Discussion Assignment
Discuss the role of research in public relations. How has online communication impacted public relations?
Public relations is referred to as the practice of purposefully controlling the release and disseminating information between an organization and the public. It influences how the ideas of an organization are formed. Like any other strategy, public relations needs a plan that outlines how activities are carried out; therefore, research must be conducted to establish its basis. Through research, professionals in public relations can study and understand the goals an organization strives to achieve in the business market place as well as the target market. They also use the knowledge gathered to come up with the best ideas during the decision making process.
Consequently, research creates room for preparation of alteration as well as trends of the industry. This is not only made possible through foundation research but continuous research as well. Efforts made during continuous research like monitoring and follow up activities of a plan is known as benchmark research. Besides, research plays a significant role during this final stage because it contributes to a successful evaluation. The administration of appropriate assessment and measurement gives proper results when comparisons are made with the research baseline. This means that the research baseline should be effectively collected to ensure that the evaluation process is carried out successfully.
Besides, an organization’s information is delivered, and feed-back receives through online communication. This form of communication influences campaigns for public relations. It creates a significant impact on consumers as compared to inactive marketing forms. Through online communication, consumers are also likely to extract relevant content and share it with others worldwide.
In conclusion, research needs to be prioritized during the decision making of the public relations plan. It should be included at the beginning and throughout the plan. This means that public relations activities involve the completion of baseline research foundation and conducting checkpoint research all through the plan.