The Public Relations Process: Introduction and Stage 1 Research

Course Outcome

Understand the importance of research in public relations planning

Organize a focus group

Conduct online and database research

Design a scientific survey

Determine the best method of reaching respondents

Write a survey questionnaire

Conduct basic Web and social media analytics

The Public Relations Process:
ROPE

Objectives

Programming

Research

Evaluating

Social Media Monitoring Tools

1st process: Research

“the controlled, objective, and systematic gathering of information for the purpose of describing and understanding”.

Why it is important in PR?

Achieve credibility with management

  • crucial in providing accurate information to the management

Define audiences and segment publics

  • Research allow messages to be received to specific publics

Formulate strategy

  • PR activity can be strategically planned to achieve its goal

Keep in touch

  • PR makes survey on public opinion, hence, management is aware of the needs and wants of publics thus create better policies and communication strategies

Prevent crisis

  • Helps identify issues or problems encountered in org. “Be prepared” in planning and communication strategy

Monitor competitor

  • Survey enables org. understand the competition of products and services between one org. to another

Sway public opinion

  • Helps to influence publics on issues that interest the mass and generate publicity

Measure success

  • The success of a PR project must be measured. This is due to the fact that money and time has been spent and it has to be spent effectively.

Determining the Research Role and Scope

The purpose of public relations research

Formative (Inputs)
Designed to help formulate PR programs and activities.

eg; Communication Audits are used to:

  • Evaluate effectiveness of existing channels of communication.
  • Identify gaps between how organization would like to be perceived and how it is actually perceived

Evaluative (Outcomes)

  • Aims to determine whether stated outcome goals/objectives were achieved.

eg; Pre and Post-Test Design Monitoring the progress/implementation of a campaign. eg;

  • How many issues of the newsletter were produced?
  • Were the media releases issued on time?

Also referred to as measuring the achievement of ‘process’ goals/objectives

Types of Research

Qualitative

Quantitative

Primary/formal

Secondary/informal

  • New and original information is generated through a research design that is specific and directed to answer a specific need


  • Involves a systematic methodology. The more formal research is, the more likely it can be replicated by others


    .

  • Research of any kind carried out previously which may have some relevance to your problem
  • Can include desk and field research as well as analysing secondary sources, e.g.

Interviewing key experts, opinion leaders, Searching published sources, databases
Analysing media clippings and transcripts


Generally uses random samples

Usually uses open-ended questions, unstructured

Generally uses nonrandom samples

"soft data"

eg: focus group, in-depth interviews, one-on-one, role-playing studies

Usually uses close-ended questions, highly structured

"hard data"

eg: telephone polls, face-to-face interviews, mailed surveys

Techniques

Content analysis

Interviews

Focus groups

Copy testing

Ethnographic techniques

polls and surveys conducted using precise, scientific sampling methods

Questionnaire Construction

Carefully consider wording text

Avoid loaded questions

Consider timing and context

Avoid the politically correct answer

Give a range of possible answers

Use scaled answers

How to Reach Respondents

Mailed questionnaires

Telephone surveys

Personal interviews

Omnibus or piggyback surveys

Web and e-mail surveys

Increasing revenues

Tracking and managing issues

Developing content that tracks trends in thinking and fashion (called memes)

Increasing awareness of the organization’s mission

Improving public opinion of a particular cause or organization

Social Media Participatory Research

Tweeting and following influential tweeters

Pinning and viewing pins on Pinterest

Watching and posting YouTube or Vimeo videos

Reading blogs

Reviewing user comments on news stories and opinion pieces relevant to the client’s business

Tracking what people consider important or good current reading on Reddit

Monitoring activity in Facebook groups that impact one’s business

Contribution of Digital Analytics to PR Research

Message Testing

Crisis prevention

Credibility with management

Strategy Formulation

Web analytics and social media monitoring ensure evidence-based solutions to measurable problems and objectives

Large datasets and extensive textual analysis of comments and online discussion offer management real value from PR researchers

Online tools enable environmental scanning and issue tracking in real time with quantifiable measurements of trends in sentiment

Social media montoring and participation afford wonderful test environments for determining how well messages will be received

Public Opinion Influence

Social media participation can serve to equip an organizations with opportunities to engage in discourse that shapes media agendas and public opinion

What is the problem?

What kind of information is needed?

How will the results of the research be used?

What specific public (or publics) should be researched?

Should the organization do the research in-house or hire an outside consultant?

How will the research data be analyzed, reported, or applied?

How soon will the results be needed?

How much will the research cost?