Social Care: Building Organizational Credibility with Key Publics Through Social Media (2017)

The growth of organizations engaging stakeholders through a holistic communication process via social media, known as social care, is a growing trend. While public relations professionals are increasingly leading or joining teams dedicated to social care, there is limited scholarship in public relations that specifically addresses how this communication process contributes to the role of public relations or the ways in which public relations ethics should guide the communication. This study provides insight into how publics and organizations are defining social care, what ethical principles are considered important to its practice, and concludes with recommending an ethical model to help guide future social care initiatives. This study has implications both for the theoretical foundations of public relations use of social media, as well as the application of social media among professionals.