Social Media’s Role in Crisis Communication
Question:
Discuss about the Public Relations Theories for Journal Review.
According to the authors, social media has become an essential part in the day- to- day lives of people. It is due to this reason that business organizations have embraced the use of social media not only for marketing and public relations activities, but also for the purpose of crisis communication.
Social media is advantageous in being condensing time and space, addressing a large number of people in a short time in the event of an organizational crisis. In this article, the research is conducted to analyze the relevance of social mediated crisis communication model (SCCM) and other communication theories to depict that the medium, which is used to communicate has an impact on crisis communication. The nuclear disaster, which is taking place in the Fukushima District, is used as a scenario to understand the impact of usage of social media in crisis communication.
On March 11, 2011, the east coast of Japan was hit with an earthquake, killing hundreds of people and causing damage to the Fukushima Daiichi power plants resulting in a nuclear meltdown. The maintenance of the nuclear power plants was done by Tokyo Electric Power Company (or TEPCO) and used as a target company for the research. This research is conducted via an experimental approach. The research is conducted for three main purposes- to understand the effect of medium (Schultz et al., 2011). It was done to analyze the effects of usage of social media network Facebook in crisis communication and to conduct an analysis on whether the usage of social media has any influence on secondary communication and if rage is driven by the effects of crisis. The research results revealed that most of the participants blamed circumstances as a cause for the accident and a lesser percentage blamed the company for the crisis. Secondly, it was observed that Facebook and Twitter users had more positive response towards the crisis than newspaper readers, proving that the effect of medium is strong during a crisis. It is also observed that online newspapers are considered a more credible source, proving the effect of credibility of a medium on secondary communication.
Lastly, the indirect effects of anger are observed on the effects of crisis. The strength of the article can be said to be its consideration of two crisis forms on its research. The research conducted ignores other aspects of crisis communication and the evaluation was conducted on the basis of one message and can be stated to be one of the limitations. Another one of the limitations is the absence of the effect of medium on crisis communication during a different form of crisis, like political crisis instead of corporate crisis. The article states the importance of addressing emotions during a crisis communication by the Public Relations department and the importance of communicating through all media channels during a crisis.
In this article, the research is conducted to understand the relevance of agenda setting theory in the usage of social media and newspapers for political campaigns or political communication. The authors state that the influence of social media and the extent to which media content is predicted by political parties and campaigns may have reversed the power of gatekeepers in media.
Relevance of the Social Mediated Crisis Communication Model (SCCM)
The research is conducted to examine the role of twitter posts in predicting the agenda of traditional forms of media or if the case is in reverse, and to examine how the affiliation of twitter feeds will have an impact on the rate of success in media agenda setting when it comes to respective Republican or Democratic issues. The study reveals that politicians may use twitter or other forms of social media for the communication of an agenda to the public and has a direct impact on the media agenda. The posts from politicians, political parties on twitter, influenced newspapers regarding most of the issues. However, it has also been observed that traditional media still maintains its agenda setting power. It is used by politicians for maintaining legitimacy regarding addressing controversial issues.
The main drawback of this research is that, the effects of agenda setting via the usage of twitter by politicians, political parties cannot be generalized, and they may differ. The research also fails to mention the exact ways in which twitter mechanism is utilized. Therefore, future research would stress more on understanding whether twitter posts have an impact on advertisements during election campaigns and analyzing how other forms of social media have an effect on the agenda setting purposes during political campaigns.
According to the author, the research and theories regarding public relations have experienced a great change, with scholars developing theories and models, giving emphasis to establishment of relationships between organization and the public.
The study focuses on the importance of responsiveness and interactivity for providing the basic conditions essential for the existence of a two-way communication process and establishment of relationships. The study also emphasizes on the understanding of the complex relationship, existing between responsiveness and interactivity. A comparison is made between various business and non-profit organizations since they have the presence of different aims and objectives but both of them require the presence of public relations and the establishment and maintenance of relationships, essential for the survival of both of these organizations.
It is observed from the research conducted that although interactivity and responsiveness are two very different terms in nature, one cannot exist without the other. Without the presence of responsiveness in an interactive communication, the entire process would fall apart resulting in the breaking down of the process of communication. The main drawback of this study can be said to be the absence of other important factors of public relations towards an organization and the public apart from the communication process.
Two- step flow theory can be considered important in this regard, as it notices, evaluates and interprets the messages of the media. It helps in creating opinions and individual perceptions to gaon knowledge.
In this study, the research is conducted to understand the expectations of consumers from the corporate social responsibility (or CSR) activities of an organization. The research was conducted in the form of survey on a sample representing the general public.
The survey revealed that the public was more inclined to giving priority to the official channels of communication of the company than independent/uncontrolled forms of media such as blogs, newspapers, statements by experts and so on. It has also been observed that the public is interested more in getting to know which party was experiencing the most benefit from the CSR activities of a company, rather than knowing what CSR activities were conducted by the company. The public was also interested in getting to know the third party endorsements, the participation of consumers and the affiliation of the non-profit organizations with the CSR activities of a company.
Impact of Usage of Social Media in Crisis Communication during Fukushima Disaster
According to the recommendations by the authors, the companies should focus more on presenting information rather than promotional content. There should be a transparency in the information presented, without the exclusion of negative details. Apart from these, the companies should also focus on presenting the CSR details in a way that finds more relevance with the common public and they should also mention any forms of affiliations with non-profit organization and third party endorsements in their CSR report. Instead of using the CEO and the executive heads to communicate information, the companies should also utilize itself as a source of information and communication to the public. The main drawback of the article can be said to be the lack of mentioning the disadvantages of improper reporting of CSR activities and its affect on a company.
An emphasis should be given to promote the use of company controlled media channels for exchange of information. Lastly, more emphasis should be given to gender differences and age groups while presenting a CSR report to the public. According to the authors, it has been observed that females tend to be more sensitive to the content of CSR messages than males, and the older age groups too are affected more by the tone of the message than people from younger age groups.
In this article, the author states that the usage of social media has always been viewed as having a positive impact on public relations activities since social media aids in the process of communication and establishment of good relationships with consumers.
The author however states that although the usage of social media is considered to have a great positive impact, yet the evidence of such a statement is dependent on case studies, with a limited scope of information available regarding the topic. The author therefore addresses and critically analyzes the following- identifying the exact value of social media in public relations activities, the assumptions regarding the benefits of social media and their relevance and suggestions relating to the usage of social media for public relations activities.
A two-way communication is considered possible only when an organization posts content online and the public feels like reacting to it. Social media has turned into an integral part of every individual’s life and is at present almost every person uses social media for socializing purposes. An abusive use of social media therefore, may create a sense of distrust and greatly affect relations.
The conclusion drawn by the author states that social media usage may not be as advantageous as stated previously by others. The usage of social media has its own disadvantages and may have a serious negative impact on the relations between the company and the public. According to the author, the creation of social media took place primarily in order to connect people and build up communication instead of conducting business activities.
The author hence recommends the public relations department to give more priority in understanding the positive and negative impacts along with proper understanding of the human behavior in order to achieve a favorable result from the usage of social media. The main drawback of this article is that new forms of social media are being constantly introduced and an in-depth analysis of the advantages and limitations of using instagram, pinterest, tumblr and so on has not been properly explained.
Political Agenda Setting and the Influence of Social Media
In this article, the study is conducted regarding the various uses of the gratification theory relating to media in Nigeria along with a focus on the optimization of media in private and commercial sectors owned by the state in Nigeria. A survey was conducted in order to – understand the application and uses of public relations regarding the gratification theory, the decisions in selecting which medium is to be used for communicating with the public and the active role of audiences and their mentality towards selecting the medium they want to be exposed to according to the uses of gratification theory.
The survey revealed that the newspapers do not follow a specific pattern or have a specific target audience regarding the news stories submitted by PR individuals. Instead, it targets the general audience as a whole and not just a section of the crowd. The authors state that it is due to this reason that government agencies like BPE are reluctant to use social media and prefer newspapers and traditional media to communicate messages to the public.
The authors recommend that the newspaper and PR agencies should subscribe and publish their Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC) in a quarterly time frame along with all details of the analysis. Apart from this, the Nigeria Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) should monitor its members and National Assembly needs to enact laws that help in strengthening the functions of media and PR agencies.
In this article, an analysis is made regarding the nature of the flow of communication in the event of social conflicts via Twitter.
In order to conduct the analysis, tweets were collected, relating to nine environmental social movements that took place in Chile. The analysis revealed that all forms of network step flow were existent in the findings. The authors state that the flow of communication taking place via the digital media forms reveals different forms of network step flow, when viewed from different perspectives. According to the authors, the older models of communication remain significant till this day and are still relevant to the process of communication.
The main drawback of this study is that it only analyzes the flow of communication on one digital platform (Twitter) and the communication patterns may change accordingly in other mediums of communication.
In this article, a study is conducted in order to understand how different perceptions have led to the gradual decline of the magic bullet theory. The magic bullet theory states that media is ‘all-powerful’, its mode of communication is direct and the general public is compliant and helpless when faced with such strong form of communication.
The author however, argues stating that the relevance of the magic bullet theory is non-existent at present. This is due to the reason that the audience today is active and they constantly filter the messages received from various sources of media. The article also identifies and analyzes the relevance of various theories like two-step flow theory, individual difference theory, social categories theory and all others that oppose the notion of media being all powerful, as stated in the magic bullet theory.
Role of Twitter in Predicting the Agenda of Traditional Media in Political Campaigns
The magic bullet theory is critically evaluated in this study, identifying the positive and negative impacts of the theory. The media industry has undergone a vast change over the years and the attitudes and beliefs of people have also changed with time. The magic bullet theory may have been relevant in the past but in recent times, the selective attention and retention, thoughts, beliefs, wants, needs and all psychological factors along with the demography affect the amount of influence media has on an individual.
The author concludes stating that at present the ‘limited effects perspective’ is of great significance at present. The main strength of this article can be said to be its consideration and evaluation of all theories that oppose the view of the magic needle theory by providing relevant reasons. Apart from this, the author also acknowledges the importance of the magic bullet theory in helping in the advancement of media related studies. The drawback of this article can be said to be the fact that it lacks an in depth analysis of the influence media has on the public during a time of emergency or war.
The magic bullet theory used in this article is similar to the hypodermic needle theory. It referred to the reaction of the mass audience to the mass media. This theory was appropriate with the instance of filtering of messages by the audience received in different media.
In this article, an analysis is conducted to understand the significance that influence consumers have in shaping the process of retrieving and sharing information in regards to the general public. The points are drawn from the two step flow theory and multiple flow theory of communication for the assessment.
The article states that the process of marketing and selling experiences a change due to the presence of three types of consumers- the innovators, opinion leaders and market mavens. The author states that these individuals should be identified and utilized by managers and organizations in the manufacturing and marketing process, as it would have a great positive impact on the sales and promotion of a product or brand. However, the main drawback of this article is that it conducts the research theoretically and practical applications of the author’s statement may provide different results.
In this article, the research is conducted to examine and understand the level of influence mass media has in communicating the usage of contraceptives and if that has affected the decision of women regarding contraceptive use in Kenya.
Points were taken from the hypodermic needle theory and cultivation theory of media for better understanding of the research. The research was conducted via questionnaire and was primarily focused on the print media. The results revealed that the influence of print media regarding the educating of people about risks of HIV and sexually transmitted diseases had a low rate of success. It was observed that the usage of contraceptives was lacking even after the publication of messages in leading newspapers.
However, the radio and television experienced favorable results in communicating the message to the general public and the people living in slums are more influenced by the broadcast media than print media. This may be due to the low rates of education in the country and also the way in which the message is presented by the broadcast media is attractive to the consumers and is successful in increasing their awareness and knowledge.
Conclusion
The authors conclude stating that although the country has experienced a rise in the family planning process and health conditions have improved, there is still a long way to go in order to experience favorable results. The author recommends that the government, media and all other organizations should lay more emphasis on communicating the message and the creation of lobby groups would help in assisting and speeding up the process of communicating the message to the public.
It can be recommended by reviewing the articles that public relations act as an important part-resolving crisis or building relationship between the politician and common people. The theories, which were used in critically reviewing the articles, were not widely used. Therefore, to conduct further studies on these topic new and modern theories need to be encouraged.
References
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Egede, E. A., & Chuks-Nwosu, E. (2013). Uses and gratification theory and the optimization of the media in the privatization of state owned enterprises in Nigeria. Journal of Economics and Sustainable Development, 4(16), 202-212.
Flow Communication Theory. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 5(20), 705.
Hilbert, M., Vásquez, J., Halpern, D., Valenzuela, S., & Arriagada, E. (2016). One-step, two-step, network-step?. Complementary Perspectives on Communication Flows in Twittered Citizen Protests. Social Science Computer Review, Abril, 12.
Kenechukwu, S. (2015). UNDERSTANDING MEDIA EFFECT: A STUDY OF HOW STUDIES IN PERCEPTION NAILED THE COFFIN ON MAGIC BULLET THEORY. International Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Review, 5(2).
Kim, S., & Ferguson, M. T. (2014). Public expectations of CSR communication: What and how to communicate CSR. Public Relations Journal, 8(3), 1-22.
Mulwa, P. M., & Mathooko, P. (2014). Effects of mass media messages on women’s decision-making on contraceptive use in Kenya. International Journal of Social Sciences and Entrepreneurship, 1(13), 261-281.
Utz, S., Schultz, F., & Glocka, S. (2013). Crisis communication online: How medium, crisis type and emotions affected public reactions in the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. Public Relations Review, 39(1), 40-46.
Valentini, C. (2015). Is using social media “good” for the public relations profession? A critical reflection. Public Relations Review, 41(2), 170-177.
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