As media continues to evolve, social media has become even more integral to public relations activities, presenting new opportunities and challenges for practitioners. Relationships between publics and organizations continue to be first and foremost, but the process and possibilities for mutually beneficial relationships are being rewritten in situ. This volume aims to explore and understand highly engaged publics in a variety of social media contexts and across networks. The hope is the expansion and extension of public relations theories and models in this book helps move the discipline forward to keep up with the practice and the media environment. Contributors analyzed a range of organizations and industries, including corporate, entertainment, government, and political movements, to consider how public relations practitioners can facilitate ethical and effective communication between parties. A consistent thread was the need for organizations and practitioners to better understand the diverse backgrounds of publics, including age, ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation, beyond surface-level demographic stereotypes and assumptions. This book will be of interest to researchers, academics, and students in the field of public relations and communication, especially those with a particular interest in online engagement and social media as a PR tool.

While public relations practitioners have long focused on the relationship between organizations and their stakeholders, there has never been a time when that relationship was so dominated by public participation. The new model of multiple messages originating from multiple publics at varying levels of engagement is widely acknowledged, but not widely explored in scholarly texts. The established model of one-way communication and message control no longer exists. Social media and an increasingly participatory culture means that fans are taking a more active role in the production and co-creation of messages, communication, and meaning. These fans have significant power in the relationship dynamic between the message, the communicator, and the larger audience, yet they have not been defined using current theory and discourse. Our existing conceptions fail to identify these active and engaged publics, let alone understand virtual communities who are highly motivated to communicate with organizations and brands. This innovative and original research collection attempts to address this deficit by exploring these interactive, engaged publics, and open up the complexities of establishing and maintaining relationships in fan-created communities.

In an age of overwhelming Internet competition and rampant takeovers, marketers face the very real challenge of understanding how to engage customers online. Leland Harden and Bob Heyman, online marketing pioneers and authors of the popular book Net Results, team up again to teach marketers how to use search engine optimization, affiliate marketing, and all of the Web 2.0 tools they need to compete in the digital marketplace. Filled with up-to-date information on the best venues for online marketing, as well as explanations of social networking, virtual worlds, widgets, wikis, and emerging media, Digital Engagement shows marketers how to: stop burning money on web advertising campaigns that don't deliver • tweak websites to improve conversions and traffic flow • master proven strategies for consumer-generated media to generate buzz and improve brand recognition Featuring case studies from companies like Toyota and Tommy Hilfiger as well as lists of key vendors for online marketing software, this is the only book that offers a truly comprehensive guide to all of the new online marketing tools.

A comprehensive volume that offers the most current thinking on the practice and theory of engagement With contributions from an international panel of leaders representing diverse academic and professional fields The Handbook of Communication Engagement brings together in one volume writings on both the theory and practice of engagement in today’s organizations and societies. The expert contributors explore the philosophical, theoretical, and applied concepts of communication engagement as it pertains to building interaction and connections in a globalized, networked society. The Handbook of Communication Engagement is comprehensive in scope with case studies of engagement from various disciplines including public relations, marketing, advertising, employee relations, education, public diplomacy, and politics. The authors advance the current thinking in engagement theory, strategy, and practice and provide a review of foundational and emerging research in engagement topics. The Handbook of Communication Engagement is an important text that: Provides an overview of the foundations and philosophies of engagement Identifies the contexts of engagement relating to specific areas across government and corporations, including CSR, consumer, activism, diplomacy, digital, and social impact Includes examples of contemporary engagement practice Presents applications of engagement and technology Offers insights on the future directions of engagement The Handbook of Communication Engagement offers an essential reference for advanced undergraduate, graduate students, practitioners and scholars from communication, media, advertising, public relations, public policy, and public diplomacy areas. The volume contains a compendium of the writings on the most recent advances on the theory and practice of engagement. Winner of the 2018 PRIDE Award for Innovation, Development, and Educational Achievement from the Public Relations Division of the National Communication Association.

What is public relations? What do public relations professionals do? And what are the theoretical underpinnings that drive the discipline? This handbook provides an up-to-date overview of one of the most contested communication professions. The volume is structured to take readers on a journey to explore both the profession and the discipline of public relations. It introduces key concepts, models, and theories, as well as new theorizing efforts undertaken in recent years. Bringing together scholars from various parts of the world and from very different theoretical and disciplinary traditions, this handbook presents readers with a great diversity of perspectives in the field.

This book explores the purpose, practice and effects of public relations (PR) at a time that has been variously described as an era of populism, post-truth and fake news. It considers how PR processes have contributed to the current social condition of post-truth and what constitutes PR work in this environment. Post-Truth Public Relations: Communication in an Era of Digital Disinformation proposes that while we can now look back upon the last 80–100 years as a period of classical PR, that style is being supplemented by the emergence of a post-classical form of PR that has emerged in response to the post-truth era. This new style of PR consists of a mixed repertoire of communicative work that matches the new geometry of digital media and delivers a mix of online engagement and persuasion in order to meet the needs of increasingly partisan audiences. Using contemporary case studies and original interviews with PR practitioners in several countries, including China and the Philippines, the book investigates how PR workers have reconciled their role as communicative intermediaries with the post-truth era of digital disinformation. This thought-provoking book will be of great interest to researchers and advanced students interested in the changing nature of PR and its practice.

This new edition continues to give students a foundation in the principles of digital audience engagement and data metrics across platforms, preparing them to adapt to the quickly evolving world of digital media. It takes students through the processes of social listening, strategic design, creative engagement, and evaluation, with expert insights from social media professionals. Thoroughly updated, this second edition includes: • new strategies to guide students in the initial campaign planning phase • added content on influencers, social care teams, and newsjacking • coverage of research evaluation, the implications of findings, and articulating the ROI • expanded discussion of ethical considerations in campaign design and data collection and analysis. The book is suited to both undergraduate and post-graduate students as a primary text for courses in social/digital media marketing and public relations or a secondary text in broader public relations and marketing campaign planning and writing courses. Accompanying online resources include chapter reviews with suggestions for further resources; instructor guides; in-class exercises; a sample syllabus, assignments, and exams; and lecture slides. Visit www.routledge.com/9780367896201