HowcantheMuseumofPublicRelationsengagePR

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.
22

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