Framgångsfaktorer för användning av sociala medier i public relations : En fallstudie i Svensk gruvindustri

The digitalization and emergence of social media has had a major impact on how companies work with public relations and its reputation. It has opened up new ways for companies to communicate and interact directly with their stakeholders, but it has also considerably reduced corporate control over communication. Instead of the traditional one-way communication, the Internet and social media is characterized by two-way communication and interaction where many can communicate with many. The collective "voice" of the stakeholders, nature of interactivity, speed, and reach means that companies and its stakeholders today communicate on equal terms. These changing conditions is a major challenge for companies, and particularly vulnerable are companies that operate in areas and industries that arouses great public debate. Therefore, this study is centred around one of the industries that has attracted much public debate both in Sweden and globally, the mining industry. By taking into account the unique circumstances and challenges the mining industry faces, this study intend to identify success factors for how mining companies, in an efficient way, can work with social media in public relations.In order to identify these success factors, two research questions were formulated:1. How do mining companies work with social media in public relations? 2. How should mining companies work with social media in public relations? The thesis is a qualitative study based on a theoretical framework. The empirical data was collected through a case study that included one interview with a selected company and five interviews with stakeholders. The study identified eight success factors of how a mining company, in an efficient way, can work with social media in public relations:1. Clearly the purpose of each social media channel2. Specify the target audience for each social media channel3. Create the right environment4. Create dialogue and build relationships5. Digital storytelling and entertainment6. Update frequently7. Be transparent8. Link posts to website Keywords: Public Relations, Social Media, Mining IndustryValiderat; 20160614 (global_studentproject_submitter