EVALUATION OF PUBLIC’S ADOPTION OF SOCIAL MEDIA AS A CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGYAT NATIONAL ENVIRONMENT TRUST FUND

Abstract

The study evaluated Publics adoption and use of social media tools put in place as part of corporate communication strategy at NETFUND.The objectives of the study were;examine public adoption of social media tools put in place as part of corporate communication strategy for Public relations at National Environment Trust Fund,find out why publics prefer particular social media sites put in place by NETFUND as corporate communications strategy for relations, examine how social media adoption and usage by the public affects NETFUND’s public relations, andto establish the challenges associated with NETFUND adoption of social media as part of the official corporate communications strategy used for Public relation. The study utilized Technology, Organization, and Environment (TOE) framework as the most appropriate theory. Mixed methods approach was used in the study;questionnaires were used to obtain quantitative data on the subject with the aim of having facts on the situation and interviews were used to collect data from key informants in the area of social media strategies, Public relations and corporate communications.The findings indicated that Facebook and twitter were the commonly used social media tools used by NETFUND publics. From the study, institutional pressure to stay ahead of competition in a highly competitive business environment was a key factor influencing social media adoption.From the research evaluation, it emerged that one of the biggest concerns and challenge regarding public adoption of social media as a corporate communications strategy was the ability to open up room for sabotage and misinformation.Organizations should be vibrant in implementing and adopting use of new technologies such as Social media as part of their public relations and service charter delivery.The researcher recommends that further studies should be done on the challenges of implementing social media tools as part of communication strategies.