SOCIAL MEDIA AS AN EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION AND FEEDBACK PLATFORM FOR PUBLIC RELATIONS

Abstract
The core objective of this research was to examine the influence of Social Media as an effective communication and feedback platform on the Practice of Public Relations using Global Communication Nigeria Limited as a case study. Basically, the use of social media has increased among consumers around the world, causing an increase in the adoption of social media as tactics and means of sharing information and interactions among many public relations professionals and its publics. Technological Determinism Theory was employed to justify the research objective. The quantitative research design was used in which cross-sectional survey method was adopted while the data collection instrument was a questionnaire. 100 copies of questionnaires were administered to one hundred respondents who were drawn using simple random sampling technique within the GLO Office, Ibadan. The data collected were analysed and interpreted using simple statistics frequency and percentage table method. Findings of the research revealed that Social media are an effective tool for communicating and redistributing news from traditional media sources. Finally, it was recommended that digital media or new media should form part of the curriculum for undergraduates in mass communication and public relations, in particular, this will equip them for digital practice.