Impact of Social media Use on Public relations Practice in Select Private Universities in Kenya

Abstract

For public relations to be effective in the 21st century, higher learning institutions have resorted to using social media in order to be upfront in in-service delivery. Even with the accessibility and use of social media platforms, less is known about the impacts of social media use on PR practice in select Universities in Kenya to communicate. This paper thus explores the impact of social media on public relations practice at University K and St Paul University Universities in Kenya. This study was conducted in two private Universities in Kenya; since they have public relations departments as well, they have fully chattered private Universities in the Nairobi region, thus a representative of other higher learning institutions with successfully implemented communication departments. A mixed methods approach including a survey questionnaire and semi-structured interviews involving 270 survey participants and 2 in-depth interviews with the public relations and communication practitioners, was adopted. Data was generated using questionnaires and analysed using SPSS version 23, whereas interviews were analysed thematically. The study findings revealed that social media had positively impacted service delivery at the public relations departments. It was revealed further that social media: helped to publicise their achievements besides activities; enhanced information quality, created a convenient platform for the public to engage with their organisation; widened accessibility to information as well as enhanced the organisation’s lobbying power for their public support for their positions. Based on this, the study therefore, recommends that; Universities should utilise the abundant opportunities provided by social media so as to keep in touch with the public. Exploiting the social media applications fully will help organisations with a broader reach for Public relations activities. And thus, effective communication and mutual understanding