Getting the message across: Message dissemination through the social media platform as a public relation tool as a media richness perspective

Prior studies that evaluated social media recommended the use of social media in PR efforts. But they lacked the theoretical framework to fully evaluate the richness of the communication medium. Through Media Richness Theory, the investigator assessed the perceptions of 162 PR professionals to shed light on the richness of social media as a communication tool and, most importantly, as an effective tool for the purposes of PR. While this study revealed that social media is not a fully “rich” communication outlet, there are components that provide value to PR professionals. This study suggests that social media not simply be compared to traditional media, but instead be used as a collaborative tool for PR efforts. Based on the perception of survey participants, both quantitative and qualitative, social media provides a ‘rich’ outlet to develop a personal approach in the communication process to a target audience. Keywords: Public Relations, Social Media, Media Richness Theor