Theories of Public Relations
Summary
TLDRThis video script delves into four key theories in public relations: System Theory, Situational Theory, Social Exchange Theory, and Diffusion Theory. It explains how these theories guide practitioners in understanding relationships with various publics and stakeholders, categorizing publics for effective communication, assessing exchanges in relationships, and the stages of communication impact from awareness to adoption. The script highlights the importance of feedback, categorization, cost-benefit analysis, and the diffusion process in shaping public opinion and organizational strategies.
Takeaways
- 📚 The script discusses four key theories used in public relations: system theory, situational theory, social exchange theory, and diffusion theory.
- 🌐 System theory views publics as part of an organization's social environment and emphasizes the importance of feedback for adjustments.
- 🔄 It differentiates between closed systems, which rely on past performance, and open systems, which actively seek new information from public relations.
- 🔍 Situational theory categorizes publics based on their awareness of a problem and their level of action, aiding PR professionals in targeted communication strategies.
- 👥 The four categories of publics identified by situational theory are aware publics, latent publics, active publics, and non-publics.
- 🤝 Social exchange theory combines economic, psychological, and sociological principles, focusing on the balance of benefits and costs in relationships.
- 💡 It suggests that individuals evaluate relationships based on what they give and receive, seeking to maximize benefits and minimize costs.
- 📈 Diffusion theory outlines a five-step process for communication effectiveness: awareness, interest, trial, evaluation, and adoption.
- 🎯 The first step in diffusion theory is identifying the target market and audience to create awareness about a product or service.
- 📚 Following awareness, the interest stage involves providing more information about the utility of a product or service to engage potential consumers.
- 🛍️ The trial stage is about offering a product for trial, particularly for new or expensive items, to encourage consumer interaction.
- 📊 Evaluation involves assessing consumer behavior to determine if it aligns with the organization's goals and to make necessary adjustments.
- 🔄 Adoption is the final stage where consumers, convinced by the product or service, are likely to make a purchase and potentially share their positive feedback.
Q & A
What are the four theories discussed in the video script related to public relations?
-The four theories discussed are the System Theory, the Situational Theory, the Social Exchange Theory, and the Diffusion Theory.
How does the System Theory define the relationship between an organization and its publics?
-The System Theory views publics, such as customers, employees, and neighbors, as forming a social environment for an organization. It emphasizes the interdependence between the organization and its internal and external environment, focusing on feedback for adjustments.
What are the two types of systems mentioned in the System Theory?
-The two types of systems in the System Theory are the closed system, which does not seek new information and focuses on past performance, and the open system, which uses public relations to gather information on productive relationships with various stakeholders.
What does the Situational Theory contribute to public relations practice?
-The Situational Theory helps public relations professionals categorize people into different publics based on their awareness of a problem and their level of action. This categorization allows for more effective communication strategies tailored to each public group.
What are the four categories of publics according to the Situational Theory?
-The four categories of publics are the Aware Publics, the Latent Publics, the Active Publics, and the Non-Publics, each representing different levels of recognition and involvement with a problem.
How does the Social Exchange Theory apply to the field of public relations?
-The Social Exchange Theory, combining principles from economics, psychology, and sociology, suggests that individuals and organizations seek to minimize costs and maximize benefits in their relationships. It helps PR professionals understand the dynamics of relationship building based on perceived benefits and costs.
What are the five steps outlined by the Diffusion Theory in the context of public relations?
-The five steps of the Diffusion Theory are Awareness, Interest, Trial, Evaluation, and Adoption. These steps describe the process by which an organization can effectively communicate and influence its target audience.
Why is it important for PR professionals to understand the Diffusion Theory?
-Understanding the Diffusion Theory is crucial for PR professionals as it provides a framework for how communication can shape opinions and behaviors. It helps in strategizing communication campaigns to guide the audience through awareness to adoption of a product or service.
How does the video script emphasize the importance of feedback in public relations?
-The script highlights feedback as a critical component of the System Theory, where it is necessary for adjustments and understanding the relationship between an organization and its publics. Feedback helps in managing and improving these relationships.
What role does research play in the initial step of the Diffusion Theory as described in the script?
-Research plays a vital role in the Awareness step of the Diffusion Theory by helping organizations identify their target market and audience. This identification is essential for launching campaigns that create awareness about the organization's products or services.
How does the script suggest that bad experiences are more impactful than good ones in public relations?
-The script suggests that bad experiences are shared more widely than good ones, emphasizing the importance of managing consumer satisfaction in public relations. It highlights the need for organizations to be aware that negative feedback can reach a larger audience than positive feedback.
Outlines
📚 Introduction to Public Relations Theories
This paragraph introduces the final video of Unit 2, focusing on four key theories used in public relations: system theory, situational theory, social exchange theory, and diffusion theory. It explains that theories are frameworks that predict and understand relationships between actions and events. Public relations practitioners use these theories to plan activities and build successful relationships with various publics. The paragraph also mentions a model trial to be included in the study and transitions into discussing the system theory, emphasizing its importance in managing an organization's relationship with its stakeholders and publics through feedback mechanisms.
🔍 Deep Dive into Public Relations Theories
The second paragraph delves deeper into the individual theories starting with the situational theory, which classifies publics based on their awareness and action regarding a problem. It highlights the importance of this theory for public relations professionals to effectively communicate with different publics. The social exchange theory is then introduced as a blend of economic, psychological, and sociological principles, focusing on the balance of benefits and costs in relationships. The diffusion theory is explained as a five-step process—awareness, interest, trial, evaluation, and adoption—that describes how communication shapes opinions and behaviors. The paragraph concludes by emphasizing the significance of understanding consumer behavior and the spread of information in public relations.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Public Relations (PR)
💡System Theory
💡Feedback
💡Situational Theory
💡Social Exchange Theory
💡Diffusion Theory
💡Awareness
💡Interest
💡Trial
💡Evaluation
💡Adoption
Highlights
Introduction to the final video of Unit 2 on theories used in public relations.
Explanation of what a theory is and its role in predicting and understanding relationships between actions and events in public relations.
The importance of theories for public relations practitioners in decision-making and building successful relationships with publics.
Overview of the four main theories covered: system theory, situational theory, social exchange theory, and diffusion theory.
System theory's premise that publics form a social environment for an organization and its significance in managing relationships with stakeholders.
The concept of feedback in system theory and its role in adjustments within an organization's relationship with its publics.
Differentiation between closed and open systems in system theory and their respective approaches to information and decision-making.
Situational theory's approach to identifying and classifying publics based on their awareness and actions regarding a problem.
The psychological depth of situational theory in understanding public behavior and its influence on organizational decision-making.
Categorization of publics into aware, latent, active, and non-publics according to their level of engagement with a problem.
Importance of situational theory for public relations professionals in effectively communicating with different publics.
Introduction to social exchange theory and its combination of economic, psychological, and sociological principles.
The role of perceived benefits and costs in human relationships as explained by social exchange theory.
Diffusion theory as a popular public relations theory exploring the impact of communication on shaping opinions and behaviors.
The five-step process of diffusion theory: awareness, interest, trial, evaluation, and adoption.
The significance of identifying target markets and audiences as the first step in the diffusion theory process.
The role of providing more information and utility of products and services to generate interest among consumers.
Strategies for trialing products and evaluating consumer behavior to assess the success of a product launch.
The final step of adoption in diffusion theory and the potential for satisfied consumers to share feedback with others.
The impact of bad experiences being shared more widely than good experiences and the importance of reaching large demographics in PR.
Transcripts
yes friends
now we come up to the last video of unit
number
two that is theories used
in public relations we have got
four theories the system theory
the situational theory the social
exchange theory
and the diffusion theory
what is a theory now theories
predict the way things work or happen
they provide an understanding of
relationship
between actions and events
public relation practitioners
consider several theories
when they take a decision about how they
can build
successful relationship with their
publics now you find
theories provide a useful
starting point
for planning of public relation
activities
for external publics of an organization
now in this study it will be included
a model trial for the same
let us go into the first one
that is the system theory system
theory essentially works from the
premises that
publics like customers
employees and neighbors all these form
a kind of social environment for an
organization
the reason system
theory is of particular concern in
public relation is that
adjustments require
feedback adjustments require
feedback it explains how public
helps to understand and manage the
relationship
an organization has with its different
stakeholders and public to make up this
environment
now system theory is especially useful
for public relation because it helps
a practitioner to manage the
organization's relationship
it emphasizes interdependence between
the organization and
internal and external environment it has
two systems the closed system
and the open system now in the closed
system
it does not seek any new information
it focuses on the history of the
organization
and makes a decision based on the past
performance as i told you in the closed
system
no need information is taken focus on
history of the organization
and on the basis of the past experience
a decision is taken
now in the open system it uses
public relations people
to bring back the information on how
productive relationships are with the
clients customers
and other stakeholders
so the system theory
works with the public's like customers
employees neighbors and all
others second we come up to the
situational theory
now the situational theory of public
defines
that public can be identified and
classified in the context to which
they are aware of the problem and the
extent to which they
do something about the problem so
awareness of the problem
and what they do about the problem now
this
theory it explains
it explains in depth of the psychology
behind
public behavior being active or
passive in decision making of an
organization
pr categorizes people into different
category based on the degree of
associations
with array variables like recognition of
the problem recognition of the
constraints
and the level of involvement after
crucial
consideration careful consideration the
pr formulates the strategies to
effectively deliver
a message to the people
there are four categories of public
according to
the situational theory the aware publics
the latent publics the active publics
and the non-public now the aware publics
are
those who identify and recognize the
problem
late in public are those who ignore or
turn a blind eye to the problem
active public are those who take
initiative
actively about a problem and a
non-publics
are those who do not have any
or encountered a
problem now situational theory why it is
important
for public relation professional because
it
helps them to categorize people into
different publics so that they can
communicate
to the target audience more effectively
their communications with the aware
publics with the latent publics with the
active publics for the non-public
all will be different under
situational theory the traditional
theory
is important for the public relations
professional because it helps them to
categorize people into different publics
so that they can communicate to the
target audience more
effectively then you come up to the
social
exchange theory now social exchange
theory is a combination of the
principles of economics
psychology and sociology in the world of
business
it implies exchange benefit
the theory states that human being
always tries to minimize cost and
maximize
profit when trying to develop a
relationship with someone
we look at the benefits we may derive
from that relationship
but the benefits are great and we may
express ourselves to the other persons
more and develop a close intimacy of
bonding
with the person social exchange theory
tells
that how we perceive a relationship is
based on these factors
what we give in and what we get in
return
we all have our ideas about the kind and
the quality of relationship we deserve
and there is always a possibility of
having another person with whom
we can have more fulfilling
relationship and the last theory
we come up to the diffusion theory the
division theory
is one of the most popular theories of
public relations
the theory tries to explore what
is it about communication that
shapes our opinion and makes us
think in a particular way
why is some communication
more effective than others
now your diffusion theory it talks about
five different steps the awareness
the interest the trial the evaluation
and the adoption let us look into the
individual aspect of it
awareness the organization must do
research to find out its
target market and audience once it is
identified
the role of pr specialist is to launch
the campaign
in the identified market to create
awareness
about the product or services of the
organization
so identification of the target market
and the audience is the first step
to create an awareness second is the
interest once the companies are
successful in creating
interesting people they would like to
have more information about the product
and services
at this point the company should provide
more information of the utility of its
product and services
the third one is the trial giving people
or customers
a product of trial is a good strategy
that the companies
do when launching a new expensive
product
fourth one is the evaluation now it is
necessary to evaluate
initially the consumer behavior in order
to know
whether the behavior is in the favor or
not
and last one is the adoption if the
consumer is fully convinced of the
product
the consumer is likely to buy the
product or service
if the satisf if he's satisfied he may
share his feedback to
some of his friends but in case if he's
dissatisfied
it will reach hundreds of people and
bad experiences are shared more than
good experience remember one thing
in the context of pr it must be
remembered that information reached to
the
to the largest demographics
so here we end to your part
two
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