Sociala medier skapar stora förändringar runt både människor och organisationer. Det betyder att organisationer behöver anpassa sin kommunikation för att nå ut till sin målgrupp. Myndigheter har idag en uppgift i vårt demokratiska samhälle att informera och upplysa samhället och det är även centralt för myndigheter att börja använda sig av sociala medier för att nå sin målgrupp. Syftet med undersökningen är att kartlägga hur en polismyndighet kommunicerar via sociala medier till sin målgrupp. Vi har valt att göra en fallstudie på en specifik polisgrupp - ungdomspolisen och hur de kommunicerar till sin målgrupp. Undersökningen ämnar besvara följande frågeställningar: Hur kommunicerar polisen på sociala medier? Hur kommunicerar ungdomspolisen på Åland genom sin Facebooksida? Och i vilket syfte använder ungdomspolisen sig av Facebook? För att besvara dessa frågor har två metoder använts - netnografisk observation och semistrukturerade intervjuer. Genom en observation av Facebooksidan besvaras frågan hur de kommunicerar på Facebook och genom intervjuer framkommer svaret på i vilket syfte de använder sig av Facebooksidan. Det insamlade materialet analyseras sedan i ljuset av uppsatsens teoretiska ramverk där public relations, Schneiders kommunikationsmodell och strategier för myndigheter på sociala medier presenteras. De övergripande resultat som framkommit genom denna studie är att ungdomspolisen inte har någon specifik strategi för hur de kommunicerar. Poliserna har dock olika sätt att skriva, vilket på så sätt leder till vad man skulle kunna kalla egna individuella strategier för användandet. Deras huvudsyfte med Facebooksidan är att göra polismyndigheten mer öppen och transparent, vilket de gör genom inlägg där de vill informera, visa arbetet som polis, uppmana och föra en dialog med målgruppen. Polisen hade från början ungdomar som målgrupp, men med tidens gång har målgruppen förändrats till föräldrar och egentligen hela allmänheten. Slutsatsen utifrån analysen är att myndigheter som använder sig av sociala medier måste använda rätt plattform för att nå sin målgrupp, men även att sociala medier är ett utmärkt verktyg för att upprätthålla relationer och skapa förståelse för polisyrket vilket i sin tur kan leda till förbättrade relationer mellan polisen och målgruppen. / Social media creates new conditions around both individuals and organizations. This means that organizations need to adjust their communication efforts to reach their target group. Therefore, it is central to the authorities to start using social media to reach their target group when the usage of social media increases. The purpose of this study is to identify how a specified police group communicate through social media to their stakeholders. We have chosen to do a case study on a specific group of police – The Youth Police and study how they communicate through social media to their stakeholders. The study aims to answer the following questions: How does the police communicate on social media? How does the Youth Police communicate through their Facebook page? And for what purposes are the Youth Police using the Facebook page? To answer these questions, we have used two methods - observation and interviews. The collected material is then analysed in the light of the theoretical framework, where we describe public relations, Schneider's communication models and different strategies for authorities on social media. The overall results obtained by this study is that the Youth Police do not have a specific strategy for how they communicate, but the police have their own ways of writing and thus form an unspoken individual strategy. Their purpose with this Facebook page is to make the police more transparent, which they do through Facebook posts where they inform, show their work and have a dialogue with their target group. The Youth Police had initially adolescents as a target group, but along with the passage of time, their target group has changed into the parents of the adolescents and the public instead. The conclusion from the analysis is that the authorities, who use social media, have to choose the right platform to reach their target group.  Social media is also a great tool for maintaining relationships and creating an understanding of the police work, which in turn can lead to improved relations between the police and their target group.

The study examined the similarities and differences in the public relations programs of the six Southern Baptist Convention-owned seminaries. Using data collected from surveys and interviews, the study found the general perception of public relations at each seminary good, although some constituencies did not understand the public relations program's purpose. Cooperation among the six seminaries was limited, and most respondents said individual needs kept the seminaries from working more cooperatively. The diversity of primary job responsibilities makes cooperation limited since all programs do not share the same assignments. Limited historical documentation is available on the growth of the public relations programs. The study includes four chapters: a general introduction; an historical overview; analysis of data; and conclusions and recommendation for further study.

This study examined the public relations practices-- the concept, structure, functions, goals and objectives, procedures, and standards of performance--at Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas. The study concluded that the public relations practices provide an effective, well-organized, well-planned and well-executed program based on formal goals and objectives, definite philosophy and purpose, and criteria for measurement of effectiveness. Although the program has a good sense of direction, it lacks focus, largely because of the mingling of public relations and fund-raising responsibilities in some staff positions and a lack of separate standards of performance for each staff member. Recommendations to strengthen the program include separate and distinct public relations and fund-raising responsibilities in each staff position and standards of performance for each staff member.

This study examines the organization, function, and role of public relations in Neiman-Marcus Fortnights. Fortnight is an annual October extravaganza combining cultural and community education with merchandising. Information was gathered by interviews with three people associated with Fortnight public relations. The public relations department follows general goals in planning Fortnight public relations activities. Audiences are not restricted. Public relations responsibilities are publicity, press relations, guest relations, community relations, and special events. Evaluations are made with respect to public relations activities of the previous Fortnight. Though public relations is of secondary importance to merchandising, the effectiveness of Fortnight activities would be improved with established objectives, specific audiences, and a formal means of evaluation.

This study determined attitudes held by television reporters nationwide toward PR practitioners' demonstrated knowledge of the technical side of television news. Findings. that emerged from the study were: 1. Television reporters were undecided whether practitioners needed an educational background in PR, and believed they needed an educational but not a professional background in television reporting. 2. They believed practitioners knew too little and should improve their knowledge, and that practitioners' employers would benefit therefrom. 3. They valued the assistance of practitioners. 4. There were moderate degrees of off-the-job contact and interest therein. 5. They divided evenly on the question concerning practitioners' specific demonstrated knowledge of the technical side of television news.

This study examines the public relations practices of the Public Relations Department and the Human Relations Department at National Semiconductor Corporation. Source material included interviews with twelve company employees, company publications, and other publications. Five chapters deal with particular problems with which the semiconductor industry in the 'United States is confronted; background and development of National Semiconductor Corporation; organization and practices of the Public Relations Department; and public relations practices of the Human Relations Department. The study finds much strength in each of the two departments but concludes that the public relations function would be strengthened by consolidation into one department. It recommends further scholarly research of public relations practices at other electronics companies.

This study presents a detailed analysis of the public relations organization, objectives, and practices of Southwestern Bell Telephone Company, Dallas, Texas. Information sources included interviews with telephone company public relations personnel, company publications, and other publications. The five chapters deal with the history and development of the company and its public relations program, and the organization, functions, and operations of the public relations department. With a long and varied history of public relations activities, the company executes numerous activities for employees, customers, educational institutions, the community, stockholders, and the media. The study recommends that the department establish a committee to formulate long-range public relations goals, initiate a management orientation program, and advertise in area high school and college publications.

A key role of public relations is to manage crises, unexpected yet unpredictable events that cause emotional and physical harm (Coombs, 2007). Among the challenges in handling a crisis effectively is dealing with the various media in which information is presented. Because the use of social media in a crisis is a relatively new phenomenon, further understanding of the challenges and opportunities of these media is warranted. Part of meeting this challenge requires precise modeling of consumer responses to safety messages. To remedy gaps in our understanding of social media and food safety crisis communications, consumer intent to comply with a food safety message was evaluated within the framework of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB; Ajzen, 1991). Superimposed on the TPB intention model were possible moderator variables of message source (professional versus user-generated) and message reliability (confirmed versus unconfirmed information). Three focus groups provided background for the construction of a research instrument according to guidelines specified by Francis, Eccles, Johnston, Walker, Foy, et al. (2004). A 2x2 experimental design with four scenarios (message source x reliability), and realism checks of the scenarios were conducted. A pilot test with 130 undergraduate university students preceded administration of the instrument to a representative U.S. consumer panel of 400 participants. Results indicated that intent to comply with a food safety message was higher in response to messages in professional sources than in user-generated sources, but that the majority of this effect could be explained by participant age, which in turn predicted use of social media. Message reliability did not affect intent to comply—confirmed and unconfirmed messages had similar effects on intent to comply. All aspects of the TPB were confirmed by the current results with the exception of perceived behavioral control, which was so consistently strong that it was unable to predict variations in intent to comply with a food safety message. Consequently, the current data support the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA; Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975) rather than the TPB. Implications of the results for public relations and crisis communications, limitations of the study, and recommendations for future research are discussed.

This study investigates the influence of dialogic relationship and organizational cultures on the military-public relationship. College students (N=218) participated in a 2 x 2 (dialogic relationship: high vs. low x organizational culture: military vs. civilian) independent groups factorial quasi-experiment. To induce dialogic relationship, two versions of the U.S. Army internet webpage screenshots were created. Organizational culture was controlled by purposive sampling two groups of military and civilian subjects. The results indicate that dialogic relationship and organizational culture combine exerts an effect on the military-public relationship by increasing perceptions of control mutuality, trust, commitment and communal relationship for civilians but not the military. In addition to its theoretical contributions, the results of this study have important practical implications for the military public affairs.

Crisis response message strategies were examined using a post test-only randomized experiment (N=252) to determine their influence on perceptual, cognitive, and motivational antecedents to communication behavior in a political context. Results indicate that: (1) strategy type influences perceived strategy effectiveness; (2) situational beliefs influence situational motivation, subjective norm, and attitudes; (3) subjective norm and attitudes influence behavioral intention; and (4) referent criterion, situational motivation, and behavioral intention influence communicative action in publics during a political crisis.