The Use of New Media in Public Relations of Local Administrative Organization in Phuket

Abstract

             The purposes of this study were to investigate the use and content of new media in public relations, as well as the potential for using new media among public relations practitioners in local administrative organizations in Phuket Province. A mixed-methods approach was used in this study, which included survey research, in-depth interviews, and quantitative content analysis. A questionnaire was used to collect data from 38 public relations practitioners from all local administrative organizations in Phuket, a semi-structured interview form was used to collect data from 10 public relations practitioners, and a content analysis form was used to study content on Facebook pages of 10 local administrative organizations. The results were as follows: (1) The use of new media in the public relations of local government organizations in Phuket was characterized by an integration of new and traditional media. The most commonly used new media included Facebook, websites and Line applications, while traditional media such as annual reports and mobile PR vehicles were also widely used. The most prominent role of the new media was the dissemination of news both inside and outside the organization. (2) The content of public relations in the new media was mostly presented in the form of news with text and photos. The organization posted the most, with an average of 4.7 posts/day. (3) The potential of using new media for public relations among public relations officers in local government organizations in Phuket province showed that the knowledge of using Facebook was the highest. (M= 4.53). New media should be used to encourage public participation in order to establish two-way symmetrical communication in public relations.