2008 PROCEEDINGS - Public Relations Society of America

audiences. Further, it is critical to be knowledgeable about how to integrate traditional
communications tools with online tools.
‣ Recognize that online communications management is critical. Companies need to have a
clear, common online voice – and it must be consistent with the offline voice.
‣ Capitalize on how online resources can efficiently and automatically gather intelligence. An
understanding of the tracking and measurement tools is highly beneficial. Public relations
professionals must be the eyes and ears of the organization’s presence online and use the
information for business and communications decisions. Rick Murray, president of the
Me2revolution, Edelman Public Relations, noted:
Anybody, anywhere can say anything that can impact your brand. It’s a 24 and 360 brand
experience.
Realize that public relations is still all about relationships. The Web has provided a range of
new communications tools to help build and enhance relationships with key publics. Julie
Keyser-Squires, vice president, Softscribe, Inc. said:
Our business (public relations) is about relationships and trust. The Web provides tools.
These are just tools. We still need to build relationships.
The interviews also helped to identify real-world public relations programs that
successfully implemented online strategies and tactics in public relations programs. Permission
was obtained to conduct follow-up interviews and produce video segments focused on the case
studies. Overall, the data collected from the interviews was used to support secondary research
findings and shape the content of the new course.
Discussion and Ramifications
Development of course content and learning objects
Ideally, it was determined that the course should use best practices in online
communications to convey course content and engage students in the technologies. Educational
resources to teach the course were limited because only a few undergraduate programs featured a
course focused on online public relations. The only information referenced from an existing
course was a syllabus, which was developed by J. Horton for an online public relations course at
Seton Hall University. This syllabus was compared to findings of the review of trade
publications and interviews with public relations professionals. The instructor then outlined the
course content and shared it with colleagues in the public relations sequence as well as some
public relations professionals.
To effectively convey both the technical and strategic components of the course,
supplemental audio, video and Web-based instructional materials were needed. A summer
project grant was obtained to develop learning objects such as supplemental audio, video and
Web-based instructional resources. Class exercises, project assignments and e-templates were
developed to help students learn about writing and designing Web sites, an online media room,
e-newsletters, blogs and other online tools. The exercises and assignments were designed to
facilitate collaboration in both the classroom and online.
For the audio and video segments, the process involved researching, interviewing, audiovideo
recording, writing scripts, audio and video editing and posting the segments to the course
Web site. The multimedia components for the course focused on best practices in online public
relations based on primary and secondary research findings.
The interviews with professionals identified several public relations campaigns that
successfully implement online public relations strategies. For example, one case study used in
the class focused on attracting a young audience to the Cleveland CMJ Rock Hall Music Fest,
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