Today, the continuing rise of social media has changed the way people communicate. It's a great way for organizations to connect with target audiences on both an internal and external level. However, social media might have some negative impacts that may create challenges for companies. Our text states that "when social media are used for professional purposes, teams can communicate more efficiently; companies can interface more responsively with customers, clients, and suppliers; customers and other interested individuals can be directly involved in the development of products and services; and anyone with shared professional interests can communicate easily, not needing to travel to see one another." (Cardon, 2017,p. 252). For example, the company I work for currently uses different forms of social media from videos to blogs to communicate internally to its workers. The employees don't use the blogs too much other than to ask questions about problems they are experiencing. We do have quarterly live stream videos from our CEO, but it tends to lag or shut down due to the number of people trying to watch which can be a problem to some especially when it comes to management decisions. Externally, social media is a great way to share relevant information with any shareholders and interact with customers. By doing this it will allow your business to grow and be trustworthy which is important to consumers as transparency, truthfulness and honesty are most valued in social media (Charest, 2016).

Social media can be used to address public relations issues in many by influencing its audiences. It has made PR more friendly making companies to be more warm, inviting and approachable, regardless of their type or serious nature. Previously, PR was targeted at specific individuals such as investors and business partners, but social media has caused this target group to be expanded to include all persons vital to the success of a business(Bates, n.d.). It's based on communication, but social media amplifies your message, allowing PR to be stronger and more impactful. Social media can be used to support the culture, strategic vision, values, and/or mission of the organization by sharing these values with their audiences. The company could use social media as an effective source to post gatherings/events to share. This will allow internal and external members to get a glimpse of how the company culture is. Additionally, they can use it to promote any achievements like promotions, career advancements, community work or to address certain company issues.

Required

Give examples of organizations that have used social media effectively. Why do you believe the organizations effectively communicated the intended messages from the perspectives of the target audiences?