Social Media's Importance

     Social media is a phenomenon which has become part of our everyday lives. It’s unbelievable how rapidly it has taken over. Our day to day activities include updating our twitters and checking our Facebooks. It’s a trend which looks like it’s going to stick. With social media, it becomes easy for researchers to participate in unobtrusive research. They can see the likes and interests of the various demographics it is researching.

     I never realized how much of an asset social media could be to researchers until reading Katie Warner’s blog (http://katiewarnersblogforprresearch.blogspot.com/2010/10/non-profits-facebook-and-unobtrusive.html?spref=bl) and Katerina Torres’s blog (http://socialmediaforpr.blogspot.com/2010/10/social-media-great-outlet-for.html), both regarding social media, unobtrusive research and the benefits to the public relations world.

       Katie focuses on social media in relation to non-profit organizations. Using unobtrusive research is beneficial for a non-profit because it is not very costly. Non-profits strive to donate as much money as they can to their various charities so the fact that they use social media to target their specific audiences I find beneficial.

     I enjoyed how Katerina gave positives and negatives of social media in public relations. It made it more comprehensible to see where social media techniques flourish and where they are lacking. Katerina explains how research can be biased when she says, “Because of the influence society has on us, sometimes unobtrusive research could be the best way to retrieve real raw information without it being biased by an outside influence.” This is how I began to realize how vital unobtrusive research can be to researchers.

    Specializing in entertainment public relations, I have realized that tracking my clients through social media is important. I can see what consumers believe and want to know about my clients. I can also see what fans like and their interests. I can then set up the appropriate campaign for my clients. I found it interesting realizing how much social media would affect my clients and their well-being.