Source Credibility in Tourism PR: Research Presentation

UGA Grady College PR undergraduate students Laura Lyn McLeod, Lauren Kelley, Morgan Ingram, Brooke Drinkard, Elizabeth Ragland, Brooke Gerber, and Emily Knab present their original research Who Do You Trust?: The Source of Visual Social Media and its Effect on Perceived Credibility. With the rising prevalence of social media in the public relations arena, travelers searching for a desirable destination have various sources for travel information, which means that in turn consumers must assess levels of credibility for information sources. Using the relationship management theory and a posttest experiment, this study analyzes the perceived credibility of a destination and its source based upon user-generated versus professionally-developed content in visual social media. Participants responded to an image of a little-known travel destination, answering questions regarding their reaction to the source of the photo. Findings revealed that potential travelers exposed to a destination through visual social media perceived a professional source as more credible than a personal account holder sharing photos. This study recognized that while public relations practitioners face a new challenge with growing social media, the professional still has the upper hand when it comes to credibility of information as well as managing an organization-public relationship. This research was conducted as a part of Dr. Kaye Sweetser's fall 2009 ADPR 3510 undergraduate Public Relations Research class at UGA's Grady College. Their final research report is at http://podcasting.gcsu.edu/4DCGI/Podcasting/UGA/Episodes/9706/15363.pdf

Category:

Education

Tags:

• uga
• grady
• gradycollege
• publicrelations
• PR
• research
• tourism
• credibility
• relationship
• experiment
• socialmedia
• LauraLynMcLeod
• LaurenKelley
• MorganIngram
• BrookeDrinkard
• ElizabethRagland
• BrookeGerber
• EmilyKnab