“Social Media Measurement and Management: Entrepreneurial Digital Analytics” (2nd Edition) is a wide-ranging, resource-rich, and accessible book that explores “how social networks can be understood for context about which accounts have influence, what content satisfies interests, and why specific social media management tactics tend to work within a general context of planning, goals, and strategies” (Lipschultz, 2025, p. 4). The book features 20 diverse contributors, has 10 chapters, and is divided into four units: “Foundations of Social Media Measurement and Management,” “Strategic Social Media Measurement Tools,” “Best Practices in Social Media Measurement,” and “Social Media Planning and Campaigns.”
Letter from the Special Issue Editors& Table of Contents
Emily S. Kinsky West Texas A&M University Professor Past Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Public Relations Education Email: ekinsky@wtamu.edu
Chuck Lubbers University of South Dakota Professor Past Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Public Relations Education Email: chuck.lubbers@usd.edu
Adrienne A. Wallace Grand Valley State University Editor-in-Chief Journal of Public Relations Education Email: wallacad@gvsu.edu
Editors’ Note: “Elevating PR: Insights and Trends in Graduate Education”
It is with tremendous honor and deep gratification that we introduce this special issue of the Journal of Public Relations Education, a collection of scholarly work that addresses a critical and timely gap in our field: the state of graduate education in public relations. This issue comes at a pivotal moment in our discipline, when the landscape of higher education is shifting, our industry is navigating technological disruption, and questions about the value and structure of advanced degrees are being asked with unprecedented urgency.
The Impetus for this Special Issue
Since 1975, the Commission on Public Relations Education (CPRE) has maintained a steadfast commitment to studying and improving public relations education standards and practices. However, much of that effort has focused on undergraduate education and the crucial transition from the academy to the profession at the entry level. In 1999, the CPRE “Port of Entry” report established the university as the official pathway for those seeking to establish careers in public relations, recognizing both undergraduate and graduate education as essential “tooling and retooling centers” for the profession. Yet, despite the substantial growth in master’s-level public relations programs over the past decade, the last comprehensive CPRE report dedicated exclusively to graduate education was published in 2012, well over a decade ago.
The intervening years have witnessed profound transformations. The global pandemic reshaped how we work and learn, fundamentally altering the pedagogy of graduate education. Artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged not merely as a technological tool but as a force reshaping job functions and competencies. The profession itself has fragmented and rebranded across multiple disciplines and specializations, such as strategic communication, integrated marketing communication, corporate communication, and beyond. Master’s programs have proliferated, diversified, and dispersed across various academic units and delivery models. In the face of this complexity and growth, the need for scholarly attention to graduate public relations education became undeniable.
This special issue, titled “Elevating PR: Insights and Trends in Graduate Education,” was conceived to further bridge this pedagogical gap in tandem with the 2025 CPRE report and to spark contemporary dialogue about the future of graduate education in our field. We sought to invite research articles, teaching briefs, scholarly essays, and case studies that would explore both the challenges and opportunities inherent in graduate-level public relations education. The call extended an open invitation to examine how practitioner expectations align with graduate curricula, how best practices in internships and applied learning can be designed, how research and data analytical abilities are cultivated, and how graduate programs connect, or fail to connect, with the demands of contemporary professional practice.
What This Issue Reveals
The manuscripts brought together in this collection offer a multifaceted portrait of graduate public relations education in the United States, which expands upon the work recently published by the CPRE research committee in the Graduate Education in Public Relations: 2025 Report, released in November. Collectively, they represent the work of educators, researchers, and practitioners committed to understanding and improving the graduate student experience and, ultimately, the competency of the professionals our programs produce.
Several critical themes emerge from this collection. First, the issue addresses the persistent challenge of curricular inconsistency and lack of standardization across graduate programs. Despite decades of recommendations from the Commission on Public Relations Education, programs continue to vary significantly in their structure, titles, course offerings, and culminating experiences. Some programs house themselves within journalism schools; others reside in business colleges, communication departments, or interdisciplinary centers. This fragmentation raises important questions about what prospective students can expect, what employers should anticipate, and how our field can signal its credibility and value.
Second, this special issue grapples with the critical question of alignment—the alignment between what the industry needs and what our programs teach. The gap between employer expectations and graduate preparation surfaces repeatedly across these manuscripts. Practitioners emphasize the importance of writing proficiency, interpersonal communication, strategic thinking, and professional maturity in their graduate interns, yet many find these competencies underdeveloped. This disconnect demands our attention and our response.
Third, these articles illuminate the reality of contemporary graduate student diversity—not only in terms of students’ demographic characteristics, but also in their goals, backgrounds, and contexts. Graduate programs now serve students pursuing doctoral degrees, career advancement in practice, and specialization in niche sectors. They serve full-time and part-time students, residential and online learners, career-changers and industry veterans. The “one-size-fits-all” approach to graduate education is no longer viable…if it ever was.
Fourth, these research endeavors document important efforts to innovate pedagogically. From service-learning models that bridge community engagement with research methods training to intentional curriculum design informed by industry input, this issue captures creative and thoughtful responses to the challenges of contemporary graduate education. These examples demonstrate that excellence in graduate public relations education is not only achievable but is already taking place in pockets across our discipline.
The Articles in This Issue
The collection opens with research examining curriculum and standards insights provided by educators, followed by an audit of graduate program websites analyzing curricular offerings and assessing alignment with existing recommendations. These first two articles provide valuable empirical documentation of the current master’s-degree landscape and inform ongoing efforts by the Commission on Public Relations Education to revise and update standards.
We are also pleased to feature an examination of practitioners’ expectations for graduate education, a timely survey that captures the voices of industry leaders and updates prior research in light of seismic shifts in practice brought about by the pandemic, technological advancement, and changing social dynamics. This research provides empirical grounding for conversations about what skills and knowledge matter most in contemporary professional contexts.
This issue includes scholarship focused on inclusion, equity, and representation in graduate education, a critical imperative for our discipline. Research exploring the lived experiences of Black graduate students and faculty in public relations illuminates systemic challenges in recruitment, retention, and support. These insights are essential reading for all who work in graduate education and aspire to create more welcoming, affirming, and equitable learning environments.
Additionally, we include research examining what industry professionals expect from graduate interns, the skills, competencies, and dispositions they value, and the gaps they perceive in graduate preparation. This work provides actionable guidance for program directors and faculty committed to strengthening the professional readiness of their graduates.
The last full article shares how public relations is presented, or absent, in sport management master’s programs. This work challenges us to consider whether our field maintains visibility and voice in related disciplines, and whether professionals in adjacent fields are being adequately prepared to leverage public relations expertise.
Finally, this issue includes two teaching briefs. The first demonstrates the pedagogical value of service-learning in graduate research methods instruction, offering a practical model for educators who seek to bridge theory and application while fostering meaningful community partnerships. The second explores the creation of thought leadership articles by graduate students on LinkedIn. Such examples of class-tested project ideas are invaluable for faculty considering pedagogical innovation.
Looking Forward
As we reflect on this collection and consider its significance, we are struck by several observations. First, there is genuine consensus in these articles about what matters: graduate education must be intentional, theory-grounded, professionally relevant, and equitable. There is, however, less certainty about how to achieve these goals within the constraints of institutional structures, resource limitations, and competing pedagogical philosophies. That uncertainty reflects the genuine complexity of graduate education in an applied discipline.
Second, the research findings within this issue reveal that graduate public relations education is not in crisis. It is in transition. Our programs are responding creatively and thoughtfully to changing contexts and emerging needs. Yet they would benefit from greater alignment, more explicit communication of their value propositions, and renewed commitment to standards that ensure quality and consistency without stifling innovation and specialization.
Third, we are grateful that these articles attend carefully to issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion. As of late, and way too often, discussions of curriculum and standards abstract away from the human experiences of students, particularly students from historically marginalized communities. This issue reminds us that excellent graduate education is not only intellectually rigorous but also humane and affirming.
We would be remiss if we did not mention the role our dear friend Pamela Bourland-Davis had in this issue – she aided in dreaming and scheming this idea. She was so enthusiastic about the potential of an entire issue of JPRE dedicated to *just* graduate education. Dr. Bourland-Davis, we dedicate this issue to you. We are certain your heart guided our work.
We are also grateful to the authors who contributed their scholarship, the peer reviewers who provided constructive feedback, and the practitioner-partners who participated in the research and shared their insights. Finally, we thank the CPRE research committee and leadership team, as well as the JPRE editorial team, for their commitment to supporting this issue and advancing scholarship in public relations education.
This special issue on graduate public relations education is offered in the spirit of generative dialogue. We hope this issue will spark conversations on campuses, in professional organizations, and in industry settings about what excellent graduate education in public relations looks like and how we, collectively, can ensure that our programs prepare the next generation of public relations leaders to navigate complexity, lead with integrity, and serve the public interest with wisdom and skill.
As we move forward, may we do so together, committed to elevating the quality, relevance, equity, and impact of graduate public relations education.
With warm regard and deep appreciation for our scholarly community,
Drs. Kinsky, Lubbers, Wallace, & Bourland-Davis (in memoriam)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Letter from the Editors Emily S. Kinsky, Chuck Lubbers, & Adrienne A. Wallace
This teaching brief presents an end-of-course essay assignment that tasks graduate students to share their expertise publicly through a thought leadership-style article. Through stepping out of the role of “learner” and into the role of “expert” and publishing their articles on LinkedIn, students face the heightened stakes of sharing their insights beyond the classroom walls. By highlighting key knowledge, skills, and abilities they have gained through their graduate education, students can demonstrate the unique perspective and value they offer future employers while further developing their own professional brand. This assignment was developed for a course focused on accessibility, diversity, and inclusion on social media; however, the thought-leadership style essay can be adapted to fit the learning outcomes of many public relations courses.
Adrienne A. Wallace Grand Valley State University Editor-in-Chief Journal of Public Relations Education Email: wallacad@gvsu.edu
It is our privilege to introduce this issue, which brings together timely scholarship on the evolving landscape of public relations and communication education. As the demands of the modern workplace continue to shift, driven by rapid technological innovation, changing employer expectations, and a renewed focus on equity and access, educators and students are challenged to adapt, innovate, and reflect critically on their practices and priorities. The three manuscripts featured in this issue each offer a distinct, research-driven perspective on how communication programs can best prepare students for professional success while addressing the complexities of today’s media and public relations industries.
The first teaching brief, “AI Hackathon: Igniting and Connecting Students’ Generative AI Knowledge,” explores the integration of artificial intelligence into public relations pedagogy through the use of classroom hackathons. This innovative approach not only demystifies generative AI for students but also provides a hands-on, collaborative environment where technical skills, creativity, and ethical considerations intersect. The findings demonstrate that such experiential learning models can foster both technical competence and critical thinking, equipping students to navigate a workplace increasingly shaped by AI tools and practices.
Our second contribution, “Facilitating Students’ Career Readiness Through Social Media Micro-internships with On-Campus Clients,” addresses another pressing need: equitable access to meaningful professional experiences. By embedding micro-internships within the curriculum and partnering with real, on-campus clients, this model provides students—especially first-generation college students—with opportunities to develop both technical and soft skills in authentic work settings. The evidence presented here underscores the value of experiential learning, mentorship, and inclusive practices in bridging the gap between academic preparation and career readiness, while also highlighting the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion in communication strategy.
The third paper, “Mandate of Professionalization: Serial Interns, Self-Branding and Invisible Laborers in the PR and Media Industries,” offers a critical examination of the internship economy and the pressures facing early career professionals. Through in-depth interviews, the study reveals how students often prioritize organizational prestige and self-branding over substantive skill development, sometimes at the expense of their own well-being and professional growth. The research recommends more structured mentoring, clear ethical guidelines, and a rebalancing of educational objectives to ensure that internships serve as genuine sites of learning and professional development, rather than merely providing credentials for employability. Taken together, these papers illuminate the multifaceted challenges and opportunities facing public relations and communication education today. They remind us that preparing students for the future requires more than technical proficiency or a polished resume; it demands critical engagement with new technologies, a commitment to inclusivity, and an honest reckoning with the structures that shape professional development.
Additionally, in this issue, we honor our immediate past Editor-in-Chief, Pamela Bourland-Davis, who passed away suddenly in May, leaving a huge hole in our hearts in the PR pedagogy community. The loss of her mentorship is deeply felt by our editorial staff at JPRE. Her impact was immense. I’ve already cried twice today writing this editorial note. Please read additional moving tributes to Pam on the JPRE website, the PRD community pages, and in the summer newsletter, and find a way to honor her in your life and teaching practice.
Now, Pam would not have wanted me to end on a sad note; she would have wanted us to continue celebrating our incredible scholars with joyful enthusiasm. And so, our final addition to this issue is the announcement of the 2024-2025 JPRE awards. In 2024, thanks to our incredible sponsors, we were able to add two named awards to celebrate our contributors. In May, JPRE also established an editorial leadership award, which we are presenting for the first time to honor Dr. Bourland-Davis and her mentorship of our editorial staff.
Without further ado:
Our longest-standing award was created by our first editor-in-chief, Chuck Lubbers. The Chuck Lubbers Award for Pedagogical Research honors our top JPRE article of the year. This year, the award goes to: Stephanie Madden & Kate Guastaferro for “Public relations isn’t all rainbows and butterflies”: Student experiences in developing a child sexual abuse prevention campaign. (10-2)
The Stan Richards School of Advertising & Public Relations – Moody College, University of Texas Top Quality Reviewer Award goes to: Katie Place, Quinnipiac University, for her excellence in timely reviews and rich feedback to authors submitting to JPRE.
The Top Ethics in PR Pedagogy Paper Award for the Journal of Public Relations Education (JPRE) is sponsored by the Arthur W. Page Center for Integrity in Public Communication and goes to: Alec Tefertiller, Rosalynn Vasquez, and Matthew Brammer for The Kids are alright: Examining how US public relations students ethically navigate artificial intelligence. (11-1)
The newly established Pamela Bourland-Davis Editorial Excellence Award honors an individual on staff with JPRE who has demonstrated exceptional commitment, skill, and integrity in editorial leadership. This award goes to: Christopher McCollough, Kennesaw State University, for his diplomacy, leadership, and commitment to PR pedagogical advancement through mentorship.
Special thanks to our sponsors for providing funding for our cash awards to the winners. It is deeply appreciated.
As you read this issue, consider how these insights might inform your teaching, research, or practice. Let us continue to foster environments where students not only acquire the skills they need but also develop the critical awareness and ethical grounding to lead in a rapidly changing world, as Pam would have wanted.
Editorial Record: Submitted August 12, 2024. Revised December, 2024. Accepted May 5, 2025.
Authors
Denisse Vasquez-Guevara Assistant Professor California State Polytechnic University, Pomona California, USA Email: denissev@cpp.edu
Preeti Wadhwa Professor California State Polytechnic University, Pomona California, USA Email: pwadhwa@cpp.edu
ABSTRACT
Facilitating student career readiness is one of the key goals of baccalaureate communication programs. Specifically, employers seek professionals with technical skills (copywriting, editing, and content creation) and soft skills (critical thinking, problem-solving, and teamwork). However, first-generation students face disparities in accessing internship opportunities. This GIFT highlights a micro-internship experience offered to students enrolled in the course titled “Online and Social Media.” As a part of this course-embedded experience, student teams developed social media strategies and content for on-campus clients. The student learning objectives included (a) creating a social media strategy aligned with the client’s goals; (b) developing social media content adapted to varied target audience so as to increase reach and audience engagement; (c) helping students develop critical thinking, negotiation, teamwork; and last, but not the least, (d) exposing students to professional behavior and expectations. The associated assignments, rubric, teaching materials, and students’ qualitative self-evaluation results are discussed.
Editorial Record: Submitted Record May 28, 2024. Accepted July 26, 2024.
Corinne Dalelio Associate Professor Coastal Carolina University South Carolina, USA Email: cdalelio@coastal.edu
ABSTRACT
Course requirements involving submissions on publicly viewable websites have the potential to cross or violate privacy boundaries. Building on Petronio’s Communication Privacy Management Theory, I reflect on these challenges and the ways that I have found to give students choices and control over both their uses and personal information, and offer an example of such strategies through assignments I use in teaching concepts related to digital literacy, which I call “Online Activity Journals.”
Melissa A. Goodson, The College of St. Scholastica
Editor: Brandi Watkins Contributors: Alisa Agozzino; Courtney A. Barclay; Kelly S. Burns; Lisa Harrison; Terri N. Hernandez; Alexa Landsberger; Jenna Lo Castro; Regina Luttrell; Ronda Mariani; Amanda R. Martinez; Kylie Torres; Adrienne A. Wallace; Brandi Watkins and Kearston L. Wesner Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield, 2021 ISBN: 978-1-7936-1361-5 Number of pages: 208 https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781793613615/Research- Perspectives-on-Social-Media-Influencers-and-Brand- Communication
Brand Communication is a practical handbook of Social Media Influencer (SMI) research and case studies for brands. This mode of communication’s effectiveness over traditional media forms is powerful and often mysterious. The chapters help the novice SMI stakeholders understand key definitions, applications, and implications for brands and consumers.
Editorial Record: Submitted Record June 9, 2023. Accepted August 30, 2023. Published October 2024.
Author
Katie R. Place Professor School of Communications Quinnipiac University Connecticut, USA Email: Katie.Place@quinnipiac.edu
ABSTRACT
This great idea for teaching (GIFT) aims to help undergraduate or graduate students review extant social media and web ethics policies and then apply their knowledge to the development of their own ethics policy. This GIFT guides educators through the rationale of the study, the steps of the study, a teaching note regarding the study, and relevant references.
Adrienne A. Wallace Associate Professor Grand Valley State University Editor-in-Chief Journal of Public Relations Education Email: wallacad@gvsu.edu
The 10-2 issue is all about the student experience. Following the Commission of Public Relations Education (CPRE) issue in 10-1, wherein we examined expectations of a complicated and growing field, we look at not just how students will succeed in the industry but rather their experience and perspective in getting to the finish line of the undergrad experience, using the classroom as a laboratory.
This issue addresses courageous methods with Madden & Guastaferro lending brave insight into the emotional toll that students endure when working with sensitive topics. In fact, their findings show us that students found this topic motivating and meaningful in providing support to victims. I’m grateful for Madden & Guastaferro bringing these issues and advice to light so as to help other PR professors understand how to more effectively integrate trauma-informed practices into campaign courses. We can’t avoid commonly stigmatized issues for the sake of our own comfort in classrooms, we must remain vigilant and maybe even, comfortably uncomfortable in order to improve outcomes related to all matters of communication with all people. I hope you find this article as moving and helpful as I did.
Then, Weed & Nye reveal an additional aspect of student satisfaction using extracurricular activities through PRSSA as a model for maximizing leadership potential and their knowledge, skills, abilities, and traits (KSATs) – building upon the last two CPRE reports. They recommend to maximize these KSATs that PRSSA should be structured within a for-credit curricular design to enhance career preparedness in the student experience. This left me thinking about the potential that exists for high-impact practices and experiential learning crossovers in my own curriculum and asking the question, am I advocating enough for my own PRSSA chapter?
This takes us to the role of technology in this experience discussion, which Lim and Place address in the use of technological tools and responsible use in public relations with our final article and GIFT. In these final pieces, Lim reveals, that college students anticipate professors to incorporate ChatGPT into many course materials rather than prohibiting its use. This study highlights that ChatGPT is a powerful PR tool that can be used by colleges to improve their public relations efforts in a number of ways, from classroom to campus-wide innovation. I appreciated this article and timing as my own university and unit wrestle with policymaking and educational practices surrounding emerging tech in the classroom and campus.
As luck would have it, Place provides us with a solution to the implementation of this looming issue in our classrooms in her award-winning GIFT from the PRSA Educators Academy Summit in 2022. This assignment has miraculously stood the test of tech time and is structured to empower, enable, and embolden students to apply ethical and legal theory in PR to practice by way of a policy writing assignment. Really turning the student into an expert to engage as counsel and “ethical guardians” in the field; furthering a confident student through this classroom experience. Our educators in this issue have effectively transformed wicked problems into practical and professional solutions. I’m so proud of the work we do at JPRE, and I hope our scholars inspire your own practice.
The Journal of Public Relations Education (JPRE) is devoted to the presentation of research and commentary that advance the field of public relations education. JPRE invites submissions in the following three categories:
Research Articles
Teaching Briefs
Book/Software Reviews
Learn more by visiting the About JPRE page and the Authors/Contributors page for submission guidelines. All submissions should follow the guidelines of the most recent edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA).
Editorial Record: This article was originally submitted as an AEJMC Public Relations Division GIFTs paper, with a February 2023 deadline. Top papers were submitted to JPRE June 2023, and accepted for publication at that time. Published January 2024.
Author
Sumin Fang, Ph.D. Assistant Professor School of Communication University of the Fraser Valley Canada Email: sumin.fang@ufv.ca
Crowdsourcing has now been widely used as an innovative way to engage publics by public relations practitioners (Park & Kang, 2020; Sommerfeldt et al., 2019). Crowdsourcing refers to the phenomenon that organizations openly seek solutions, feedback, or voting for its challenges and problems from a wide range of audience members on digital platforms, such as social media and organizational websites (Brabham, 2008; Ghezzi et al., 2018; Hossain & Kauranen, 2015; Howe, 2006).
Overview of the assignment
This assignment (see Appendix) was assigned when city A, where our university is located, experienced an unprecedented flood in November 2021. Thousands of people had to evacuate, and a total financial loss was over four million dollars. I asked students to design crowdsourcing social media campaigns for local communities and organizations. The goal was to attract traffic to these organizations’ websites, raise public awareness of important social issues caused by this emergency, help with the sales of the products from impacted farms, solicit solutions to evacuate the farm animals, seek crisis preparation strategies, or elicit solutions to manage floods in the future. Students needed to provide campaign goals, messages and images, justify its launch channels, major stakeholders, and public engagement for the campaigns.
Student learning goals
1.Understand how and why crowdsourcing campaigns are different from other social media campaigns.
2. Draft crowdsourcing social media campaigns to help local communities attract public attention and aid.
3. Apply your understanding of audience analysis and the media environment to communications planning and deployment.
4. Describe the flow and distribution of information and communications during a local community’s real-life scenario.
Rational and Connection to PR Theory and Practice
Crowdsourcing campaigns may be an announcement of a challenge to call for public proposals, a current policy or solution to seek public feedback, an invitation for publics to vote for their favorite option, an interesting contest on social media to engage publics, and a small task to be fulfilled by publics for societal good.
Public relations educators call for more up-to-date experiential social media training to prepare students for the dynamic digital world and job markets (e.g., Fraustino et al., 2015; Stansberry, 2016). Both research and real-life practices show crowdsourcing has been used for public good, such as stopping drug abuse, promoting health behaviors, and advocating organizational CSR (Ahmad, 2022; Braham, 2015; Conrad et al., 2020; Park & Kang, 2020). Little literature has reported how public relations educators guide students to develop crowdsourcing social media campaigns for local communities in a real-life emergency.
Evidence of student learning outcomes
Students appreciated this experiential learning opportunity to contribute to the local city creatively. Some students created a Twitter contest to invite new proposals on how the local government could manage future floods. Some invited audiences to participate in a naming contest for animals in the local shelter and newborn calves in the flood-impacted farms. Some social media campaigns called for new recipe ideas to use apples and berries from local organic farms. This assignment helped students to identify and design crowdsourcing campaigns. After this course, some students reported developing engage crowdsourcing campaigns in their internships, which received unprecedented traffic to the organizational accounts.
Takeaways
I recommend instructors first help students distinguish crowdsourcing and non-crowdsourcing campaigns. Before students design crowdsourcing campaigns, instructors could show a few mixed campaign messages from both types to the students and lead a class discussion. I suggest the following major differences between crowdsourcing and non-crowdsourcing campaigns.
Crowdsourcing campaigns invite people to comment or submit their feedback or solutions in the comment section, whereas ordinary campaigns often present themselves in one-way communication, such as announcements. For example, “What are your recipes to create a healthy breakfast with our farm’s organic blueberries? We cannot wait to hear from you.” It is a crowdsourcing campaign because the campaign message encourages the audience to share their recipes publicly on the comment section with everyone. In contrast, “Come to join us for a blueberry tasting festival on November 30” is a non-crowdsourcing campaign because the audience is not expected to take communicative actions immediately.
Because crowdsourcing campaigns aim to pick the mind of the public, they often appear in the form of questions. Ordinary campaigns usually end with a period. For example, it is a crowdsourcing campaign that uses “What name would you give to this calf born during the flood emergency two weeks ago?” The following campaign is not crowdsourcing because it just states an event without inviting people to initiate communicative behaviors on social media: “We look forward to seeing you at the flood donation event this Friday.”
Crowdsourcing campaigns usually give out incentives to the participants. Instructors should encourage students to describe the incentives clearly and concisely in the campaign message. Incentives may include social media acknowledgments of the best contributor(s), gift cards, product samples and swags, an on-site tour of the organization, trips for vacations, cash rewards, and so on. The class can discuss which incentives would best fit the campaigns.
References
Ahmad, J. (2022). Crowdsourcing potential: Developing the right formula for the prevention and intervention strategy against drug abuse in Malaysia. In D. Moss & B. DeSanto (Eds.), Public relations cases: International perspectives (pp. 24-33). Routledge.
Brabham, D. C. (2008). Crowdsourcing as a model for problem solving: An introduction and cases. Convergence, 14(1), 75-90. https://doi.org/10.1177/1354856507084420
Brabham, D. C. (2015). Crowdsourcing in the public sector. Georgetown University Press.
Conrad, E. J., Becker, M., Powell, B., & Hall, K. C. (2020). Improving health promotion through the integration of technology, crowdsourcing, and social media. Health promotion practice, 21(2), 228-237. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524839918811
Fraustino, J. D., Briones, R., & Janoske, M. (2015). Can every class be a Twitter chat? Cross-institutional collaboration and experiential learning in the social media classroom. Journal of Public Relations Education, 1(1). http://aejmc.us/jpre/2015/
Ghezzi, A., Gabelloni, D., Martini, A., & Natalicchio, A. (2018). Crowdsourcing: a review and suggestions for future research. International Journal of Management Reviews, 20(2), 343-363. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijmr.12135
Hossain, M., & Kauranen, I. (2015). Crowdsourcing: a comprehensive literature review. Strategic Outsourcing: An International Journal, 8(1), 2-22. https://doi.org/10.1108/SO-12-2014-0029
Sommerfeldt, E. J., Yang, A., & Taylor, M. (2019). Public relations channel “repertoires”: Exploring patterns of channel use in practice. Public Relations Review, 45(4), 101796. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2019.101796
Stansberry, K. (2016). Taming the social media data deluge: Using social media research methods in the public relations classroom. In H. S. Noor Al-Deen (Ed.), Social media in the classroom (pp. 75-92). Peter Lang.
Park, Y. E., & Kang, M. (2020). When crowdsourcing in CSR leads to dialogic communication: The effects of trust and distrust. Public Relations Review, 46(1), 101867. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2019.101867
Appendix
Learning outcomes
Understand how and why crowdsourcing campaigns are different from other social media campaigns.
Draft a crowdsourcing social media campaign to help local communities attract public attention and aid.
Apply your understanding of audience analysis and media environment to communication planning and deployment.
Describe the flow and distribution of information and communication during a local community’s real-life scenario.
Introduction to the assignment
Our city A has entered a state of emergency due to unprecedented floods. We want to apply our skills in public relations to help local businesses and organizations. Based on the lecture on crowdsourcing, please choose one of the following organizations and design a crowdsourcing campaign for them on their social media platforms.
Crowdsourcing social media campaigns may include the following formats : a. an announcement of a challenge to call for public proposals, b. a current policy or solution to seek public feedback, c. an invitation for publics to vote for their favorite option, d. a social media contest to engage publics, e. a small task to be fulfilled by publics for societal good (e.g., every participant walks 10,000 on the same day to fight against climate change).
Goal of the crowdsourcing campaign
As public relations professionals, you want to use such a campaign to help with these flood-impacted communities in the City A. These organizations can be a blueberry, dairy, apple, or ham farm in the city A, an Indigenous community, the Red Cross Society in this city, the Emergency Info, or the City Government of the City A.
The goal is to attract traffic to these organizations’ websites, raise public awareness of important social issues caused by this emergency, help with the sales of the products from the impacted farms, solicit solutions to evacuate the farm animals, seek crisis preparation strategies, or elicit solutions to manage floods in the future.
Requirements of the assignment
In your submission, please include the following information.
Introduction to your organization.
The goal of your campaign.
Campaign message, image(s), and captions.
Which social media platform(s) would you use, and why? For example, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, and so on. Choose one or more and give your reasons.
Who will be the stakeholders of your campaign message? Please apply knowledge from the previous lecture on stakeholders to your analysis.
Why do you think your campaign is a crowdsourcing campaign? Why do you think your campaign will attract many people to participate? Please explain your campaign rationale.
Grading criteria
You present a strong rationale for the crowdsourcing campaign and warrant public engagement to achieve the crowdsourcing goal.
Your campaign generates persuasive and practical implications during the current flood emergency.
Your campaign demonstrates a good fit with the organization.
Each part in your submission is consistent with the other. For example, your campaign message reflects your rationale appropriately. Your analysis of stakeholders is consistent with your campaign message.
To cite this article: Fang, Sumin. (2024). Design Crowdsourcing Social Media Campaigns for a Flood-Impacted City. Journal of Public Relations Education, 9(2), 91-99. https://journalofpreducation.com/?p=4084
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