As the world continues to go digital and a new social media buzzword seems to appear every day, PR practitioners are trying to keep up with an incredibly fast-paced and always changing industry. Digital and social media have started to transform the practice of public relations, but overall there is very limited research that explains why certain organizations adopt these tools and others do not. In addition, we know very little about the implementation of digital media measurement among organizations.
Last fall, USC Annenberg’s Strategic Communication and PR Center (SCPRC) conducted the 7th biennial Generally Accepted Practices (GAP VII) study. Due to the help of partners including IPR, this past year’s GAP is the largest and most comprehensive study of 620 of the most senior communicators in public and private corporations, government agencies, and non-profits in the U.S.
We asked participants multiple questions about digital and social media use and focused on digital media adoption and its relationship to practitioner characteristics and attitudes as well as the structural characteristics of an organization. Most important, we wanted to see if there was a relationship between digital/social media use and the perceived value of the PR function in the organization.
Here is what we found:
Adoption varies widely across different types of digital and social media:
Facebook is the most widely adopted — only 14% of organizations don’t use it. Crowdsourcing and mashup practices are the least popular, and less than 25% of respondents had adopted them. It is important to note that search engine optimization and online video sharing also had significant usage.
Organization types differ in the implementation of various digital/social media tools and practices:
We identified 3 factors underlying the implementation of new communications practices: mainstream digital use (Twitter, blogs, SNS, RSS, SEO, tagging), still-emerging digital media practices (online audio, co-creation of content, location-based services, production of online video), and fringe practices (mash-ups, crowdsourcing).
It turned out that organization types differ in the implementation of mainstream tools and emerging media practices, but not for fringe practices. Specifically, non-profits are more likely than corporations and government organizations to adopt mainstream digital media practices. They are also ahead of corporations in implementing emerging new media. On the other hand, they are NOT more likely to take up fringe practices. There are no differences between corporate and government PR departments in their adoption of new communication practices, and there are no differences between ANY type of organization when it comes to digital and social media measurement/monitoring.
We think non-profits are more likely to adopt various digital practices since these organizations tend to have lower budgets, must seek out inexpensive tools, and typically operate with more freedom and less regulatory constraints. Corporations must deal with numerous legal issues and are normally more risk-averse. Fears of losing control over the message tends to leave them with less of an incentive to adopt digital media as quickly as non-profits.
Practitioner attitudes are more important predictors of social media adoption than structural variables:
Practitioners who recognize the soaring number of touch points with audiences and appreciate the permeation of social media throughout his or her organization are more likely to adopt digital/social media. In contrast, practitioners who worry about control are less likely to embrace social media since it is accompanied by a certain level of risk.
Communication integration is a significant and positive predictor of all types of digital media use AND the use of social media metrics:
Since social media is not “owned” by an individual department, horizontal integration is critical when it comes to sharing digital and social media duties across various functions and avoiding roadblocks to implementation.
Bottom line?
PR practitioners who adopt new media practices can definitely contribute to the perceived value of the PR department, but embracing digital and social media and measuring the effects of its use cannot act alone. Tactics are ineffective unless they are executed with a targeted strategy and a commitment to fulfilling an organization’s goals in an efficient and sustainable way.
GAP VII
The GAP VII study report is available for free download at the USC Annenberg Strategic Communication and Public Relation Center’s (SCPRC) web site annenberg.usc.edu/gapstudy. The same location hosts the GAP VII Insight Base, a comprehensive online catalogue of detailed findings. This is where PR practitioners can gain insight into specific topics of interest to their organization. The GAP VII research team included Jerry Swerling, Kjerstin Thorson, Burghardt Tenderich, Niku Ward and Brenna-Clairr O’Tierney.
Brenna Clairr O’Tierne and Burghardt Tenderich are from the Strategic Communication and Public Relations Center at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.
Format
As the world continues to go digital and a new social media buzzword seems to appear every day, PR practitioners are trying to keep up with an incredibly fast-paced and always changing industry. Digital and social media have started to transform the practice of public relations, but overall there is very limited research that explains why certain organizations adopt these tools and others do not. In addition, we know very little about the implementation of digital media measurement among organizations.
Last fall, USC Annenberg’s Strategic Communication and PR Center (SCPRC) conducted the 7th biennial Generally Accepted Practices (GAP VII) study. Due to the help of partners including IPR, this past year’s GAP is the largest and most comprehensive study of 620 of the most senior communicators in public and private corporations, government agencies, and non-profits in the U.S.
We asked participants multiple questions about digital and social media use and focused on digital media adoption and its relationship to practitioner characteristics and attitudes as well as the structural characteristics of an organization. Most important, we wanted to see if there was a relationship between digital/social media use and the perceived value of the PR function in the organization.
Here is what we found:
Adoption varies widely across different types of digital and social media:
Facebook is the most widely adopted — only 14% of organizations don’t use it. Crowdsourcing and mashup practices are the least popular, and less than 25% of respondents had adopted them. It is important to note that search engine optimization and online video sharing also had significant usage.
Organization types differ in the implementation of various digital/social media tools and practices:
We identified 3 factors underlying the implementation of new communications practices: mainstream digital use (Twitter, blogs, SNS, RSS, SEO, tagging), still-emerging digital media practices (online audio, co-creation of content, location-based services, production of online video), and fringe practices (mash-ups, crowdsourcing).
It turned out that organization types differ in the implementation of mainstream tools and emerging media practices, but not for fringe practices. Specifically, non-profits are more likely than corporations and government organizations to adopt mainstream digital media practices. They are also ahead of corporations in implementing emerging new media. On the other hand, they are NOT more likely to take up fringe practices. There are no differences between corporate and government PR departments in their adoption of new communication practices, and there are no differences between ANY type of organization when it comes to digital and social media measurement/monitoring.
We think non-profits are more likely to adopt various digital practices since these organizations tend to have lower budgets, must seek out inexpensive tools, and typically operate with more freedom and less regulatory constraints. Corporations must deal with numerous legal issues and are normally more risk-averse. Fears of losing control over the message tends to leave them with less of an incentive to adopt digital media as quickly as non-profits.
Practitioner attitudes are more important predictors of social media adoption than structural variables:
Practitioners who recognize the soaring number of touch points with audiences and appreciate the permeation of social media throughout his or her organization are more likely to adopt digital/social media. In contrast, practitioners who worry about control are less likely to embrace social media since it is accompanied by a certain level of risk.
Communication integration is a significant and positive predictor of all types of digital media use AND the use of social media metrics:
Since social media is not “owned” by an individual department, horizontal integration is critical when it comes to sharing digital and social media duties across various functions and avoiding roadblocks to implementation.
Bottom line?
PR practitioners who adopt new media practices can definitely contribute to the perceived value of the PR department, but embracing digital and social media and measuring the effects of its use cannot act alone. Tactics are ineffective unless they are executed with a targeted strategy and a commitment to fulfilling an organization’s goals in an efficient and sustainable way.
GAP VII
The GAP VII study report is available for free download at the USC Annenberg Strategic Communication and Public Relation Center’s (SCPRC) web site annenberg.usc.edu/gapstudy. The same location hosts the GAP VII Insight Base, a comprehensive online catalogue of detailed findings. This is where PR practitioners can gain insight into specific topics of interest to their organization. The GAP VII research team included Jerry Swerling, Kjerstin Thorson, Burghardt Tenderich, Niku Ward and Brenna-Clairr O’Tierney.
Brenna Clairr O’Tierne and Burghardt Tenderich are from the Strategic Communication and Public Relations Center at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.
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