Strategic Social Media (Electronic book text)

Strategic Social Media provides an essential tool for contemporary public relations, tying new technologies and strategies of social media use to foundational PR values. Introducing readers to various social media channels available for use in PR campaigns, the text also provides a theoretical framework to gird the use of these channels and maintain high standards of PR practice. The text focuses on categories of social media (blogs, wikis, podcasts, social networking and social bookmarking), examining strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities among the options. Author Kelli Matthews works with Michelle Honald to provide readers with the context for social media use in public relations, the theories applicable to guide this practice, and the processes and steps involved. They also address the varying technology literacies among instructors and students, and provide current, easy-to-follow activities and case studies to help both students and teachers enhance their social media savvy. The book's companion website provides social media resources and "how-to" guidance; assignments and activities; an instructor guide; and a bibliography with links to relevant sites and online publications. Bridging the gap between the "how-to" publications for practitioners and the planning and campaign textbooks for the classroom, Strategic Social Media provides a practical guide for teaching social media in the PR and strategic communication context.