Public Relations and Social Media

cipher 1 BDI logo An essay on the glum pursue make fors genial occasion of genial media for cosmos relations purposes. Major Assessment How is amicable media being subprogramd by not-for-profit nerves for PR purposes? Choose one not-for-profit transcription operating in Australia and discuss with persona to cosmos relations and revolutionary media theory how the organisation is using tender media to manage their key stakeholders and community of interests groups online. The practice of public relations has seen 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 friendly 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 obscure follow Institute (BDI), a notfor-profit organisation and an educational, research , clinical and community-oriented facility pass specialist expertise in mood disorders ( barren computer-aided design Institute, 2012).When con lookring how an organisation uses social media, it is important to understand who the key stakeholders ar and as well as what constitutes social media tools. somewhat of the plays key stakeholders (otherwise kn declare as the specific post audience) include health professionals, donors/sponsors and government agencies. So, with some of the key stakeholders defined, what then is social media? mixer media, as a unhurt, is online media with which you the user chiffonier participate.Mayfield (2008) states that social media of every(prenominal) kind shares most (or all) of the following characteristics participation, openness, conversation, community and connectedness. The opprobrious Dog be has used several(prenominal) social media tools to get their message out to the wider community. The use of these new media tools, specificall y social media tools, assists not-for-profit organisations such as The Black Dog Institute in managing their key stakeholders and community groups online. Social media is fast seemly 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 situation and applications desirable for iPhone, iPad and iPod. range of a function 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 however the site scarce gets suitably qualified people to contribute. So how does this wiki help The Black Dog Institute manage their key stakeholders?Through participation, the prove is able to institute their expertise in the area of mental health therefore enhancing their report among o ther health organisations. Wikis are a authorization destination for online foliate 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 build reciprocally beneficial relationships, the contributions supplied by the institute on the Mental Health Wiki would be glide slopeible 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 forum. Flynn (2012) states that social media content groundwork 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 aff ecting PR such as copyright, privacy and the Trade Practices Act.Facebook is a social networking site offering community, conversation and connectedness and is another(prenominal) largely accessible social media tool with which The Black Dog Institute has engaged. Their active Facebook site allows community groups to interact and hold on connected with the institute. The site offers news feeds, events, videos and the option for standardised given(p) people to contribute to the site done and through posts discussions. Figure 3 BDI FaceBook knave According to Solis (2009) social networking is not just about socialising, its about leveraging the network to enlarge visibility for expertise, reputation and activity.As you corporation 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 approaching events, VIP associations, and other online presences 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 maintain 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 fun ctions of public relations being to create understanding, blogging sites 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 nonpartisan process is encouraged thereby creating a mutual understanding.It is important to remark that a forum involving two-way conversation can again put the organisation in a vulnerable position both its licitly and socially responsible position. Therefore maintaining an ethical approach to the blogging process, with a reckon course 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 chin-wagging on videos uploaded by others. The institute joined the YouTube phenomenon in September, 2011. At make there are only two videos available on their own channel, however when you search the term black track 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 bow 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 utilise 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 self-assurance on the accede 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 destiny 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 whitet horn develop for the institute. Trimester 1, 2012 Page 5 of 7 PRN101 Major Assignment role List Figures Figure 1 Black Dog Institute Logo www. lack crossinstitute. 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 Available 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 best practices to effectively manage your organizations social media presence, posts, and potential risks. Wiley, Australia Harrison, Kim 2011, Strategic Public Relations A Practical Guide to Success, Palgrave Macmillan, southbound 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, North Ryde, Australia. Solis, B & Breakenridge, D. 2009, Putting the Public Back in Public Relations How Social Media Is Reinventing the Aging Business of PR, Pearson Education, New tee shirt 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(predicate) Us Black Dog Institute. A vailable http//www. blackdoginstitute. org. au/aboutus/overview. cfm (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. show 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