dc.description.abstract | The general objective of the study was to explore the perceptions of public relations professionals
in Nairobi on the incorporation of social media in the modern public relations practice in Kenya.
The specific objectives of the study were to examine the opinions of professionals on social media
incorporation in organizational strategy, to investigate the factors that influence the selection of
social media tools to be used, to determine the perceived influence of social media on modern
public relations practice, and to investigate the social media skills necessary in promoting modern
public relations practice. The study utilized the social penetration, diffusion of innovations and the
uses and gratifications theories. The study employed the descriptive design, with a quantitative
approach to explore the feelings of public relations professions on mainstreaming of social media
in the overall organization strategy. The target population was made up of all PR professionals
registered by the PRSK to undertake the public relations mandates for various clients, initially
stratified by their organization type and then selected using disproportionate method to promote
representativeness. The quantitative data were collected from 100 professionals through semistructured
questionnaires which were administered through a drop and pick method. The findings
revealed that social media is generally incorporated in the modern public relations practice
especially in disseminating information on corporate strategy. Age, education and audience type
were the key factors that determine the selection of social media to use in PR practice. It was also
found that social media had more positive influence on modern PR practice especially during crisis
management, strategy dissemination, clients’ feedback and the call to action. The study also found
that additional skills are required to promote efficient and effective incorporation of social media
into modern public relations practice by the PR professionals. The study concludes that social
media incorporation into organizational strategy is influenced by the advancement in information
technology and it is not an option; and PR professionals needs to update their skills in order to
leverage this innovation to promote public relations performance in corporate organizations. | en_US |