The Role of Facebook as a Public Relations Tool in Ethio Telecom: a Case Study
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Date
2023-02
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
This study is conducted mainly to assess the trends in the role of Facebook as a public relation tool in Ethio Telecom. It followed a triangulation approach by combining in-depth interviews with ten Ethio Telecom public relations practitioners and a content analysis of 5 months posts of Ethio Telecom Facebook page. The samples of the in-depth interview for the study are purposively chosen from the organization's communication division, which is in charge of overseeing the organization's social media activity. As a result, ten people were interviewed in-depth, and 316 Facebook postings that were shared on the organization's official Facebook page between January 1 and may 31, 2022, were examined. The study's findings indicate that Ethio Telecom use Facebook often as PR tool; however there is more one way communication resulting in less interaction to increase the relationship and foster closer relationship between the organization and its public. The interaction is more from the organization to the customers and the public with few responses from the customers. There is a need for more two way interaction between the organizations and their publics. False information on Facebook is one of the issues the organization faces in its activities, and its Facebook efforts lack plans and are mostly focused on information distribution. Facebook is widely used in society, is easy to use, and takes less time to complete tasks than other platforms, which are the reasons why the organization decided to use it. Regardless of the findings, the organization under study should strive to achieve a more balanced and interactive use of Facebook as a public relations tool.
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Keywords
Facebook, public relation