Social Media Challenges and Adoption Patterns among Public Relations Practitioners

RADHE KRISHAN
Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies, New Delhi, India

Abstract
Social media has altered the design of modern society. It has changed the way people lived and worked. Though no profession or industry is left untouched by the communication revolution stirred by social media, yet communication professionals bore maximum impact. This paper analyzed the usage and perception of public relation (PR) professionals regarding the use of social media, particularly, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. The primary research questions, this paper attempted to find answers for, are: (i) Did social media transformed the modus operandi of PR practitioners?; (ii) Do PR practitioners rely on one social media tool/ platform over the other?; and (iii) To find out whether social media is an aid or a burden for a PR practitioner? By attempting to answer these three questions the paper explored fresh aspects of social media with regards to public relations. For the purpose of the study a survey was conducted among PR practitioners based in Delhi and working with prominent multinational companies or PR agencies.

Keywords: Public relations, social media, social networking, media usage, media professionals

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Radhe Krishan is a faculty in the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication at Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies, Delhi, India. His research interest is public relations and social media.