Attitude of Employees’ and Public Relation Officers on the Use of Facebook as a Public Relation Tool: Case of the Federal Ministry of Trade And Industry
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Date
2021-05
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AAU
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to assess the use of social media, especially Facebook, as a public
relation tool in the Ministry of Trade and Industry of Ethiopia. The study used an exploratory
research design with both quantitative and qualitative data collection method. The study was
conducted using the structured questionnaire and interview guided questions. The study also
used the purposive sampling design. Data was analyzed through statistical percentage for
quantitative data and thematic analysis was used to describe the qualitative data. The findings of
the research indicated that social media was used mostly to find news and information, to share
information with others; to get feedback from audience; and to see what is going on in the social
media world. The study also tells us three forms or applications/mediums of social media are
officially used to disseminate information in the organization. These applications were
Facebook, Telegram & Twitter; where Facebook is the most preferred mode of social media
(85.3% of respondents reported it). The research finding also revealed that the organization has
no standardized social media ethics and codes of conduct. Finally, the study recommends that the
organization should: have the standardized social media ethics and codes of conduct; and
facilitate & provide the in-service training programs for the Public Relations Practitioners to
update their knowledge & skill.
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study was to assess the use of social media