A STUDY ON THE PRACTICES AND CHALLENGES OF USING SOCIAL MEDIA AS A PUBLIC RELATION TOOL: THE CASE OF AMHARA NATIONAL REGIONAL STATE CULTURE AND TOURISM BUREAU

NURHUSSEIN, MOHAMMED

dc.contributor.author	NURHUSSEIN, MOHAMMED
dc.date.accessioned	2022-07-19T05:58:17Z
dc.date.available	2022-07-19T05:58:17Z
dc.date.issued	2022-02
dc.identifier.uri	http://ir.bdu.edu.et/handle/123456789/13887
dc.description.abstract	The major objective of this study is to investigate the practices and challenges of using social media as a public relation tool in Culture and Tourism Bureau of Amhara National Regional state. The Public Sphere Theory was used as a theoretical framework of the study as it is appropriate to address the key objectives. To achieve this objective, qualitative descriptive research design was employed. In this study, data was gathered from both primary and secondary sources. In addition, semi structured interview and content analysis was employed to collect necessary data for this study. Besides, the communications published by Amhara National Regional State Culture and Tourism Bureau on social media were used as a supplemental source of data. The content analysis was carried out using these messages as input. Then, the data gathered through interview and document review were summarized and described qualitatively in the interpretation of the data. Based on the above the analyses of data the following conclusions were drawn. Regarding the usage of social media, the findings of this study revealed that top-level management recognizes social media as a valuable tool, is offering strategic counsel to social media operations, and is providing the necessary resources. According to the study, the PR officers at the Amhara Culture and Tourism Bureau use a variety of social media platforms such as Facebook, Youtube, Twitter,etc. However, it should be emphasized that Facebook is the most popular since it has a large number of users and is easily accessible. For example, 83,682 people are the followers of the Facebook of the Bureau. From the analysis of data it was deduced that that Amharic and English are the two most often used languages for social media conversations. Amharic is the most regularly used language to connect with the organization's local people, according to the PR expert respondents. The English language is also utilized by the Amhara National Regional State Culture and Tourism Bureau's to communicate with international customers. The study noted that various problems were discovered in the usage of social media as a PR tool. Among the challenges, lack of technical ability and know-how in properly administering social media platforms is the most commonly highlighted difficulty by responders. According to the findings, the experts in charge of the social media outlets are not fully utilizing the available social media tools and lack advanced knowledge of the platforms. The other barrier in using social media is a lack of or scarcity of resources such as shortage of high-speed laptop computers and audio-visual assets. The data analysis found that one of the obstacles in using social media is misunderstanding of the bureau's messaging by the followers or viewers. . Finally, different recommendations were given to enhance the use of social media as a PR communication tool. Specifically, long and short-term training, as well as introducing best practices from other places and raising awareness of the use of social media as a communication medium, should be provided to the organization in order to fulfil organizational goals successfully. Furthermore, to accomplish organizational goals, the department in charge of social media should be filled with experienced employees and technology.	en_US
dc.language.iso	en_US	en_US
dc.subject	Media and Communication	en_US
dc.title	A STUDY ON THE PRACTICES AND CHALLENGES OF USING SOCIAL MEDIA AS A PUBLIC RELATION TOOL: THE CASE OF AMHARA NATIONAL REGIONAL STATE CULTURE AND TOURISM BUREAU	en_US
dc.type	Thesis	en_US