Chapter 8: Social Media and Emerging Technologies

Test Bank

Multiple Choice

1. Unlike traditional media, social media gives PR professionals 24/7 direct access to ______.

A. publishers

B. gatekeepers

C. target audiences

D. client databases

Learning Objective: 8.1: Describe social media’s historical context and its contemporary place in society.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Social and Emerging Media Use

Difficulty Level: Medium

2. A 2019 Pew Research Center study revealed that nearly ______ of Americans use YouTube.

A. 75%

B. 90%

C. 35%

D. 50%

Learning Objective: 8.1: Describe social media’s historical context and its contemporary place in society.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Social and Emerging Media Use

Difficulty Level: Easy

3. The most popular social media network site for Americans is ______.

A. Twitter

B. Instagram

C. Snapchat

D. Facebook

Learning Objective: 8.1: Describe social media’s historical context and its contemporary place in society.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Social and Emerging Media Use

Difficulty Level: Easy

4. Social media’s rapid adoption can be explained by ______.

A. mobile tablets

B. social network theory

C. the telegraph

D. network media theory

Learning Objective: 8.1: Describe social media’s historical context and its contemporary place in society.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Social Network Theory

Difficulty Level: Easy

5. What data from the 2019 Pew Research Center’s study on social media usage best explain the success of Snapchat?

A. One third of adults using social media are 65+.

B. There is no significant difference in usage between men and women.

C. The biggest users are young adults aged 18–29.

D. Expiring content is seen as exciting and popular.

Learning Objective: 8.1: Describe social media’s historical context and its contemporary place in society.

Cognitive Domain: Analyze

Answer Location: Social and Emerging Media Use

Difficulty Level: Medium

6. The telegraph was the first invention to take advantage of ______, a distinguishing factor between traditional and social media.

A. two-way communication

B. paper messages

C. the telephone

D. real-time communication

Learning Objective: 8.1: Describe social media’s historical context and its contemporary place in society.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Historical Context

Difficulty Level: Medium

7. Which of these have transformed the way public relations is practiced?

A. mobile devices

B. social media platforms

C. memes and photo posts

D. live videos

Learning Objective: 8.1: Describe social media’s historical context and its contemporary place in society.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Social Media

Difficulty Level: Easy

8. A Facebook post with beautiful beach imagery, a vacation discount code and a link to a travel website is designed to ______.

A. attract travel reviewers

B. provide travel packages

C. encourage visitor interaction

D. monitor the competition

Learning Objective: 8.1: Describe social media’s historical context and its contemporary place in society.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Historical Context

Difficulty Level: Medium

9. One advantage and challenge to social media is the lack of ______.

A. restriction

B. journalists

C. good news

D. dialogue

Learning Objective: 8.1: Describe social media’s historical context and its contemporary place in society.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Social Media

Difficulty Level: Medium

10. Social media is a 24/7 medium that demands content, constant watchfulness, ______ and engagement.

A. gatekeeping

B. transformation

C. dialogue

D. crowdsourcing

Learning Objective: 8.1: Describe social media’s historical context and its contemporary place in society.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Social Media

Difficulty Level: Medium

11. A particular benefit of social media to PR practitioners is having a direct channel to target audiences without interference by a ______.

A. limited reach

B. media gatekeeper

C. printing deadline

D. delayed press release

Learning Objective: 8.1: Describe social media’s historical context and its contemporary place in society.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Social Media

Difficulty Level: Medium

12. Social network theory examines the concepts of network size, ______, diffusion, complexity, and social distance as related to interrelationships.

A. quality

B. expertise

C. interaction

D. media

Learning Objective: 8.2: Understand the purpose and use of various social media tools in the field of PR.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Social Network Theory

Difficulty Level: Easy

13. Twitter’s speed and ease leverage the principle of network ______.

A. size

B. social distance

C. complexity

D. diffusion

Learning Objective: 8.2: Understand the purpose and use of various social media tools in the field of PR.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Social Network Theory

Difficulty Level: Medium

14. Sarah is majoring in communications with a focus on corporate public relations. She hopes the excellent growth in ______ as a specialty at PR agencies worldwide might also indicate strong career opportunities.

A. graphic design

B. social media management

C. IT analytics

D. content management

Learning Objective: 8.2: Understand the purpose and use of various social media tools in the field of PR.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Driver of Public Relations Growth

Difficulty Level: Medium

15. When journalists use social media, they find ______ and ______ to be most useful.

A. mobile; laptops

B. notifiers; updates

C. Twitter; Snapchat

D. images; infographics

Learning Objective: 8.2: Understand the purpose and use of various social media tools in the field of PR.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Media Relations

Difficulty Level: Easy

16. Regardless of the client, any solid communication strategy will require developing ______ for specific social media platforms.

A. memes

B. in-house graphics

C. different messages

D. generic messages

Learning Objective: 8.2: Understand the purpose and use of various social media tools in the field of PR.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: PR Embraces Digital and Social Media

Difficulty Level: Easy

17. A serious challenge for social media management is ______, which could quickly affect the beliefs of target consumers.

A. gatekeepers

B. cyberattacks

C. experts

D. photoshop

Learning Objective: 8.2: Understand the purpose and use of various social media tools in the field of PR.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Crisis Situations and Risk Management

Difficulty Level: Easy

18. Social media has made media relations a 24-hr-a-day job requiring ______ for all internet content.

A. careful screening and organization

B. built-in engagement

C. customized dialogue tools

D. trackable research

Learning Objective: 8.2: Understand the purpose and use of various social media tools in the field of PR.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Media Relations

Difficulty Level: Medium

19. Nike decides to hire Tiger Woods to boost its brand image and credibility on its social channels. This is an example of using Woods as a ______.

A. paid endorser

B. brand booster

C. sports figure

D. social influencer

Learning Objective: 8.2: Understand the purpose and use of various social media tools in the field of PR.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Social Influencers

Difficulty Level: Medium

20. In public relations, personal interaction, welcoming language, trustworthiness, and expertise are part of building ______.

A. a following

B. credibility

C. dialogue

D. a press release

Learning Objective: 8.2: Understand the purpose and use of various social media tools in the field of PR.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Using Social Media to Build Credibility

Difficulty Level: Medium

21. Of the following factors, which one is essential to credibility, a sum of all the others?

A. trustworthiness

B. welcoming language

C. expertise

D. personal interaction

Learning Objective: 8.2: Understand the purpose and use of various social media tools in the field of PR.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Using Social Media to Build Credibility

Difficulty Level: Medium

22. You are a PR manager working with regional divisions for the same company. Which reason below most explains why their social media plans might be completely different?

A. twice the press budget in one division than the other

B. One division posts more often, with more visitor engagement as a result.

C. Data analytics indicate platform use is different among regional targets.

D. The southern region is a mostly sunny climate, and the northern region is mostly rainy.

Learning Objective: 8.4: Identify how to measure social media effectiveness, and craft a strategy for staying abreast of trends.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Evaluating Social Media and Looking to the Future

Difficulty Level: Medium

23. The social media platform that best illustrates the concepts of network size and quality is ______.

A. Twitter

B. LinkedIn

C. Instagram

D. Facebook

Learning Objective: 8.2: Understand the purpose and use of various social media tools in the field of PR.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Social Network Theory

Difficulty Level: Easy

24. The social network theory concept of social distance is affected by ______.

A. close connections

B. network size

C. follower pickup

D. message length

Learning Objective: 8.2: Understand the purpose and use of various social media tools in the field of PR.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Social Network Theory

Difficulty Level: Easy

25. Because output is not the same as outcome, it is important to ______ social media activities.

A. repeat

B. advertise

C. measure

D. trademark

Learning Objective: 8.2: Understand the purpose and use of various social media tools in the field of PR.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: PR PROFILE: Why a Communications Campaign Is Only as Good as Its Social Media Strategy

Difficulty Level: Easy

26. As technology company NCR demonstrated, Facebook can be especially useful in communicating with ______.

A. vendors

B. employees

C. stockholders

D. gatekeepers

Learning Objective: 8.3: Evaluate PR best practices in social media and digital communications.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: A Showcase of Digital and Social Media PR Practices

Difficulty Level: Medium

27. Many brands have used Twitter to thrust their campaigns into the realm of ______.

A. vendor relations

B. brand immediacy

C. personal interaction

D. popular culture

Learning Objective: 8.3: Evaluate PR best practices in social media and digital communications.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: A Showcase of Digital and Social Media PR Practices

Difficulty Level: Medium

28. Adidas’s Twitter campaign was designed to promote ______.

A. shoes that light up in the dark

B. mobile purchases of running gear

C. the health benefits of night running

D. new endurance records of users

Learning Objective: 8.3: Evaluate PR best practices in social media and digital communications.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: A Showcase of Digital and Social Media PR Practices

Difficulty Level: Medium

29. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees teamed up with Twitter to build awareness about ______.

A. the importance of immunizations

B. the dangers of unsanitary water

C. food shortages in African nations

D. the plight of refugees in winter

Learning Objective: 8.3: Evaluate PR best practices in social media and digital communications.

Cognitive Domain: Applications

Answer Location: A Showcase of Digital and Social Media PR Practices

Difficulty Level: Medium

30. Unlike most popular social media platforms, LinkedIn is primarily a ______.

A. business networking site

B. social connection platform

C. diffused networking site

D. site void of personal interaction

Learning Objective: 8.3: Evaluate PR best practices in social media and digital communications.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: A Showcase of Digital and Social Media PR Practices

Difficulty Level: Easy

31. In its transformation of LinkedIn, the Zix Corporation’s PR firm worked to ______.

A. create contests with multiple, animated posts

B. humanize it and establish thought leadership

C. play up the company’s technical expertise

D. clearly separate management from employees

Learning Objective: 8.3: Evaluate PR best practices in social media and digital communications.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: A Showcase of Digital and Social Media PR Practices

Difficulty Level: Medium

32. The creative strategy behind Northern Arizona University’s Instagram campaign was based on ______.

A. the president’s speech going viral

B. a branding campaign for its new logo

C. students telling their own stories

D. alumni reconnecting with each other

Learning Objective: 8.3: Evaluate PR best practices in social media and digital communications.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: A Showcase of Digital and Social Media PR Practices

Difficulty Level: Medium

33. Of the following, which is a major advantage of video app TikTok?

A. fast downloads

B. brand loyalists

C. serious subject matter

D. younger demographic

Learning Objective: 8.3: Evaluate PR best practices in social media and digital communications.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: A Showcase of Digital and Social Media PR Practices

Difficulty Level: Medium

34. The video app TikTok offers brands the chance to reach a new audience in a very ______ way.

A. professional

B. serious

C. personal

D. broad

Learning Objective: 8.3: Evaluate PR best practices in social media and digital communications.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: A Showcase of Digital and Social Media PR Practices

Difficulty Level: Easy

35. The creative strategy behind Pampers’ 2019 Super Bowl ads and YouTube was to ______.

A. be bold and stunning

B. own the “second screen”

C. repel nontarget viewers

D. make a political statement

Learning Objective: 8.3: Evaluate PR best practices in social media and digital communications.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: A Showcase of Digital and Social Media PR Practices

Difficulty Level: Medium

36. To raise the profile of its online livestock trading platform, which creative social media approach did SellMyLivestock take?

A. a Dow Jones trading platform

B. connecting farmers with friends

C. an “adopt-a-pig” Facebook page

D. a dating app for cows

Learning Objective: 8.3: Evaluate PR best practices in social media and digital communications.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: A Showcase of Digital and Social Media PR Practices

Difficulty Level: Medium

37. The Washington Media Group’s “Flack Pack” podcast resulted in ______.

A. visual bulletin boards

B. idea banks for media

C. growth of its contact base

D. printable catalogs for fans

Learning Objective: 8.3: Evaluate PR best practices in social media and digital communications.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: A Showcase of Digital and Social Media PR Practices

Difficulty Level: Medium

38. The creative strategy behind Arizona’s augmented reality voting campaign was based on ______.

A. care for others

B. becoming a citizen

C. leaving home

D. taking flight

Learning Objective: 8.3: Evaluate PR best practices in social media and digital communications.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: A Showcase of Digital and Social Media PR Practices

Difficulty Level: Easy

39. The interactive microsite created by the Spanish company Ferrovial was based on ______.

A. a graphic novel

B. an employee contest

C. community initiatives

D. a YouTube series

Learning Objective: 8.3: Evaluate PR best practices in social media and digital communications.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: A Showcase of Digital and Social Media PR Practices

Difficulty Level: Medium

40. Social media ______ are today’s online gatekeepers and can significantly influence a brand’s credibility, both positive and negative.

A. influencers

B. programmers

C. multipliers

D. consumers

Learning Objective: 8.2: Understand the purpose and use of various social media tools in the field of PR.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Social Influencers

Difficulty Level: Easy

41. When writing for a social feed, blog, or podcast, always remember that ______ is king.

A. authorship

B. influence

C. content

D. revenue

Learning Objective: 8.2: Understand the purpose and use of various social media tools in the field of PR.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: PR Embraces Digital and Social Media

Difficulty Level: Medium

42. While traditional media requires strong written and verbal skills, social media necessitates excellent skills for data analytics and ______.

A. direct mailing lists

B. content creation

C. games programming

D. network marketing sales

Learning Objective: 8.4: Identify how to measure social media effectiveness, and craft a strategy for staying abreast of trends.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Evaluating Social Media and Looking to the Future

Difficulty Level: Easy

43. You’ve just been hired by Bart’s Best Burgers to create a social media contest to drive new customers to retail locations. What is your first step?

A. determine the best target audience and what social media platforms they use most

B. announce the contest on all social media platforms to increase visitor interaction

C. evaluate the engagement of the previous contest, held 5 years prior

D. develop a plan for additional staff training to handle the increase retail traffic

Learning Objective: 8.4: Identify how to measure social media effectiveness, and craft a strategy for staying abreast of trends.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Evaluating Social Media and Looking to the Future

Difficulty Level: Hard

44. Reach, exposure, and engagement are all analytics related to measuring social media ______.

A. excitement

B. landscape

C. results

D. transparency

Learning Objective: 8.4: Identify how to measure social media effectiveness, and craft a strategy for staying abreast of trends.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Evaluating Social Media and Looking to the Future

Difficulty Level: Medium

45. One of the most widely used metric tools for quantifying social media activity is ______.

A. Audience Metrics

B. Reach Predictor

C. Social Insights

D. Google Analytics

Learning Objective: 8.4: Identify how to measure social media effectiveness, and craft a strategy for staying abreast of trends.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Evaluating Social Media and Looking to the Future

Difficulty Level: Easy

46. During a crisis, which platform best helps gauge how information about the crisis is moving across social media and what is being said?

A. Facebook

B. Twitter

C. Instagram

D. Yahoo News

Learning Objective: 8.2: Understand the purpose and use of various social media tools in the field of PR.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Crisis Situations and Risk Management

Difficulty Level: Medium

47. Which two attributes should both be reinforced in all social media communications, especially during a crisis?

A. remorse and responsibility

B. thought-leadership and humanity

C. transparency and sincerity

D. corporate beliefs and positioning

Learning Objective: 8.2: Understand the purpose and use of various social media tools in the field of PR.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Crisis Situations and Risk Management

Difficulty Level: Easy

48. What critical mistake did VW executives make during the emissions scandal that negatively impacted their credibility?

A. posted positive “We’ll get through this together!” memes

B. stopped posting to Facebook and Twitter the day the news broke

C. immediately claimed their innocence with journalists via Twitter

D. released their CEO’s video statement the next day

Learning Objective: 8.4: Identify how to measure social media effectiveness, and craft a strategy for staying abreast of trends.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Scenario Outcome

Difficulty Level: Medium

49. What is a key to success when using the PESO model?

A. always utilize paid media first

B. gain buy-in from all stakeholders

C. measure across the entire model

D. tie social into media strategies

Learning Objective: 8.4: Identify how to measure social media effectiveness, and craft a strategy for staying abreast of trends.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Evaluating Social Media and Looking to the Future

Difficulty Level: Easy

50. If you want to prove your social media success in the PR space, you should ______.

A. tie measurement into your business objectives

B. design the right messages for the right platform

C. stay ahead of potential fake news and cyberattacks

D. leverage second-order connections built-in to network diffusion

Learning Objective: 8.4: Identify how to measure social media effectiveness, and craft a strategy for staying abreast of trends.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Evaluating Social Media and Looking to the Future

Difficulty Level: Hard

True or False

1. The explosion of social media can be explained by the groundbreaking invention of smartphones.

Learning Objective: 8.1: Describe social media’s historical context and its contemporary place in society.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Historical Context

Difficulty Level: Medium

2. Although social media has radically changed the way we consume information, the PR practice has been slow to embrace it.

Learning Objective: 8.2: Understand the purpose and use of various social media tools in the field of PR.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Social Media

Difficulty Level: Medium

3. PR professionals must be prepared to deal with the dark side of social media, which can often spring from misrepresented issues.

Learning Objective: 8.2: Understand the purpose and use of various social media tools in the field of PR.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Crisis Situations and Risk Management

Difficulty Level: Medium

4. The concept of network diffusion helps explain why short messages travel quickly in social media.

Learning Objective: 8.2: Understand the purpose and use of various social media tools in the field of PR.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Social Network Theory

Difficulty Level: Medium

5. Personal interaction with social media followers helps humanize an organization, while also demonstrating transparency and altruism.

Learning Objective: 8.2: Understand the purpose and use of various social media tools in the field of PR.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Using Social Media to Build Credibility

Difficulty Level: Medium

6. When a company is launching a CSR program, managers should closely examine their social media strategies.

Learning Objective: 8.3: Evaluate PR best practices in social media and digital communications.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Corporate Social Responsibility

Difficulty Level: Medium

7. Once you have mastered the various social media channels, you are finished learning because social media is a relatively stable world.

Learning Objective: 8.3: Evaluate PR best practices in social media and digital communications.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: A Showcase of Digital and Social Media PR Practices

Difficulty Level: Easy

8. In transforming the Zix Corporation’s LinkedIn platform, the Hoffman Agency focused on representing its people in human terms and as thought leaders.

Learning Objective: 8.3: Evaluate PR best practices in social media and digital communications.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: A Showcase of Digital and Social Media PR Practices

Difficulty Level: Easy

9. If you want to specialize in a growth area within public relations, content creation is an excellent choice.

Learning Objective: 8.3: Evaluate PR best practices in social media and digital communications.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: A Showcase of Digital and Social Media PR Practices

Difficulty Level: Medium

10. According to the PESO model, public relations and marketing professionals need to work together.

Learning Objective: 8.4: Identify how to measure social media effectiveness, and craft a strategy for staying abreast of trends.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Evaluating Social Media and Looking to the Future

Difficulty Level: Medium

Short Answer

1. Describe how the roots of social media can be traced back to the telegraph.

Learning Objective: 8.1 Describe social media’s historical context and its contemporary place in society.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Historical Context

Difficulty Level: Medium

2. How does LinkedIn demonstrate the network concept of social distance?

Learning Objective: 8.2: Understand the purpose and use of various social media tools in the field of PR.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Social Network Theory

Difficulty Level: Medium

3. Data analytics can help PR professionals measure the effectiveness of social media activities. What is another way to gauge effectiveness?

Learning Objective: 8.2: Understand the purpose and use of various social media tools in the field of PR.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Value and Strategies of Social Media

Difficulty Level: Medium

4. Why does Boston College’s Center for Corporate Citizenship recommend employees engage in the corporate social media content during a crisis?

Learning Objective: 8.2: Understand the purpose and use of various social media tools in the field of PR.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Corporate Social Responsibility

Difficulty Level: Medium

5. Explain the concept of data analytics and what it is intended to measure.

Learning Objective: 8.4: Identify how to measure social media effectiveness, and craft a strategy for staying abreast of trends.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Evaluating Social Media and Looking to the Future

Difficulty Level: Medium

Essay

1. Explain how social network theory supports the need to create the right platforms for relevant messaging. Provide a few examples.

Learning Objective: 8.2: Understand the purpose and use of various social media tools in the field of PR.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: The Value and Strategies of Social Media

Difficulty Level: Hard

2. Discuss the challenges and risks PR professionals face in working with social media and digital communications. What is required to deal with them?

Learning Objective: 8.2: Understand the purpose and use of various social media tools in the field of PR.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Media Relations

Difficulty Level: Medium

3. Who are social influencers? How can they benefit an organization’s social media campaign?

Learning Objective: 8.2: Understand the purpose and use of various social media tools in the field of PR.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Social Influencers

Difficulty Level: Medium

4. Discuss Pampers’ success with its YouTube campaign during the 2019 Super Bowl. How did they come to own the “second screen?”

Learning Objective: 8.3: Evaluate PR best practices in social media and digital communications.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: A Showcase of Digital and Social Media PR Practices

Difficulty Level: Hard

5. Explain the PESO model of measurement and the keys to using it successfully.

Learning Objective: 8.4: Identify how to measure social media effectiveness, and craft a strategy for staying abreast of trends.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Evaluating Social Media and Looking to the Future

Difficulty Level: Medium