Show me the money: how bloggers as stakeholders are challenging theories of relationship building in public relations

Abstract

Conventional 'normative' theories of public relations have often centred on relationship building, dialogic theory and two-way communication. Despite these theories dominating much of the academic literature, practitioners continue to seek control in relationships to produce 'value outcomes' and meet measurable objectives for the organisations they work for. Public relations workers' ability to influence the influencers has been framed as relationship development, and payment for editorial content or other influence has been seen as unethical. With the rise of social media, the so-called 'new' influencers are now bloggers and Instagrammers. Given that most social media influencers now wish to be compensated with payment or in-kind for any work related to brands, this article discusses the implications for ethical practice and public relations theory. The mask of relationship building in the social media age needs to be removed and the importance of payment to bloggers needs to be acknowledged for the theories of public relations to develop.

#sponsored: Consumer insights on social media influencer marketing

“…As partnerships with influencers have proven fruitful for brands, the expectations of influencers have changed to include monetary compensation for promotions (Archer and Harrigan, 2016). This shift indicates the continued blurring of public relations and marketing activities within the field of strategic communications, something communication scholars have defined as Marketing Public Relations (MPR) (Harris, 1993; Ikonen et al, 2017; Papasolomou and Melanthiou, 2012).…”

“…The second theory is relationship management theory – one of the major theories in public relations over the past 30 years. Beginning with Ferguson (1984), it shifted its focus from excellence theory 2 to viewing communication messages as a means of relationship building, with the primary way to achieve consumer goals by developing and maintaining organization-public relationships (Archer and Harrigan, 2016; Ledingham, 2003). Ledingham and Bruning (1998) defined an organization-public relationship as ‘the state which exists between an organization and its key publics, in which the actions of either can impact the economic, social, cultural, or political well-being of the other’ (p. 62).…”

Social Media Influencers in Strategic Communication

“…Research activities can then be organized along the actor groups on which the activity is focused. In the field of strategic communication, one can identify studies that focus on SMI clients (i.e., organizations and agencies that cooperate with SMIs) (Hutchins & Tindall, 2016;Uzunoğlu & Misci Kip, 2014;Wolf & Archer, 2018) and on SMIs and their involvement in strategic communication activities (Archer & Harrigan, 2016;Pang, Tan, Lim, Kwan, & Lakhanpal, 2016;Walden, Bortree, & DiStaso, 2015). I have the impression, however, that research that focuses on SMI audiences has gathered the most traction, particularly research on effects of SMI postings (cf.…”

Seeing ‘the unseen hand’: Celebrity, promotion and public relations

“…The transformation of public relations practices in response to widespread technological change has led to a growing body of scholarship that seeks to understand and/or reconceptualise public relations and, more broadly, promotional work. For example, Archer (2016) investigates the changing relationship between practitioners and influencers, as practitioners increasingly rely on influential bloggers in their campaigns and Abidin (2016) identifies the significance of management agencies negotiating commercial deals on behalf of influencers. Abidin highlights the increasingly permeable boundaries between amateur and professional work and, along with Archer, the growing celebrity status of online influencers.…”