ABSTRACT

This chapter discusses the use of social media hashtags as a strategic communication tool, for both academic scholars and professional practitioners of public relations, along with a brief summary of practical advice to help organizations avoid becoming the victim of hashtag hijacking. Public relations professionals often bear the responsibility of communicating and negotiating with strategic stakeholders, including activist groups. An activist public is defined as "a group of two or more individuals who organize in order to influence another public or publics through action that may include education, compromise, persuasion, pressure tactics or force". Issues management, a dominant paradigm of research and practice in public relations, includes "the identification, monitoring, and analysis of trends in key publics' opinions". Environmental scanning is more important than ever when actively engaging with audiences via social media platforms. Additionally, organizations need to have an active social media crisis communication plan in place so they can strategically respond to an issue without delay.