems/Challenges Encountered:
THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INDUSTRY
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Meeting team-implemented deadlines
Learning Points:
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Creating a time frame for all deadlines for all parts of the project is helping us to better organize
and manage our time and ensure we complete our deliverables as planned
THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INDUSTRY
Report #: 2 of 6
To: Irene Tysall, Instructor
From: Social media’s impact on public relations in the workplace - Sam Baisie, Jelena Bubanja, Kim
England, Danika Lochhead, Licinio Miguelo, Irit Shtock, Stefany Singh
Date: Saturday June 12th, 2010
The following summary of progress is for the period June 6th – June 12th
Actions complete:
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Team finalized questions for survey and interviews
Licinio uploaded survey questions to SurveyMonkey; sent to team for review
Team uploaded contact lists for survey distribution to Wikispaces
Danika drafted three e-mails for survey distribution; the first, to introduce ourselves and request
participation in the survey; the second, to follow-up and remind that the survey will be closing in
one week; the third, to thank our contacts for participating and that the survey findings will be
made available, if interested; sent e-mails to team
Licinio conducted one-on-one interview with Warren Kinsella, president, Daisy Consulting
Group; compiling responses for analysis
Jelena sent interview request to Lisa Bednarski, senior vice-president; Weber Shandwick
Toronto; awaiting confirmation
Team submitted actions to-date for progress report #2 to Danika; Danika compiled and e-mailed
to Irene June 12th
Actions planned for next week:
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Team to distribute survey to all contacts
Team to send follow-up emails to all contacts w/o June 15th
Confirm interview subjects and book dates/times
Problems/Challenges Encountered:
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None
Learning Points:
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It was critical that we reviewed, discussed and made changes to survey questions and interview
questions in-class June 5th
THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INDUSTRY
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Immediate distribution of the survey gives time (we have allocated two weeks) for the questions
to be answered
Report #: 3 of 6
To: Irene Tysall, Instructor
THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INDUSTRY
From: Social media’s impact on public relations in the workplace - Sam Baisie, Jelena Bubanja, Kim
England, Danika Lochhead, Licinio Miguelo, Irit Shtock, Stefany Singh
Date: Saturday June 19th, 2010
The following summary of progress is for the period June 12th – June 19th
Actions complete:
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Jelena conducted phone interviews with Lisa Bednarsky (Senior VP at Weber Shandwick) and
Andrea Tavchar (Professor at Humber College) ; sent out e-mails with the survey link to her
contact list (12 people); uploaded progress reports to the wiki
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Danika distributed survey to contact list; Compiled survey results and sent e-mails to key public
relations practitioners for an interview; no confirmations
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Kim conducted her interview with Paula Morrison; distributed survey to contact list
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Licinio distributed survey to contact list; actions involving monitoring the survey and preparing
to do the analysis
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Sam distributed survey to contact list; sent the thank you note to all contacts who
participated in the survey; attended the Ryerson Library on June 16th to conduct further
research on our topic and to borrow books on the subject.
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Irit distributed survey to contact list; compiled and worked on literature reviews
submitted by team
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Stefany distributed survey to contact list; provided the link with survey to her Twitter
and LinkedIn contacts; updated our project planning on the home page; booked an
interview with David Jones, VP of Digital Communications at Hill and Knowlton and will
be reaching out to Shell Holtz to see if we are able to get him to weigh in on things as
well
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Team submitted actions to-date for progress report #3 to Jelena; Jelena compiled and e-mailed
to Irene June 19th
Actions planned for next week:
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Team to send out the Thank you e-mail to all survey participants on June 25, 2010
Team to compile and analyze survey results
Transcript/edit interviews
Sam and Stefany to allot a length of time to compile the discussion piece which will be looking at
the lit review and the survey and interview results
Problems/Challenges Encountered:
None
THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INDUSTRY
Learning Points:
 PR practitioners that we interviewed/sent a survey to are very interested in results of the
survey and in our research paper in general
 Team members mastered interviewing skills
Report #: 4 of 6
To: Irene Tysall, Instructor
From: Social media’s impact on public relations in the workplace - Sam Baisie, Jelena Bubanja, Kim
England, Danika Lochhead, Licinio Miguelo, Irit Shtock, Stefany Singh
Date: Saturday July 3rd, 2010
The following summary of progress is for the period June 20th – July 3rd
THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INDUSTRY
Actions complete:
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Team distributed survey on Survey Monkey to contacts
Team conducted one-on-one interviews with public relations professionals in the non-profit,
government, corporate and agency sectors for a total of eight interviews
Team compiled interview transcripts and sent to Licinio
Licinio analyzed survey findings and interview responses; sent final analysis to team July 2nd for
review
Team researched possible APA editor’s to review our final project
Problems/Challenges Encountered:
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None
Learning Points:
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We had great response to our survey and we allocated enough time for people to respond
On-track with our deadlines at this point
Report #: 5 of 6
To: Irene Tysall, Instructor
From: Social media’s impact on public relations in the workplace - Sam Baisie, Jelena Bubanja, Kim
England, Danika Lochhead, Licinio Miguelo, Irit Shtock, Stefany Singh
Date: Saturday July 10th, 2010
THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INDUSTRY
The following summary of progress is for the period July 3rd – July 10th
Actions complete:
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Licinio finalized the analyses of survey findings and the appendix for the interviews.
Irit worked on lit review.
Stefany to update the wikispaces as some deadlines were moved.
Team researched possible APA editor’s to review our final project
Problems/Challenges Encountered:
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None
Learning Points:
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On-track with our deadlines at this point
Next meeting July 24th at 10:00 a.m.
Report #: 6 of 6
To: Irene Tysall, Instructor
From: Social media’s impact on public relations in the workplace - Sam Baisie, Jelena Bubanja, Kim
England, Danika Lochhead, Licinio Miguelo, Irit Shtock, Stefany Singh
THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INDUSTRY
Date: Saturday July 16th, 2010
The following summary of progress is for the period July 11th – July 17th
Actions complete:
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Stefany updated team on new deadlines and deliverables; updated Wikispaces
Licinio uploaded survey and interview analysis to Wikispaces
Danika completed methodology section and submitted to team
Irit completed literature review and submitted to team
Stefany and Sam began reviewing all documents and started analysis and discussion piece
Team researched possible APA editor’s to review our final project
Problems/Challenges Encountered:
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None