The public relations industry as one of the key industries in Hong Kong has metamorphosed into a new phase after the resumption of sovereignty to China. Based on in-depth interviews with eight experienced corporate communication practitioners from multi-national and sizeable local corporations in Hong Kong and China, the study traces the recent development of public relations and

Please cite this article in press as: LaMarre, H. L., & Suzuki-Lambrecht, Y. Tweeting democracy? Examin￾ing Twitter as an online public relations strategy for congressional campaigns’. Public Relations Review (2013),

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ARTICLE IN PRESS GModel

PUBREL-1149; No. of Pages9

Public Relations Review xxx (2013) xxx–xxx

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Public Relations Review

Tweeting democracy? Examining Twitter as an online public

relations strategy for congressional campaigns’

Heather L. LaMarre∗, Yoshikazu Suzuki-Lambrecht

University of Minnesota, United States

a r t i c l e i n f o

Article history:

Received 2 July 2012

Received in revised form 2 May 2013

Accepted 14 July 2013

Keywords:

Public relations

Democracy

Social media

Political campaigns

Voter engagement

Online communications

a b s t r a c t

Considering the integral relationship between public relations and democracy (Martinelli,

2011) coupled with the growing use of social media for democratic aims (Smith, 2011) the

current study examines the effectiveness of Twitter as a public relations communications

tool for congressional campaigns. Specifically, as a means of testing Twitter’s effectiveness

in informing and engaging voters, congressional candidate and political party Twitter use

for all 435 U.S. House of Representatives races (N = 1284) are compared with 2010 election

outcomes. Results indicate that candidates’ Twitter use significantly increased their odds

of winning, controlling for incumbency and Party ID. Additionally, significant differences

between incumbents’ and challengers’ Twitter use during the election cycle emerged, which

has important implications for public relations practices aimed at achieving democratic

outcomes.

© 2013 Published by Elsevier Inc.

1. Introduction

1.1. Classic public relations and democracy perspectives

Few doubt the intimate relationship between public relations and democracy. From the founding fathers to President

Obama, democracy has been influenced by the professional practice of public relations (Martinelli, 2011). Commonly consid￾ered key founders of professional public relations and public opinion practices, Bernays (1928) and Lippmann (1922/1997)

noted the importance of public relations communication strategies in successfully influencing public opinion and inform￾ing democratic debate. Kelley (1956) echoed these sentiments, suggesting that public relations communications strategies

helped create effective discourse, develop relationships between elite institutions and the citizenry, and inform public

opinion.

1.2. Contemporary investigations of public relations and democracy

Martinelli (2011) situates the relationships between public relations, political communication, and public opinion

research as symbiotic, arguing that classic political communication and public opinion research have had important impli￾cations for contemporary public relations practices and scholarship. Among the examples Martinelli (2011) cites are agenda

setting (e.g., McCombs & Shaw, 1972), framing (e.g., Entman, 1993; Iyengar, 1991); and the two-step flow of communi￾cation (e.g., Lazarsfeld, Berelson, & Gaudet, 1944). Indeed these influences are present in public relations and democracy

∗ Corresponding author at: Temple University, School of Media and Communication, Annenberg Hall, 2020 North 13th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19122-

6080. United States. Tel.: +1 215 204 3214.

E-mail address: [email protected] (H.L. LaMarre).

0363-8111/$ – see front matter © 2013 Published by Elsevier Inc.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2013.07.009