Examining Social Media As OPR Tool
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Brigham Young University BYU ScholarsArchive Theses and Dissertations 2020-06-01 Creating a Long-Term Relationship Between a Museum and its Patrons: Examining Social Media as OPR Tool Kylie M. Brooks Brigham Young University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd Part of the Fine Arts Commons BYU ScholarsArchive Citation Brooks, Kylie M., "Creating a Long-Term Relationship Between a Museum and its Patrons: Examining Social Media as OPR Tool" (2020). Theses and Dissertations. 8463. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/8463 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. Creating a Long-Term Relationship Between a Museum and Its Patrons: Examining Social Media as OPR Tool Kylie M. Brooks A thesis submitted to the faculty of Brigham Young University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Christopher Wilson, Chair Jessica Zurcher Mark Callister School of Communications Brigham Young University Copyright © 2020 Kylie M. Brooks All Rights Reserved ABSTRACT Creating a Long-Term Relationship Between a Museum and Its Patrons: Examining Social Media as OPR Tool Kylie M. Brooks School of Communications, BYU Master of Arts This qualitative research study comprised of six case studies explores museums’ practical usage of social media as an organization public relations tool. Analyzing six different museums using both surveys and interviews, this research provides a strategic, theory-based framework for any organization to utilize social media effectively by increasing public trust and engagement. Understanding the role that social media plays within organizational public relations is crucial for both for-profit and non-profit organizations. Because nonprofit organizations are often operating under time, personnel, and financial constraints, the accessibility and zero-cost of social media are hugely advantageous tools for non-profits organizations. However, without a strategy, their efforts to build meaningful relationships with their publics using these tools is futile. Museums are an under-studied but important field under this non-profit umbrella. The general ineffectiveness of museum usage of social media also target a key problem with social media usage by museums—the focus is on marketing, rather than on public relations, which leaves the communications from these institutions feeling robotic, inauthentic, and difficult with which to engage. Using Hon and Grunig’s (1999) four elements of OPR (Organizational Public Relations)—satisfaction, trust, control mutuality, and commitment—and the coorientaton model, this study provides insights into how museums and their patrons perceive the museum’s attempts at building OPR through social media. Findings indicate that while most museums and their patrons are in alignment of their perceptions of the museums’ efforts, many museums are ranking low on all four elements of OPR. In order for any organization to fully utilize social media, it must be used not simply as an arm of marketing or sales, but as an indispensable tool of building satisfaction, trust, control mutuality, and commitment, which in turn, lead to higher levels of engagement and future behavior intentions. Keywords: social media, OPR, public relations, organizational public relations, museums ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Thank you to my professors and thesis committee members for your guidance and your assurances that I would be successful in this program and in completing this thesis, even when I did not feel confident in myself. Thank you, Mom and Dad, for your love, guidance, patience, and support throughout my entire life. To Justin, you are my everything. I love you. And lastly, all thanks in the world to my Heavenly Father, for blessing me with these people and this wild and precious life. TABLE OF CONTENTS TITLE PAGE................................................................................ ................................................... i ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................................ iii TABLE OF CONTENTS .............................................................................................................. iv INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 1 LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................................................... 2 ORGANIZATIONAL PUBLIC RELATIONS AS FACET OF RELATIONSHIP THEORY ............................. 2 MUSEUMS AND THE CRITICAL NEED FOR OPR ............................................................................ 3 ORGANIZATION PUBLIC RELATIONSHIPS (OPR) AND THE COORIENTATION MODEL ................... 6 Satisfaction .............................................................................................................................. 6 Trust. ....................................................................................................................................... 7 Control mutuality.................................................................................................................... 8 Commitment. .......................................................................................................................... 9 THE COORIENTATION MODEL ...................................................................................................... 9 ENGAGEMENT ON SOCIAL MEDIA .............................................................................................. 12 SOCIAL MEDIA AND NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION PUBLIC RELATIONS/MUSEUMS .................... 13 METHOD ..................................................................................................................................... 18 SAMPLE SELECTION ................................................................................................................... 19 QUALITATIVE INTERVIEWS ........................................................................................................ 21 SURVEYS .................................................................................................................................... 21 DATA ANALYSIS METHODOLOGY .............................................................................................. 22 RESULTS ..................................................................................................................................... 23 MUSEUM A ................................................................................................................................ 24 Satisfaction. ........................................................................................................................... 25 Trust. ..................................................................................................................................... 26 Control mutuality.................................................................................................................. 27 Commitment. ........................................................................................................................ 28 Engagement........................................................................................................................... 29 Future behaviors. .................................................................................................................. 30 Conclusion of Museum A results. ....................................................................................... 31 MUSEUM B ................................................................................................................................ 32 Satisfaction. ........................................................................................................................... 34 Trust. ..................................................................................................................................... 35 Control mutuality.................................................................................................................. 36 Commitment. ........................................................................................................................ 37 Engagement........................................................................................................................... 37 Future behaviors. .................................................................................................................. 38 iv Conclusion of Museum B results......................................................................................... 39 MUSEUM C ................................................................................................................................ 40 Satisfaction. ........................................................................................................................... 41 Trust. ..................................................................................................................................... 43 Control mutuality.................................................................................................................