Presentation of the Pattern Using Social Media to Promote Public Relations of Service Organizations (Case Study: Public Relations of Tehran Metro)

Objective
Recently, the influence of social media has affected various departments, including public relations in organizations (Alagoy & Brislow, 2016). Social media not only help to provide a large amount of information but also greatly improve the participation and voice of the organization in front of the public (Al-Kandari et al., 2019). Social media provides multiple opportunities for public relations professionals to interact with the public (Curtis et al., 2010). As such, PR professionals must adapt and grow their knowledge and skills to keep up with the evolving digital landscape. However, empirical evidence in public relations is scarce and there is limited understanding of its true value to organizations or the public. According to Sutherland et al. (2020), little research has been done on the successful implementation by public relations of social media for organizations. Most of the insights gathered have been through case studies and industry reports, which are not generalizable to the service sector. On the one hand, the breadth and diversity of the services sector's activities in the economy, along with its contribution to added value and employment, doubles the importance of paying attention to this sector. On the other hand, success in providing services is not possible without the opinion and maximum participation of stakeholders, and public relations in the Tehran Metro Organization, as the largest urban railway organization in the country and one of the most important transportation infrastructures of citizens in the capital, can help transfer policies and programs. The organization should act very effectively with the stakeholders as well as their ideas, thoughts and suggestions to the decision-making institutions in the organization. However, the current structure of public relations in the Tehran Metro organization suffers from problems related to traditional structures, lack of innovation, weakness in creating interaction with members of society in the field of organization services and receiving feedback from the audience to the organization, which has caused public relations despite having The necessary capacities and tools cannot gain a suitable position among their audience. Considering the importance of public relations duties in reflecting organizational problems and providing consistent information outside and inside the organization to the people and officials of the organization and helping to make internal decisions in order to solve problems and improve processes, the weakness in the efficiency of public relations activities leads to the degradation of the organization's position. It is among the general public. Considering the central role of the Tehran Metro Organization in the satisfaction of citizens with urban transportation, and while paying attention to the importance of public relations, it is necessary to clarify the necessity of people's right to access correct, accurate and fast information from each organization, based on a necessity and responding to the needs of the audience. has been created, it seems that creating a public relations model based on the use of social media can be a solution in this field. The current research was conducted to design a pattern of using social media in order to improve the effectiveness of public relations of a service organization with a mixed approach.
Research Methodology
This research is applied in terms of purpose and exploratory in nature, which has been analyzed with a mixed (qualitative-quantitative) approach. In the first stage, the qualitative method and in-depth interviews were used to identify the components of the model. In the qualitative section, there are 16 academic experts and senior managers of the Tehran and Suburbs Metro Operation Company who were selected in a targeted manner. In this research, the criteria for selecting samples was having a doctorate in the field of media management, having research experience related to the research field, and executive work experience in the field of public relations. In order to analyze the data of the qualitative part, the theme analysis method was used using MaxQDA software. In order to check the reliability of coding, the test-retest reliability method was also used. Next, to fit the model designed in the qualitative part, a quantitative method with a structural equation modeling approach was used. The participants in this section included the managers and experts of Tehran and Suburbs Metro Operation Company. To determine the sample size, Klein's rule (2005) was used to determine the sample size for the structural equation modeling method. Klein (2005) recommends using 5-10 times each parameter to estimate sample size and describes 200 as an average sample size. Therefore, since there are 30 items in the measurement model, a minimum of 150 samples and a maximum of 300 samples are required. Therefore, according to Cochran's formula, 200 people is a sufficient sample size. The samples were selected by stratified random method. The data collection tool in the quantitative part was a questionnaire based on the findings of the qualitative part, whose validity was confirmed by the content validity method and its reliability was confirmed by Cronbach's alpha method. Quantitative data analysis was done by Lisrel software.
Findings
In the qualitative part, based on the analysis of the interviews with the theme analysis method, it was determined that the pattern of using social media in order to improve the effectiveness of the public relations of the service organization includes two main themes of social media capabilities and the promotion of the organization's public relations activities, 5 sub-themes and 30 concepts. The category of social media capabilities includes three sub-themes of media communication, ease of use of social media, social media notification, and promotion of public relations activities of the organization includes two sub-themes of communication in public relations and development of public relations. Based on the qualitative part, the initial model of the research was formed, and in order to fit the model obtained from the qualitative part and analyze the relationships of the model, the structural equation modeling technique was used. In the quantitative part, based on data analysis by structural equation modeling with Lisrel software, it was also determined that there is a significant relationship between the use of social media and the promotion of public relations of service organizations. Finally, the findings of structural equation modeling showed that the designed model has an acceptable fit.
Discussion & Conclusion
With the increasing development of technology and digitalization, today's audiences have changed a lot compared to the traditional audiences of the past. Accordingly public relations must grow and change along with new media and tools. Tehran Metro Organization, as a public service organization, needs constant accountability and awareness in various fields, including technical defects, accidents and social issues that have occurred in the service environment of this organization. This issue has become more prominent with the increasing demands and information needs of today's audience. According to the results of this research, social media capabilities with the benefit of media communication, information and ease of use can help the public relations of Tehran Metro in realizing this. These capabilities, as a communication bridge and watchdog of the social system, can play an important role in conveying the demands and expectations of the people and expressing the achievements and actions of the service organizations. By relying on the results of this research and using the capacities of social media, public relations managers and policymakers of service organizations can provide a suitable platform for the development and promotion of the effectiveness of public relations activities and improve the performance of the organization on the one hand and the satisfaction and well-being of the society on the other. On the other hand, have a pi. For this purpose, it is suggested that the Tehran Metro Organization and organizations active in the public service sector, by participating in discussions and sharing the current social issues of the society, create stronger communication with the audience. Public service organizations can show their empathy with the audience by addressing social issues along with news and information related to their organization and creating effective communication with them. Also, the Tehran Metro Organization should have an active and responsive presence in the social media space, respond responsibly to the events and issues that occur in the metro environment, and provide information with full transparency on the social media of this organization. In the following, it is suggested that the Tehran Metro Organization, by documenting the activities of the organization by creating news and video content, use the virtual space to present the news of the activities to the contacts and the media. The organization should keep in mind the principle of honesty in the transfer of organizational activities on the social media to gain the trust of the audience.