Public Relations and Social Media

Figure 1 BDI Logo An essay on the inexor adequate pass over adds use of genial media for prevalent traffic purposes. Major Assessment How is social media being utilize by not-for-profit institutions for PR purposes? Choose one not-for-profit organisation operating in Australia and discuss with reference to universal relations and new media theory how the organisation is using social media to manage their central stakeholders and community groups online. The practice of human beings relations has keep in linen a change in recent years, and now allows many and varied tools including new media.The term new media encompasses a variety of non-traditional methods including social media. This essay discusses the use of social media in a public relations capacity, to assist in managing an organisations key stakeholders and community groups online. The focus organisation is the gruesome detent make up (BDI), a notfor-profit organisation and an educational, research, clinica l and community-oriented facility offering specialist expertise in mood disorders ( bleak Dog Institute, 2012).When considering how an organisation uses social media, it is of the essence(predicate) to understand who the key stakeholders are and besides what constitutes social media tools. Some of the instals key stakeholders (otherwise known as the specific target audience) include wellness professionals, donors/sponsors and government agencies. So, with some of the key stakeholders defined, what then is social media? Social media, as a whole, is online media with which you the user hindquarters participate.Mayfield (2008) states that social media of all kind shares most (or all) of the following characteristics participation, contributeness, conversation, community and contact. The Black Dog set has used several social media tools to get their message out to the wider community. The use of these new media tools, specifically social media tools, assists not-for-profit org anisations such(prenominal)(prenominal) as The Black Dog Institute in managing their key stakeholders and community groups online. Social media is fast enough an effective tool for public relations purposes and The Black Dog Institute has mplemented a variety of tools such as wikis, social networking, blogging, video, an interactive web commit and applications suitable for iPhone, iPad and iPod. Figure 2 Social Media The Black Dog Institute engages in wikis such as The Mental Health Wiki. The Mental Health Wiki (2012) which claims to be a collaborative, open platform for capturing high quality information in the mental health field is open to anyone even the land site unaccompanied allows suitably qualified mint to contribute. So how does this wiki help The Black Dog Institute manage their key stakeholders?Through participation, the institute is able to demonstrate their expertise in the area of mental health therefore enhancing their reputation among other health organisation s. Wikis are a potential destination for online rapscallion 2 of 7 PRN101 Major Assignment research and thus by contributing to such, the organisation is able to continuously improve relationships between themselves and their stakeholders (medical professionals) As a fundamental function of public relations is to get on mutually beneficial relationships, the contributions supplied by the institute on the Mental Health Wiki would be accessible by other health care professionals.This accessibility is a key in building such relationships, and in turn, the institute has access to other organisations research material. On the flip side however, it is important for the institute to consider the legal ramifications of contributing to such a fabrication. Flynn (2012) states that social media content green goddess be subpoenaed and used to support (or sink) an organisation in the event of litigation, therefore it is important that the institute adheres to laws affecting PR such as copyr ight, privacy and the Trade Practices Act.Facebook is a social networking site offering community, conversation and connectedness and is another largely accessible social media tool with which The Black Dog Institute has engaged. Their active Facebook site allows community groups to interact and remain connected with the institute. The site offers news feeds, events, videos and the option for like minded people to contribute to the site through posts discussions. Figure 3 BDI FaceBook page According to Solis (2009) social networking is not vertical about socialising, its about leveraging the network to increase visibility for expertise, reputation and activity.As you can see with the image, the Black Dog Institutes Facebook page includes a picture of their facility, but is this the kind of visibility we refer to in PR? To increase their visibility (or exposure) the institute utilises social network i. e. Facebook to promote upcoming events, VIP associations, and other online pre sences such as websites/twitter and to provide another avenue to access their products for sale. By using social networking to increase their visibility, the institute develops another avenue to increase donations and much needed funds.Page 3 of 7 PRN101 Major Assignment Blogging is another social media tool that has been adopted by The Black Dog Institute, through the use of Twitter a micro-blogging site. Their Twitter blogs allow readers to pull information that is relevant to them and with the dynamic nature of blogging the institute gains a genuine insight into the opinions of their public. In terms of public relations, blogging assists the organisation to make a constant and up-to-date connection with its publics.The Black Dog Institute embraces that connection and continues to build a network (or community) of like minded people and remain connected with their audiences. With one of the most important functions of public relations being to crap understanding, blogging sit es such as Twitter allows The Black Dog Institute to create this understanding. Some media tools do not allow participation from an organisations public, however through blogging a two-way process is encouraged thereby creating a mutual understanding.It is important to acknowledge that a forum involving two-way conversation can again place the organisation in a vulnerable perspective both its legally and socially responsible position. Therefore maintaining an ethical approach to the blogging process, with a deliberate phase of action, can help to reduce this vulnerability. Figure 4 YouTube Videos are another social media tool that an organisation can use to remain connected with their public. Sites like YouTube are becoming increasingly popular with individuals and organisations alike.The Black Dog Institute has a YouTube channel, where subscribers can upload videos and also comment on videos uploaded by others. The institute joined the YouTube phenomenon in September, 2011. At p resent there are only two videos available on their own channel, however when you search the term black cut across institute several others have been uploaded (as indicated in the above image). This indicates an increasing awareness of the institute through an often entertaining and light hearted forum. Videos offer the institute the opportunity to present their organisation in an honest and accurate way.Further development of their YouTube channel can be achieved Page 4 of 7 PRN101 Major Assignment through commenting on other contributor uploads regarding the institute and its activities from other users. Other tools utilised by the institute, which are a little out of the scope of this essay, include an iPod/iPad application The Black Dog Pedometer. This tool gives the institutes stakeholders/community access to not only a pedometer but also a link to learn more about the institute and also a donation option.In terms of public relations, the pedometer application increases the organisations image as an authority on the pillow slip of mental health and mood disorders. The institute also has a website developed specifically for teenagers www. biteback. org. au which as a whole is not a social media tool however the blog component of the site offers interaction and participation by subscribers. The Bite Back website allows the BDI public relations team to take a proactive approach to their subject of expertise, offering an engaging and interactive forum for their younger community groups.As you can see throughout this essay, social media assists the Black Dog Institute in its public relations plans. Tools previously outlined such as wikis, social networking, blogging and videos assist the institute in building and improving relationships with their key stakeholders and to increase awareness and visibility of their organisation. As the momentum of social media continues, further opportunities may develop for the institute. Trimester 1, 2012 Page 5 of 7 PRN 101 Major Assignment Reference List Figures Figure 1 Black Dog Institute Logo www. lackdoginstitute. org. au (accessed 30 April, 2012) Figure 2 Social Media http//masoncadeagency. com/wpcontent/uploads/2011/07/SMO_Social_Media_Optimization. jpg (accessed 3 May, 2012) Figure 3 Black Dog Institute Facebook page http//www. facebook. com/blackdoginst (accessed 5 May, 2012) Figure 4 YouTube screenshot lendable http//www. youtube. com/results? search_query=black+dog+institute+&oq=black+dog +institute+&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&gs_l=youtube. 3 16614. 20473. 0. 21177. 22. 19. 1. 2. 2. 1. 30 3. 2779. 5j7j6j1. 19. 0 0. 0. (accessed 6 May, 2012)Bibliography Texts Ali, M 2006, Public Relations Creating an IMAGE, Heinemann, Oxford, GB Chaffey, D & Smith, PR. 2010, eMarketing eXcellence Planning and optimizing your digital marketing, Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford, UK. Flynn, N, 2012, Social media handbook policies and better practices to effectively manage your organizations social media presence, posts, and potential risks. Wiley, Australia Harrison, Kim 2011, Strategic Public Relations A Practical consume to Success, Palgrave Macmillan, South Yarra, Australia Lee, R & Kotler, P. 011, Social Marketing Influencing Behaviors for Good, 4th edition. Sage, California Rix, P, 2011, Marketing A Practical Approach, McGraw Hill, northeastern Ryde, Australia. Solis, B & Breakenridge, D. 2009, Putting the Public Back in Public Relations How Social Media Is Reinventing the Aging short letter of PR, Pearson Education, New Jersey Page 6 of 7 PRN101 Major Assignment eBooks and PDFs Junee,T 2012, PRN101_Social_Media_2012-2 Slide. THINK APM College of Business, Sydney Mayfield, A. 2008 What is Social Media? v1. 4 updated 1 August 2008 http//www. crossing. co. uk/fileadmin/uploads/eBooks/What_is_Social_Media_iCrossing_eb ook. pdf (accessed 3 May, 2012) Weblinks Black Dog Insitute. 2012. About Us Black Dog Institute. Available http//www. blackdoginstitute. org. au/aboutus/overview. cf m (accessed 6 April, 2012) Harris, A. 2012. Be Social Media Savvy. Available http//www. pria. com. au/priablog/be-social-media-savvy (accessed 7 April, 2012) Mental Health Wiki. 2012. enter Available http//www. mentalhealthwiki. org/deki/plugins/register/register. php (accessed 2 May,2012) Facebook. 012. Key Facts. Available http//newsroom. fb. com/content/default. aspx? NewsAreaId=22 (accessed 1 May, 2012) YouTube. 2012. Search results for Black Dog Institute. Available http//www. youtube. com/results? search_query=black+dog+institute+=black+dog+instit ute+=f===youtube. 3 16614. 20473. 0. 21177. 22. 19. 1. 2. 2. 1. 303. 2779. 5j7j6 j1. 19. 0 0. 0. (accessed 18 April, 2012) Black Dog Bite Back. 2012. Blogs Available http//www. biteback. org. au/ (accessed 2 May, 2012) Page 7 of 7 PRN101 Major Assignment