Professional Documents
Culture Documents
studentsintheU.S.andothercountriesusingsocialmedia
(Facebookandothersocialmediaplatforms)?
TableofContents
3
ExecutiveSummary
4
ClientSummary
MissionStatement
PrimaryGoals
PrimaryAudience
5
CommunicationsAuditsProjectSummary
SituationAnalysis
CommunicationsObjective
ResearchQuestions
ResearchMethods
7
OutsideResearch
8
Survey
MethodOverview
DataCollection
DataAnalysis
16
ContentAnalysis
MethodOverview
DataCollection
DataAnalysis
21
IndepthInterviews
MethodOverview
DataCollection
TimeandLocation
DataAnalysis
23
InsightsSummary
25
Appendix
ExecutiveSummary
Withanaverageattentionspanofnearly8seconds,itisbecomingmorechallengingforcompanies,
businessesandorganizationstocapturetheattentionoftheaveragecollegestudentdemographic.The
MuseumofPublicRelationsisoneofmanyorganizationstryingtocapturetheloyaltyandattentionof
studentsbetweentheagesof1829.Socialmediaoutletshavechangedthewaycollegestudentslearn
andengagewithorganizationsonanationalandgloballevel.
Today,TheMuseumofPublicRelationshasattracted655followersonTwitterand4,309on
Facebook.Althoughthisisastart,themuseumhaspotentialtoreachouttocollegestudentsaroundthe
worldtoconnectthemwithitsorganization.
ConnorandtheGirlsIntegratedPublicRelations
firmhasspentthepastseveralmonths,researching
thebestwaystoharnessthepowerofsocialmediainregardstopublicrelationsstudentsandtheir
engagementwiththeMuseumofPublicRelations.Researchwasperformedbyanalyzingstudent
engagementwiththemuseum.Wecollecteddatafromindepthinterviewsandsurveystargeted
towardspublicrelationsstudentsandtheirinteractionwithvaryingsocialmediaplatforms.After
collectinginformationonthestudentsbehaviorinregardstosocialmediause,wediscoveredstudents
interactionswiththemuseumsaccounts.
Thereportfindstheprospectsofthemuseumssocialmediaaccountsinitscurrentpositionarenot
positive.Weformulatedafewkeypointsthatwillaidthemuseuminbetteringitssocialmedia
engagementwithPRstudents:
Inregardstorelevance,
Studentswanttoseepoststhatwillbenefitthemintheireverydaylives,especiallyin
regardstotheirfuturecareerinpublicrelations.
Inregardstointerest,
StudentswanttolearnabouttopicsregardingPRonsocialmediathattheyarenot
exposedtointheclassroom.
Inregardstoengagement,
Publicrelationsstudentsaremorelikelytofollowandengagewithacompanyifthey
offerinsightfrompast,presentandfuturepractitionersandvarioussourcesthatarenot
currentlyavailable.
Socialmediaisanimportanttoolforthemuseumbecauseofitspotentialtoinformstudentsaboutthe
institutionanditsbenefits.IfthemuseumtakesmeasurestobetteritsTwitterandFacebookaccounts
andcreateotheraccountsinthefuture,theyhavetheabilitytoreachalargeaudienceaswellasbecome
areliablesourceofimportantandrelevantinformation.Thecasualandpersonalnatureofsocialmedia
grantscompanieslikeTheMuseumofPublicRelationsanenormousplatformtointeractwiththeir
targetaudience:PRstudents.Thisreportanalysisiscontingentonstudentsideologyofcurrentsocial
mediaplatformusage.Alldatacanbefoundintheappendix.
ClientSummary
ClientMissionStatement
Establishandmaintainamuseumandreferencelibraryopentothegeneralpublic
containingbooks,journals,letters,postersandotherhistoricalartifactsthatchronicle
theevolutionofthefieldofpublicrelations
Provideanhistoricalreviewofthepublicrelationsfield,itspioneers,itsprocessesand
itsimpactonoursociety,displayingexhibitsofthecampaignsofearlyfoundersofand
latercontributors,relativeimagesassembledfromvariousoriginsandonlinesurveys
collectingandinterpretingimportantdataontrendsinattitudesandbehaviors
Arrange,create,maintainandpromoteappropriatehistoricalexhibitsanddisplays
Establishandmaintainahistoricalresearchcollectionandreferenceandresearchcenter
focusedontheevolutionofthefieldofpublicrelations.
Promoteandsupportongoinghistoricalresearch,sponsorandorganizehistoricaland
culturalactivities,programs,andeventsforthepublicandissuepublicationsinany
formataddressingthefieldofpublicrelations.
PrimaryGoals
Forpublicrelationsstudents,localandglobal,toknowtheexistenceofthePublic
RelationsMuseum
ForpublicrelationsstudentstounderstandthefunctionofthePublicRelations
Museum
ForpublicrelationsstudentstoactivelyengageinthePublicRelationsMuseums
socialmediaaccounts
IncreasethenumberoffollowersonFacebook
IncreaseinthenumberofFacebooklikes,sharesandcomments
IncreaseinthenumberofFacebookpageviews
IncreaseinthenumberoffollowersonTwitter
IncreaseinthenumberoflikesandretweetsonTwitter
PrimaryPublics
PublicRelationsstudentsmajoritybetweentheagesof1829
CommunicationAuditsProjectSummary
SituationAnalysis
Sincethemuseumsinception,in1997,themuseumhasgrowntobethehomeformorethan600
booksdozensofartifactscorrespondencephotographsofhistoricallysignificantpeopleandevents
examplesofoldmediatechnologiesandadigitalarchiveofvideotapesoralhistories.Themuseumis
consideredthelargestcollectionofmaterialsdocumentingpublicrelationshistory,butlacksin
awarenessandoutreach.
Toreachtheworldsgrowingcommunityofpublicrelationsstudents,educators,
researchersandpractitioners,TheMuseumofPublicRelationshasextendeditseffortstosocialmedia
platforms.Theseaccountshaveopenednewchannelsofengagementbetweenthiseducational
institutionandpublicrelationsstudents.
i.Strengths
LargePotentialAudience
SufficientAmountofConnections
LargeCollectionofInformationandContent
OnlyPublicRelationsMuseumtoExist
PrimaryResource
ReliableandCredible
ii.Weaknesses
LackofAwareness
ShortageofSocialMediaManagers
SmallAmountofSocialMediaOutlets
DifficultyinReachingInternationalMarkets
CommunicationsObjective
Theobjectiveistocreategreaterengagementwithpublicrelationsstudentsbetweenpractitioners,
researchersandeducatorsthroughTheMuseumofPublicRelationssocialmediaaccounts.Research
wasconductedtounderstandthecurrentlevelsofengagement,creategreaterengagementand
strengthenthelevelofcommunication.
ResearchQuestions
1.HowcantheMuseumofPublicRelationsengagewithstudentsintheUnitedStates?
2.HowcantheMuseumofPublicRelationsengagewithstudentsfromothercountries?
3.CantheMuseumofPublicRelationscreateaconnectionamongstudentsfromother
countries?
4.Howdostudentsutilizevarioussocialmediaplatforms?
ResearchMethods
1. Quantitative
SurveysDiscoverthehabitsofcollegestudentsregardingresearchmethodsandtheirsocial
mediausesandbehaviors.
ContentAnalysisFacebookpostsandTwittertweetswereanalyzedthroughouttheirentirety
tounderstandwhatcontentbestfitsouraudience.
OutsideResearchThecorrelationbetweencollegestudentsandsocialmediaplatforms.
2. Qualitative
IndepthinterviewsUsedtoanswerhowstudentsinterpreteducationalinformationonsocial
mediaplatformsandhowmessagesshouldappearoneachplatformvaries.
OutsideResearch
Inthepastfewyears,alotofresearchhasbeenfocuseduponsocialmediainteractions,attentionspans,
andhowtobestmarketandadvertisenewstrategies.TheWhittemoreSchoolofBusinessand
EconomicsatTheUniversityofNewHampshirecompletedastudytodeterminewhetherornotthereis
acorrelationbetweenheavyusageofsocialmediaandgradesaswellasiftheusageofsocialmedia
hasincreasedovertime.Atotalof1,127studentsfromallcollegesattheuniversityweresurveyed.The
researchshowsthatthereisnocorrelationbetweentheamountoftimestudentsspendusingsocial
mediaandtheirgrades.Gradesfollowedsimilardistributionsforallcolleges,withthemajorityof
studentsearningAsandBs.
Thisprovedinterestingtoourresearchprojectbecauseitencouragesourclient,TheMuseumofPublic
Relationstofurtherutilizetheirsocialmediaplatformstosendtheirmessagetostudentswithoutany
negativeconsequencesontheirgrades.ThestudyalsoshowsthatstudentsuseFacebookandYouTube
morethananyothersocialmediaplatform.96%ofstudentsinterviewedusedFacebookregularlywhile
84%ofstudentsutilizedYouTube.Heavyusersofsocialmediahada63%correlationofhighergrades
with37%ofthestudentshavinglowergrades.Whilelightusersofsocialmediacameinwith65%of
highergradesand35%withlowergrades.Heavyusageofsocialmediaisconsideredmorethan61
minutesperdaywithhighgradestobeconsidered85andhigher(Martin13).
ResearchersatYoungstownStateUniversityalsoconductedaninterestingstudythatwasusefulinour
backgroundresearchoncollegestudentswithsocialmedia.Theyfound57%ofsocialnetworkingusers
arebetweentheagesof1829andmostusesocialmediaforabout30minuteseachdayduringthe
hoursof9p.m.tomidnight.Theyalsofoundthat50%ofcollegestudentsgoonsocialmediaseveral
timeseachday.ThisbringsinterestinginsighttoshowthatTheMuseumofPublicRelationsshould
postsocialmediacontentinthelatehoursoftheeveningiftheirtargetmarketiscollegestudentsand
youngadults.Wesuggestthatcontentshouldbescheduledtopostautomaticallyinordertodeliver
necessarysocialmediapostsattheseprimehours(Sponcil14).
Ourteamalsowantedtofindresearchtohelpourclient,TheMuseumofPublicRelationsrealizethe
lengthoftimethatanaveragepersonconcentratesonsocialmedia.AccordingtoTheNationalCenter
forBiotechnologyInformation,theaverageattentionspanisapproximately8seconds,4seconds
shorterthantheaverageattentionspanintheyear2000.Thedefinitionforattentionspanaccordingto
thestudystandsastheamountofconcentratedtimeonataskwithoutbecomingdistracted.Thestudy
alsoreportsthatthetypicalmobileusercheckstheirphonemorethan150timesperday(Mary
Meeker).Wesuggestthatallcontentbecomesmobilefriendlysincethemajorityofsocialmediais
throughamobiledevice(Brenner).
WealsowantedtoexplorehowsocialmediaisbeingutilizedoutsidetheUnitedStates.Accordingto
GlobalWebIndex9/10Twitterusersand84%ofFacebookusersarefromoutsideoftheUnitedStates.
Ifourclientwantstoreachaglobalaudience,thentheyshouldutilizeTwitterheavily.
Survey
MethodOverview
Usinganonlinesurveygenerator,Qualtrics,wecreatedanonlinesurveyfocusingoncollegestudents
andtheirsocialmediahabits.Thesurveyconsistedof31questionsintotal.Weusedthissurvey(see
appendixforlistofquestions)toanalyzecollegestudentsfavoritesocialmediasitesandtheirlevelof
engagementwithcompaniesandorganizations.Thesurveyconsistedofdemographicquestions,
scalebasedquestionsandrankingquestions.
DataCollection
WeusedoursourcesthroughtheUniversityofGeorgiaanddistributedthesurveytostudentsinthe
GradyCollegeofJournalismfocusingonpublicrelationsstudents.Wealsowereabletosendthe
surveyoverseveraloncampusorganizationsemaillistsaswellastosurroundingstudentsinthe
southeasternregion.Overallwecollected95completedsurveysandahandfulofsurveysinwhich
somestudentschoosetoansweronlyafewquestions.Alongsideourindepthinterviews,thesurvey
helpedpullourresearchconclusionstogether.
DataAnalysis
Theresultsshowedusmanykeyinsightsaboutcollegestudentsandtheirwillingnesstoengagewith
companiesand/ororganizationsonsocialmedia.Ingeneralthesurveyrevealedwhatattractsstudents
toengagewithcompanies/organizationsonthesemanysites.
SocialMediaUsage
Wehadseveralquestionslookingintocollegestudentsgeneralsocialmedia
usage.Accordingtooursurveyresults,studentsareengagingonsocialmediaduringtheentire
workday,receivemostoftheirnewsorinformationviasocialmedia,andarecheckingsocialmediaon
theirmobiledevices.Thisshowsusthatstudentsareconstantlyreceivingandseekinginformation.We
alsodiscoveredthatTwitterandFacebookaretheprimarysocialmediawebsitesstudentsareusing.
StudentsmainlystatedthatInstagramisforpersonaluses(seeindepthinterviews).Studentsareno
longerlimitedtocheckacomputerornewspaper,butcanreceiveinformationattheirfingertipson
mobiledevices.ThismeansTheMuseumofPublicRelationshasplentyofopportunitiesduringtheday
toreachouttothesecollegestudents.Belowareseveralquestionsregardingbasicsocialmediause
(Fortheentirelistofquestionsseeappendixforresults).
Itisimportanttohavesocialmediaapplicationsinstalledonmymobiledevice.
Socialmediaisthebestwaytorecievenews.
Iengagewithsocialmediaandreadarticlesthroughouttheentiredayonthesesites.
SocialMediaContent
Thesequestionsgaveusveryinterestingresults.Althoughmoststudents
statedthattheydonotinteractwithbusinesses/organizationsoftenonsocialmediaanddonotfollow
organizationstheyarenotwellacquaintedwith,theseresultsposealotofopportunities.Studentsdid
saytheyactivelylikeandreadpoststhatinterestthemoften.Themajorityofstudentsareansweredthat
theydofollownewssourcesonsocialmediasites.Althoughmoststudentsareonlyencouragedto
followorganizations/businessesonsocialmediabecauseofperkssuchasprizesandgiveaways,
studentsdoliketoreceiveinterestingstories.63%ofrespondentsstronglybelievedthatprstudents
shouldstayintouchwithnews.ThismeansthatTheMuseumofPublicRelationshasthepotentialto
makestudentsacquaintedwithitsresourcesbyengagingthemwithinterestingnewslikeposts.
Iwillnotfollow/likeabrandonasocialmediaplatformthatIamnotwellacquaintedwith.
10
IreadthecaptionsofpicturespostedbythoseIfollow.
Icommentonpoststhatinterestme.
11
Iinteractwithbusinessesviasocialmediaatleast1timeperweek.
PRstudentsshouldstayuptodatewithnews.
EducationalContent
WealsoaskedseveralquestionsregardingtheresourcesPRstudentsareusing
foreducationalpurposes.WithmanydifferenttypesofmediumsontheInternet,studentsarenot
strictlyrelyingonarticlesasresourcesforeducationalpurposes.Videosandinteractivepostsare
attractingstudentsattentionmoreoftenthanarticles.Studentsgenerallyreadarticlesforserious
research,butareconstantlyattractedtoFacebookandTwitterforrecreationalknowledgegathering.
TheMuseumofPublicRelationsdoesnotnecessarilyneedtopostonlyeducationalcontentonits
socialmediawebsites,butusesocialmediaasaplatformtoinformstudentsaboutthemissionand
purposeofthemuseum.
12
HowmanytimesperweekdoyouutilizePRresources(videos,articles,books,etc.)onthe
Internet?
WhenconductingPRresearch,Ireadeditorialstogatherinformation.
13
WhenconductingPRresearch,IreadarticlesonFacebooktogather
information.
AbouttheMuseumofPublicRelations
Thefinalquestionsofthesurveygaveusalittleinsightto
TheMusuemofPublicRelationssocialmediacontent.Weaskedstudentsgeneralquestionsaboutthe
museumandtheirthoughts.Weaskedstudentstolookatthemuseumssocialmediacontentand
answerthesurveyquestions.Overall,studentswereveryneutralaboutthecontentofthemuseums
FacebookandTwitterpages.Weconcludedthatthemuseumssocialmediawasnotgrabbingstudents
attention.Thisgivesthemuseumplentyofroomtoimproveitscontent.
TheMuseumofPublicRelations'socialmediaaccountsarehelpfulasastudentresource
forPRnewsandtrends.
14
TheMuseumofPublicRelations'socialmediaaccountsarehelpfulasastudent
resourceforPRnewsandtrends.
TheMuseumofPublicRelations'socialmediaaccountsareabeneficialmediumforPR
studentsaroundtheworldtocommunicateanddiscusstopicswitheachother.
15
ContentAnalysis
MethodOverview
InordertogainatrueunderstandingoftheMuseumofPublicRelationssocialmediaengagement,we
lookedatthesocialmediawebsitesdirectly.UsingaFacebookandTwittercodingbook(see
appendix),wewereabletoanalyzespecificsocialmediaposts.Thetwoseparatecodingbooksconsist
ofseveralquestionswhichconvertsocialmediapostsintoanumericalchart(seeappendix).Wewere
abletolookatsocialmediapostsandqualitativequestionsandturnthemintoquantitativeresearch.
Weanalyzedfactorsincludingtheamountoftextineachpost,numberofcomments,numberofshares
and/orlikesandnumberofpeopletaggedineachpost.Wewerealsoabletoanalyzehoweachpost
increasedtheoverallunderstandingofthemuseum,howeachpostattractedpeopletovisitthewebsite
andifeachpostaddressedPublicRelationsstudents.ForTwitter,thenumberofretweets,contentof
eachtweetandnumberoffavoritedTweetswereanalyzedaswell.
Afterlookingatseveralpostsonthetwomainsocialmediawebsites,TwitterandFacebook,wefound
anumberofpatterns.
DataCollection
Bothcodingbooksandfinalnumericalfindingscanbefoundintheappendixofthisreport.Everypost
fromthefirstfourmonthsonTheMusuemofPublicRelationsFacebookpoststartinginmid2012
wasanalyzed,followedbyeveryfifthpostuntilApril15,2015.Everysixthpostonthemuseums
Twitterpostwasanalyzed.
DataAnalysis
Facebook:
Overall,97FacebookpostswerecodedusingourFacebookcodingbook.Ofthe97postsanalyzed,it
appearsthatthemajorityofthepostscontainedtextofsomesorteitherexplainingapicture,articlelink
orvideo.Therearenopoststhatcontainedonlytext.Thereisalsonostrongcorrelationbetweenposts
thatcontainedtextandthenumberoflikes.Belowisasimplebreakdownofthecontentofthemajority
ofFacebookposts.
16
ContentAsshownabove,themajorityofpostscontainedalinkandtextexplainingthelinks.Thelinks
intheanalyzedpostsconsistmainlyofarticlelinksfollowedbywebsitelinksandvideolinks.The
majorityofpoststhatcontainedpictureswereofmultipleimagesuploadedbyTheMuseumofPublic
RelationsintoaFacebookalbum.Anypostthatcontainedvideosweremainlytakenfromanoutside
sources.Onlyafewpostscontainedvideosdirectlyfromthemuseum.Belowisfurtherbreakdown
abouttheaveragenumberofcomments,likes,tagsandsharesfortheanalyzedposts.
PopularityThereisanaverageof4.7likesperpostandanaverageof1.25sharesperpost.Itwas
obviousthatthetypeofpostcontainingmainlypictures,videosandlinksengagedpeopletosharethe
museumsposts.Althoughthepostscontainedalotoflinksonly23people,websitesorotherlocations
weretaggedintheposts.Thecommentswerealsoverylimitedtoeachpost,averaging.23comments
perpost.
Afterlookingatthephysicalcontentofeachpost,weanalyzedhoweachpostrelatedtothemuseum,
informationaboutthemuseum,ifthepostengagedpeopletovisititswebsiteandhowitrelatedto
students.Belowisabreakdownoftheseresults.
17
Thenumberslistedaboveareoutof97.OverallthepostsonthemuseumsFacebookpagegavea
generalsenseaboutthemuseum.AllthepostswererelatedtothehistoryofPublicRelations,butthe
majorityofthepostsdidnotdirectlygiveinformationabouttheservices/informationthemuseum
offers.However,anypostthatdirectlymentionthemuseumaverages8.3likesperpost.Only13of97
postscodeddirectlygavealinktothemuseumswebsiteorencouragedpeopletovisitthewebsite.
Also,animportantfactortonoteisthenumberofpoststhatdirectlymentionorinvolvedstudents.6
postsmentionedandcontainedpicturesaboutpublicrelationsstudents.Althoughthereareonly6posts
pertainingtostudents,thesepostsreceivedthemostattention,averaging18likesperpost.
Thepoststhatreceivedthemostattentionmentionedthemuseumdirectly,involvedstudentsand
containedhumour.Asasidenote,notmanypeoplepayedattentiontothepicturesthemuseum
uploadedingroupstoanalbum.Mostpostswithsinglepicturesweresharedandlikedmoreoften.
Also,poststhatdidnotcontaintextaveragedonly1.87likesperpost.
FrequencyAmajorpatternwastheinconsistencyofpostsonthemuseumsFacebook.Therewouldbe
solidmonthswith3postsperdayandothermonthswhereonlyafewpostswerecreated.Inorderto
gainrecognitionitisimportanttomaintainasteadyflowofcontentonallsocialmediaoutlets.
Twitter:
Contentanalysisistheresearchmethodthatprovideduswiththecapabilitytothoroughlyexaminekey
messagesonTwitterfromFebruary26,2013toJune16,2013.Thefrequencyoftweetsandaccuracy
ofthepostsreachingthetargetaudiencewereanalyzed.
SamplingstrategyTheMuseumofPublicRelationsTwitteraccounthasatotalof260tweetsasof
April13,2015.Outof260tweets,30areretweetsandarenotconsideredoriginalpublications.We
codedeverysixthoriginaltweet,whichresultedin38codedTwitterposts.
18
ContentofpostDuringtheFebruary26,2013toJune16,2013period,14ofthecodedtweetswere
textonly,6werewebsitelinks,8wereimages,1wasanevent,8werearticlelinksand1wasavideo.
Outofthe14codedtextonlytweets,only4directlyrelatedtoTheMuseumofPublicRelations.None
oftheimagescodeddirectlyrelatedtoTheMuseumofPublicRelations.Belowisasimplebreakdown
ofthecontentofthemajorityoftweets.
PopularityTheamountofretweetsandfavoritesonapostindicateshowmuchfeedbackatweet
receivesfromfollowers.Themoreretweetsandfavorites,themorepopularthepost.Atweetthatis
favoritedistypicallyretweeted.Bothformsofinteractionseemtogohandinhand.Overtheperiodof
timethattweetswereanalyzed,themostamountoftimessomethingwasretweetedwas3and5times.
Eachtime,thetweetwastextonly.Thelargestamountoffavoritesatweetreceivedoverthe
analyzedtimeperiodwas2times.Outofthe4totalthatreached2favorites,2wereontextonly
tweetsand2wereonimages.Therefore,wecandeductthatthemostpopularformoftweetingistext
only.Thesecondmostpopulartypeofcontentpeopleliketoreceiveareimages.Shortcleverquick
quotesorphrasesorthoughtsarefavoritedmoreoftenoveralotofwords.Askingtheaudience
questionsseemtobepopular,whilementioningandtaggingpeopleseemtobeunpopulartweeting
strategies.Belowisfurtherbreakdownabouttheaveragenumberoffavorites,retweets,hashtagsand
mentionsfortheanalyzedtweets.
19
FrequencyFromFebruarytoJune,theMuseumconsistentlypostedatleastonetweetaday.
Occasionally,morethanonetweetwouldbepostedondayswhentheindustryofPublicRelationshad
amajoreventoccurring.Forexample,50tweetswerepostedon03/07/13usingthehashtag,
#PRWeekAwards.Anotherpopularhashtagusedovertheanalyzedtimeperiodis#nyusocialbiz.When
th
tweetingabout#torchesoffreedomonMarch30
,2013,itappearedthatpeoplelikedaphotomorethan
atextaboutit.
RetweetsMosttweetsthatappearedontheMuseumofPublicRelationstwitterfeedthathada
significantlylargeamountoffavoritesandretweetswereretweetsfromothertwitteraccounts.Other
accountssuchas@thedailybeastreceived29retweetsand9favoriteswhentheytweetedtextonly
tweetsaboutObamasbraininitiative.
StrengthsDuringthecodingprocess,topicsthatwerefoundtobeeffectiveare:PRCrisissituations
andhowtheywerehandledcorrectly,tweetsaboutsuccessfulPRcampaignssuchastheDove
#realbeautycampaignand10communicationsecretsseemtobepopulartopicsthatengagethe
audience.
WeaknessesTherewerenodirectreplies,meaningdirectcontactengagedbyanoutsideparty,over
thecourseofthetweetingperiodanalyzed.Thisisanaspectoftwitterthatthemuseumneedstofocus
ongaininginteractionbetweentheirtweetsandtheiraudience.Afewofthemuseumstweetshadlinks
topagesthatarenolongerexistent.
OverallthemeHalfofthetweetsprovidedhelpfulinformationforpublicrelationsstudentseducation
whilenearlyallofthemprovidedinformationaboutthepublicrelationsindustry.Theoveralltheme
foundintheMuseumofPublicRelationstweetsrevolvedaroundinformationrelatedtothegeneral
publicrelationsindustryasawhole.
Afterlookingatthephysicalcontentofeachtweet,weanalyzedifeachpostrelatedtothemuseum,if
thepostsprovidedhelpfulinformationforpublicrelationsstudentseducationandifpoststhat
mentionedthegeneralpublicrelationsindustry.Belowisabreakdownoftheseresults.
20
InDepthInterviews
MethodOverview
Weformulated12questionsthatpertainedtosocialmedia,prstudents,andthemuseum.Thefirst
questionsweregeneralinregardstohowstudentsusesocialmedia,andwethenfunneledthequestions
aboutspecifictopicsofprstudentsandTheMuseumofPublicRelations.
DataCollection
WereachedouttoPRstudentstogaininsightintotheiruseofsocialmediaassociatedwiththeir
education.Weconducted20interviewsfromstudentsattheUniversityofGeorgiaandother
universitiesaroundthecountry.
TimeandLocation
AllinterviewswereconductedthroughoutthemonthofMarch2015,inacombinationofinpersonand
overthephone.Thefulllistofquestionscanbefoundintheappendixattheendofthisreport.
DataAnalysis
Theindepthinterviewswithpublicrelationsstudentsrevealedmanyvaluableinsightsonhowstudents
utilizesocialmediafortheireducation.PRstudentsfromalloverthecountrycontributedtoourdata
collection,andwefoundthatmoststudentswillutilizeeducationalresourcesintegratedintheirsocial
media,butthecontentmustberelatableandinteresting.
Ingeneral,studentsaremorelikelytofollowPRorganizationsonTwitter,especiallyiftheyare
organizationstheyareinterestedinorhaveapersonalconnectionto.
"Ifolloweverythingfromthe
companyIworkfornowtotheSkimmandCNN.Ifollowtheseorganizationstobeawareofwhats
happeninginside/outsidetheofficeandtobeupdatedoncurrentevents,whichisalwaysimportantin
thePRworld,"aPRstudentattheUniversityofAlabamasaid.
Studentsarealsomorelikelytoengage
inpostspushedoutbypublicrelationsplatformsiftheyarevideoratherthantextrelated.Outofall
socialmediaplatforms,studentswereoverwhelminglymorelikelytoengagecompaniesonTwitter
becauseinformationwasshortandtothepointandtheplatformgivesmoreasafespaceforsharing
opinions.FacebookandInstagramarethemostpopularsocialmediasitesusedforpersonalpurposes.
Studentswereengagedwiththeseplatforms,primarilyInstagram,becauseofthestrongvisualaspect.
Wefoundthatwithalltheclutteronsocialmediaitisreallydifficulttogetstudentstostopandlookat
apost.Apostmadeofstrongvisualcontentwithbrightcolorsandarelatablesubjectwillbemost
likelytograbastudentsattention.
ThemajorityofthePRstudentsinterviewedsaidthattheywouldnotmindeducationalcontentshowing
upontheirnewsfeed.Asonestudentsaid,Iprobablywouldthinkitwashelpfulinalotofcases
21
becauseIliketoseeresourcesforPRsinceitissomethingIminterestedin.Ithinkitwoulddependon
howitshowedupthere.IfitwasintheformofsomethingIfollowed,Iwouldbemorepronetoreadit
ratherthaninanadorsuggestedpost,whichIwouldprobablyignore.Themainconcernseemstobe
howthecontentwouldgetappearthere.Ourgoalwouldbegettingthemto'like'andsparkinterestin
thePRMuseumpageandthenthatwaywheneducationalcontentappearsontheirnewsfeed,theyare
moreapttofollowingthelink,readingthepost,utilizingtheresource,etc.Nooneinterviewedsaidthat
theywouldnotlikeit,itwasjustamatterofiftheywouldstopandreaditornot.Sotheissueisnotthe
contentappearing,butbeingutilized.OneUniversityofGeorgiastudentsaid,"Iwouldlikeit.Ilove
whenIlearnsomethingneworreadaboutnewsfrommy
newsfeedithelpskeepmeintheloopof
whatisgoingon.Itkeepsmeuptodateoncurrenteventsandtrends.Itmakesmefeelknowledgeable."
PRstudentsalsoseemedinterestedinhearingaboutcurrentPRsituationsandavarietyoftopicssucha
crisiscommunication,sportsmediaandpublicrelations,politicalpublicrelations,etc.Studentsheavily
respondedthattheyareinterestedinPublicRelationsarewanttohearaboutthemanydifferentaspects
inthisfield.
Studentsinterviewedsaidthatwhatdrivesthemtoshareorretweetsomethingistherelatabilityofthe
post.Moststudentssaidthatifwhattheywerereadingisrelatabletotheirfollowersorthemselves,they
willshareit.Anothercommonthemewasthattheinformationneedstobecleverandinteresting.A
UniversityofGeorgiastudentsaid,"Ifit'scleverIwillshareit,butifit'stypicallikeI'veheardinclass
Iwon'tshareit."Studentssaidthepostneedstosparktheirattentionorinterestandthenrelatabilityis
whatwilldrivethemtoeithershareitwiththeirfollowersandfriendsornot:"Ifitisinterestingor
usefulinformationnotonlytomyself,butsomethingthatotherswouldfeelthesamewayabout."
PRstudentssaidthatwhendoingahypotheticalprojectonGeorgeWashington,theywouldmostlikely
ratherreadabouthimthanwatchavideoabouthim.Mostclaimedthattheywouldratherreadabout
himwasbecausetheyfounditeasiertoseetheinformationandwriteitdown.Thestudentsthatwould
preferwatchingavideosaidthattheyenjoyvisualsmorethanwords.Despitetheanswer,themajority
ofthestudentsinterviewedsaidthatiftheyweretowatchavideo,itwoulddependonthelengthofthe
content.
Twitterseemedtograspmoststudents'attentionbecauseitisshortandtothepointandthatwaythey
areabletoreadtheinformationfast.Asfarasprofessionaluse,LinkedInwasthenextmostutilized
socialmediaoutletbehindTwitterforthePRstudentsinterviewed.Theseinsightscanbeusedtohelp
thePRMuseumbetterengagewithPRstudentsonsocialmedia.Themuseumcanusethefeedbackto
updatetheirwebsiteandFacebookpagesandtailortheircontenttowhatPRstudentswanttoseeon
theirnewsfeeds.Fromourresearch,wefoundthattheissuewasnotthefactthatstudentswere
unconnectedbutratherunengaged.
AlthoughInstagramandLinkedInwerestrongsocialmediacontenders,werecommendtofocuson
FacebookandTwittersites.
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IsightsSummary
AfterresearchingandanalyzingTheMuseumofPublicRelationscurrentandpastsocialmedia
efforts,wehavenotonlydiscoveredseveralpatterns,butcometomanyconclusionstoengagestudents
inthemuseumssocialmedia.
Wehaveputtogetheranumberofspecificsuggestionsinordertofurtherengagestudents.
Emphasizingthecredibilityofthemuseum,revampingthesocialmediacontentandmakinghistory
relatabletomoderntimesarethebestwaystogainmoreattentiononsocialmedia.Belowwehave
givenspecificsundereachinsight.
KeyPoints
1. EmphasizethecredibilityofthePRMuseum
a. Studentshaveatendencytointeractwithcompaniestheyarewellacquaintedwith.We
feelthisisabigopportunityforthePRMuseumbecauseitisoneofitskindwitha
largeconnectiontoEdwardBernay.Emphasizingthesedistinctiveanddominating
featureswillattractstudentsandtheirinteraction.
b. Needtoemphasizethelargecollectionofdocuments,resources,videosthatthe
museumhasavailable.
c. WhilethefunfactsonFacebookareinterestingandinformativeitisalsoimportantthat
thestudentsunderstandwhothePublicRelationsMuseumisandtheinfluencebehind
it.
d. Usingthemuseumsdocumentsinsocialmediapostsisagoodstart,butrelatingeach
posttomoderntimesanditsrelevancetoPRtodayisamoreeffectivespinon
attractingstudentsattention.
2. RevampContent
a. PostonTwitterandFacebookatleastonceaday
b. FocusonusingonlyTwitterandFacebookasprimarysocialmediaplatforms.
InstagramisforstudentspersonaluseandaVimeo/YouTubewebsitedoesnotreacha
largeenoughaudience.
c. Videosaregreattopost,buttheyneedtobecontemporaryandusedforentertainment
purposes.Studentsshowedastrongpreferencetowardsreadingnewsandresearchin
contrasttowatchingvideos.
d. Twitter:
i.
KeepTwitterpostsshortandconcise.Studentsaremoreinclinedtoreadposts
thatareeasyandfasttoread
ii.
Focusshouldbeongrabbingfollowerswithtextonlyposts
iii.
Twitterisaplaceformoreseriouscontentandisaplatformwherestudents
tendedtofollowmorecompanies
23
iv.
Twitterisanimportantwaytoreachinternationalstudentscontentshould
includeinternationaltopics/information
v.
Postsshouldbelesstediousandmoreengagingbyusingmethodssuchas
askingquestionstoopenupconversation
vi.
Twitterneedstobemorecohesivewithaconsistentvoice.
e. Facebook:
i.
Facebookshouldbeusedforsimplegraphics,relatabletopicsandusefultools
(ex.8waystowriteapressrelease)
ii.
Allpicturesshouldhavecaptionstoexplainanimageorvideo.
iii.
EmbedvideosandpicturesdirectlyintotheFacebookpost.Onlyputlinksto
articlesordirectlytomuseumswebsite
iv.
MuseumneedstouseitsresourcesandcreatepostsshowcasingrealPR
practitionerswork.
v.
Reachouttostudentsandshowcasestudentswork
vi.
Createpostsabouttopicsthatstudentsneedtoknowabout.Example:crisis
communication,PRstrategies,etc.
vii.
Mixuppostswithhumorandwit
viii.
Studentsareinterestedinthedifferentformsofpublicrelations.Example:
sportspublicrelations,toppublicrelationsfirms,politicalpublicrelations,etc.
f. Studentsareonsocialmediaallthetime,butpredominantlyfrom9p.m.tomidnight.
Thisthreehourtimeslotwouldbethemostefficienttimetopostcontent.
g. Postsneedtodirectlyspeaktostudents.Eachpostneedstoanswer:Howisthis
relatabletostudents?Isthisusefultostudents?Whyshouldstudentsbeinterestedin
this?
h. Majorityofpostsneedtobeoriginalcontent,butitisgoodtorepostorretweetfrom
otherPRwebsitesand/orsocialmediawebsites.Example:Retweetpostfrom
CocaColasTwitter.
3. Makehistoryrelatabletomoderntimes
a. UsecurrenteventsandrelatetoPRbecausestudentsareinterestedinkeepingupwith
thenews.
b. UsehistoricaleventsandrelateittomodernPR
c. Makethingsrelevanttotoday.Example:Thisdayinhistory?Thisdayin19??,this
eventhappenedinPR
d. PostcasestudiesaboutsuccessfulformerPublicRelationscampaignstohelpstudents
generateideasoninnovativeideas.
i.
steallikeanartist
e. PostformerPRcrisesandhowtheywerehandledtotrainstudents
i.
Duringthecodingprocess,topicsthatwerefoundtobeeffectiveare:PRCrisis
situationsandhowtheywerehandledcorrectly,tweetsaboutsuccessfulPR
campaignssuchastheDove#realbeautycampaignand10communication
secretsseemtobepopulartopicsthatengagetheaudience.
24
Appendix
WorksCitedforOutsideResearch
Brenner,Michael"ThanksSocialMediaOurAverageAttentionSpanIsNowShorterThanGoldfish|
B2BMarketingInsider."
B2BMarketingInsiderRSS
.N.p.,19May2014.Web.16Apr.2015.
Eve,Patrick."15InterestingFactsaboutInternationalSocialMediaUse."
Econsultancy
.N.p.,n.d.
Web.16Apr.2015.
Martin,Chuck."AStudytoDeterminetheCorrelationOfSocialMediaUsageandGrades."
SOCIAL
NETWORKINGUSAGEANDGRADESAMONGCOLLEGESTUDENTS
(n.d.):17.
Universityof
NewHampshire
.Web.12Apr.2015.
Sponcil,Megan."UseofSocialMediabyCollegeStudents:RelationshiptoCommunicationand
Selfconcept."
UseofSocialMediabyCollegeStudents:RelationshiptoCommunicationand
Selfconcept
(n.d.):113.
JournalofTechnologyResearch
.Web.13Apr.2015.
25
SurveyQuestionnaire
DearMr./Ms.
,
TheMuseumofPublicRelationsisaneducationalinstitutioncharteredtocontributevaluable
informationtotheworldsgrowingcommunityofpublicrelationsstudents,researchers,practitioners
andeducators.Themissionofthemuseumistoprovidealibraryopentothepublicthatchroniclesthe
evolutionofpublicrelationswhileencouragingongoingresearch.
AsastudentenrolledinthepublicrelationsprogramoftheGradySchoolofJournalismatthe
UniversityofGeorgia,youarethefutureofpublicrelations.Youwillhaveanimpactonthefieldand
encourageitsgrowthinimportanceandprestigeworldwide.Therefore,yourfeedbackandopinionare
crucialtothesuccessofthisresearchproject.Youhavebeenselectedtocompletethissurveybecause
ofyourchosenmajor.ThissurveyisbeingconductedbyGroup1ofDr.YanJinsPRResearchClass.
ThissurveyrevolvesaroundtheMuseumofPublicRelationssocialmediaoutreachstrategies
andshouldtakenolongerthan10minutes.Socialmediaisavitalformofcommunication,especially
regardingcollegestudents.Sincepublicrelationsstudentsarealargetargetmarketforthemuseums
outreachwewouldliketoaskyousomequestionsaboutyoursocialmediause.
WewanttogathermoreinformationofPRstudentsuseofsocialmediasowecanaidthe
museuminbetterengagingthistargetaudience.Wearestrivingtounderstandwhatcreatesengagement
betweenasocialmediaplatformandcollegeagedPRstudents,andfurthermorehowtheengagement
canleadtointerest.
Yourresponsesarecompletelyconfidentialandyourparticipationisvoluntary.Ifanyquestions
makeyoufeeluncomfortable,youmayrefusetoanswerthem.Ifyouwantareportontheresultsofthis
studypleaseemailanheuser@uga..edu.
Thankyouinadvanceforyourparticipation.Itisverymuchappreciated.Yourfeedbackwill
helpenhanceanorganizationthatwillinturngivebacktotheindustryofyourfuturecareer.
Sincerely,
Group1
PublicRelationsResearch
26
PartI:Basedonyourownuseofsocialmedia,pleasecircleanumber(1=StronglyDisagree,7=
StronglyAgree)thatbestindicateshowyouagreeordisagreewitheachofthefollowingitems
describingyourpersonalsocialmediapreferencesandusage.
1.
Itisimportanttohavesocialmediaapplicationsinstalledonmymobiledevice.
StronglyDisagree
1
2
3
4
5
6
7StronglyAgree
2.
Socialmediaisthebestwaytoreceivenews.
StronglyDisagree
1
2
3
4
5
6
7StronglyAgree
3.
Iwillnotfollow/likeabrandonasocialmediaplatformifIamnotwellacquaintedwiththem.
StronglyDisagree
1
2
3
4
5
6
7StronglyAgree
4.
IreadthecaptionsofpicturespostedbythoseIfollow.
StronglyDisagree1
2
3
4
5
6
7
StronglyAgree
5.
Icommentonpoststhatinterestme.
StronglyDisagree1
2
3
4
5
6
7
StronglyAgree
6.
Iinteractwithbusinessesthroughsocialmediaatleast1timeperweek.
StronglyDisagree1
2
3
4
5
6
7
StronglyAgree
7.Giveaways,ExecutiveDirectorresponses,customerservicepromotiontacticsmotivatemeto
interactwithdifferentcompaniesthroughsocialmedia.
StronglyDisagree1
2
3
4
5
6
7
StronglyAgree
8.
IengagewithSocialMediaandreadarticlesthroughouttheday(morning,afternoon,evening).
StronglyDisagree1
2
3
4
5
6
7
StronglyAgree
9.
Whenscrollingthroughsocialmedia,Iusuallystopandreadanarticlethatgaugesmyinterest.
StronglyDisagree1
2
3
4
5
6
7
StronglyAgree
10.Socialmediautilizationhasbeenimportanttomycareerorearningmydegree.
StronglyDisagree1
2
3
4
5
6
7
StronglyAgree
11.IusebothTwitterand/orFacebookasmyprimarysocialmedianetworksinordertolearnabout
newthings.
StronglyDisagree1
2
3
4
5
6
7
StronglyAgree
12.IchecksocialmediawebsitesmorethanIcheckmyemail.
27
StronglyDisagree1
2
3
4
5
6
7
StronglyAgree
13.Ijudgeacompanyororganizationbasedontheirsocialmediawebsites.
StronglyDisagree1
2
3
4
5
6
7
StronglyAgree
14.IdonotliketofollownewssourcesonFacebook,Instagramand/orTwitter.
StronglyDisagree1
2
3
4
5
6
7
StronglyAgree
PartIIB.Basedonyourexperienceinthepublicrelationsfield,Pleasecirclethenumber(1=
StronglyDisagree,7=StronglyAgree)thatbestindicateshowyouagreeordisagreewitheachof
thefollowingitems.
1.PRstudentsshouldstayuptodatewiththenews.
StronglyDisagree
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
StronglyAgree
2.ItisbeneficialforPRstudentstofollownewsorganizationsonsocialmedia.
StronglyDisagree
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
StronglyAgree
3.
Iwouldratherreadarticlesonlinethanthroughtraditionalprintsourcesregardingspecialinterest
topicsaboutmyfieldofstudy.
StronglyDisagree1
2
3
4
5
6
7
StronglyAgree
4.PRstudentsshouldlearnaboutthehistoryofpublicrelations,outsideofaclasscurriculum.
StronglyDisagree
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
StronglyAgree
5.ItwouldbehelpfultomyoverallknowledgeofpublicrelationstospeakwithotherPRstudents,
nationallyandinternationally.
StronglyDisagree
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
StronglyAgree
PartIII:Basedonyourpersonalexperiences,pleaseanswerthefollowingquestions.
MultipleChoice:
1.Basedonthechoicesbelow,whichsocialmediasitedoyoumostfrequentlyuse?
a.Idontusesocialmedia
b.Facebook
c.Instagram
d.Twitter
2.Howmanytimes
aweek
doyouutilizePRresources(videos,articles,books,etc.)ontheInternet?
a.None
b.12times
c.34times
d.56times
28
e.7daysaweek
Rank:
3.Inorder,rankthesocialmediawebsitesyouusethemostoftentoleastoften.
Facebook___
Instagram___
Twitter___
Blogs___
Snapchat___
Other:__________
PartIV:Basedonyourownfeelingsandobservations,Pleasecircleanumber(1=VeryUnlikely,
7=VeryLikely)thatbestindicatesyourlikelihoodtouseeachoftheseresearch/information
gatheringtactics.
1.Duringmyresearch,Iwatchvideostogathermyinformation.
VeryUnlikely
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
VeryLikely
2.Duringmyresearch,Ireadeditorialstogathermyinformation.
VeryUnlikely
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
VeryLikely
3.Duringmyresearch,IreadarticlesonFacebooktogathermyinformation.
VeryUnlikely
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
VeryLikely
4.Duringmypublicrelationsresearch,IsearchGoogletogathermyinformation.
VeryUnlikely
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
VeryLikely
5.Duringmypublicrelationsresearch,Ireadthroughmyfavoritepublicrelationsblogstogathermy
information.
VeryUnlikely
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
VeryLikely
6.Duringmypublicrelationsresearch,Iuserelatedbookstogathermyinformation.
VeryUnlikely
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
VeryLikely
PartV:AfterlookingatthissocialmediapageofTheMuseumofPublicRelations,please
indicate(onascaleof1=StronglyAgreeand7=StronglyDisagree)thenumberthatrepresents
howyoufeelabouteachofthefollowingstatements.
1.TheMuseumofPublicRelationssocialmediaaccountsarehelpfulasastudentresourceforPR
newsandtrends.
StronglyAgree
1
2
34 5
67StronglyDisagree
29
2.TheMuseumofPublicRelationssocialmediaaccountsmakemewanttovisittheactualmuseum
inNewYorkCity.
StronglyAgree
1
23 4
56 7StronglyDisagree
3.ThePRMuseumssocialmediaaccountsareagoodmediumforPRstudentsaroundtheworldto
communicateonanddiscusstopics.
StronglyAgree
1
2
34 5
67StronglyDisagree
4.ThePRMuseumswebsiteandsocialmediaaccountsarewelcomingandengagingforpublic
relationsstudentsoutsideoftheUnitedStates.
StronglyAgree
1
2
34 5
67StronglyDisagree
PartVI:Thisisthefinalpartofthesurvey.Belowaresimpledemographicquestionsthatwill
allowustobetteranalyzeallofourdate.Youranswersareconfidential.Pleasecircleorwritein
youranswers.
1.Gender:
Male Female
2.Nameofyourcurrentuniversity:__________________
3.Yearinschool:
1stYear
2ndYear
3rdYear
4thYear
5th+Year
4.Major:_________________
5.YourAge:_______
6.Whatisyourethnicity?
White/Caucasian
Black/AfricanAmerican
Hispanic/Latino
Asian/PacificIslander
NativeAmerican
Mixed/Other
30
Thisistheendofthesurvey.Thankyouforyourtimeandparticipationinthispublicrelationsresearch
project!
SurveyResults
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
FacebookSpecificVariableCodingBook
KeywordsearchonMuseumofPRFacebookrecentposts:
MuseumofPublicRelations(1),NewYorkPublicRelations,PublicRelationsFacebook,Public
RelationsHistory
V1.Doesthispostcontaintext?
1.
yes
2.
no
V2.Doesthispostcontainanimage?
1.
yes
2.
no
V3.Doesthispostcontainavideo?
1.
yes
2.
no
V4.Wasthepostliked?
1.
yes
2.
no
Ifliked,then:howmanytimeswasthepostliked:________
V5.Wasthepostshared?
1.
yes
2.
no
Ifshared,then:howmanytimeswasthepostshared:________
V6.Wasthepostcommentedon?
1.
yes
2.
no
Ifcommentedon,then:howmanytimeswasthepostcommentedon:________
V7.Wastheposttagged?
1.
yes
2.
no
Iftagged,then:howmanytimeswastheposttagged:________
V8.Didthepostcontainalink?
1.
yes
2.
no
Iflinksarepresent,howmany?
42
Iflinksarepresent,listtheresource
_________________________________________________
V9.DidthispostmentiontheMuseumofPublicRelations?
1.
yes
2.
no
V10.DidthispostincreaseunderstandingoftheMuseumofPublicRelations?
1.
yes
2.
no
V.11DidthispostattractviewstotheMuseumofPublicRelationswebsite?
1.
yes
2.
no
V.12Didthepostaddresspublicrelationsstudentsdirectly?
1.
yes
2.
no
V1
V2
V3
V4
V5
V6
V7
V8
V9
V10
V11
V12
43
FacebookCodingResults
V1V2V3V4 V5V6
V7
V8V9V10V11V12
44
TwitterSpecificVariableCodingBook
KeyWords:
prmuseum,museumofpr,publicrelationsmuseum
#ofposts:
260
TwitterHandle:
@museumofpr
V1:Contentofpost:
1TextOnly___2Websitelink____3Image____4Event____5Articlelink____6Video___
V2:Ifimage,whattypeofimage?
1Infographic____2MainlyImage____3TextImage____
V3:Ifimage,doestheimagedirectlyrelatetotheMuseumofPublicRelations?
1Yes____2No____
V4:Ifwebsitelink,whattypeofwebsite?
1Blog____2Ownwebsite____3Commercialwebsite____4Govtwebsite____
5Museumwebsite____6SocialMedia____7Other____
V5:Iftext,doesthetextdirectlyrelatetotheMuseumofPublicRelations?
1Yes____2No____
V6:Ifevent,doestheeventdirectlyrelatetotheMuseumofPublicRelations?
1Yes____2No____
V7:Ifvideo,doesthevideocomedirectlyfromtheMuseumofPublicRelations?
1Yes____2No____
V8:Ifarticle,isthearticleabouttheMuseumofPublicRelations?
1Yes____2No____
45
V9:Wasthepostretweeted?
1Yes____2No____
V10:Ifretweeted,howmanytimes?
____
V11:Wasthepostfavorited?
1Yes____2No____
V12:Iffavorited,howmanytimes?
____
V13:Doesthepostcontainadirectreply?
1Yes____2No____
V14:Doestheposthavehashtags?
1Yes____2No____
V15:Ifyes,howmanyhashtagsareinthepost?
____
V16:Doesthepostmentionanyone?
1Yes____2No____
V17:Ifyes,howmanymentions:
____
V18:Thetweetprovidedhelpfulinformationforpublicrelationsstudentseducation.
1Yes____2No____
V19:Thegeneralpublicrelationsindustrywasmentionedinthetweet.
1Yes____2No____
46
TwitterCodingBookResults
InDepthSurveyQuestions
1.Howwouldyoufeelifeducationalcontentappearedonyournewsfeed?
2.Whatdrivesyoutoshare/retweet/likePRcontentfromcompaniesororganizationsor
individualbloggersonsocialmedia?
3.IfyouweregoingtofindinformationonGeorgeWashington,wouldyoubemorelikelyto
readabouthimorwatchavideoonhim?
4.WhichsocialmediachannelsareyoumostlikelytofollowPRcompanies/accounts?(i.e.
Facebook,Twitter,Instagram,YouTube)
5.Whichsocialmediaplatformsdoyouusemostoften?Pleaserankthemandexplainthe
contextinwhichyouusethem.
6.Whatorganizationsdoyoufollowonsocialmedia?Andwhydoyoufollowthem?
7.WhatmakesyoustopandlookatapostonFacebook,InstagramorTwitter?
8.Whichsocialmediaplatformsareyoumostcomfortablewithsharingyourideasand
engaginginopenconversations?Why?
9.Whatmotivatesyoutointeractwithothercompaniesororganizationsonsocialmedia?
10.WhatkindofinformationwouldyouliketolearnfromotherPRstudentsonanationaland
internationallevel?
11.Ifyouknewtherewasamuseumofpublicrelationsthatcouldbeaccessedonline,wouldyou
utilizeitasaresourceforyoureducation?Whyorwhynot?
47
*Showtheintervieweethepage(boththewebsiteandFacebookpageoftheMuseumofPublic
Relations)andlettheintervieweebrowsefor??
12.Afterseeingthewebsite/FacebookforTheMuseumofPublicRelations,pleasedescribeyour
overallsenseofthepageanditscontent.Whatareyourinitialthoughts?Isthissomethingthat
interestsyou?Ifyes,pleasedescribe.
48