Use of social media for corporate communications by research-funding organisations in the UK.

Carim, L.; Warwick, C.

Abstract

This research sought to explore the implications of social media for organisations’ business functions, to help inform organisational approaches to challenges presented by social media. UK-based research-funding bodies provided the focus of this study, and a literature review, quantitative survey and focus groups involving relevant communications professionals were undertaken. Findings show that most UK-based research-funding organisations have adopted social media channels for corporate communications, drawing chiefly on microblogging, video-sharing and social networking sites. Building a dialogue with stakeholders is a prime reason for using social channels, yet one-way ‘broadcasting’ of information is widespread. Web, media or communications/marketing teams generally manage social media channels. A minority of organisations have policies governing social media use by staff. Social media performance is mainly measured using quantitative metrics.

Citation

Carim, L., & Warwick, C. (2013). Use of social media for corporate communications by research-funding organisations in the UK. Public Relations Review, 39(5), 521-525. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2013.08.006

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: 2013-12
• Deposit Date: Sep 5, 2014
• Journal: Public Relations Review
• Print ISSN: 0363-8111
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 39
• Issue: 5
• Pages: 521-525
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2013.08.006
• Keywords: Social media, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Corporate communications, Web 2.0.