ABSTRACT
The audiences for social media within public relations are vast and diverse. As social media grow in importance in public relations, several important trends within these ever-changing platforms show signs of enduring: the relevance of social media influencers, the importance of monitoring social media conversations, the use of algorithms and the importance of video. Social media monitoring generally has two missions: carefully listening for any mentions of the people organization, especially those that demand a response; and listening for any issues-oriented conversations that their organization might join in ways that could serve important publics such as journalists, stockholders or potential employees. Social media algorithms currently favor posts with videos, a trend that, again, shows signs of enduring. A recent survey of international practitioners ranked social media skills second only to the creation of strategic content among the drivers of future growth for the profession of public relations.
