Between 2004 and 2006, the two most relevant scientific associations for academics and researchers in the field of public relations and communication were set up in Spain with the mission of strengthening and disseminating research and promoting forums and networks for scientific exchange: the Association of Researchers in Public Relations (AIRP) and the Spanish Association for Communication Research (AE-IC). Based on a study of the doctoral theses presented and contributions to international conferences organized by both associations in the period between 2004 and 2018, our main objective is to determine, describe, and analyze research trends in the academic field of public relations in the Spanish context. To this end, content analysis is applied as a qualitative and quantitative method in the social sciences. Among the most relevant results, the following stand out: the predominance of women researchers in the field, public relations and digital communication as the main topics, the use of mixed methodology, and content analysis as the main research technique. The diagnosis of the evolution and management of public relations research in Spain presented herein defines the corresponding trends and challenges. Resumen Entre 2004 y 2006 se constituyeron en España las dos asociaciones científicas más relevantes para los académicos e investigadores de relaciones públicas y de la comunicación con la misión de potenciar y difundir la investigación y promover foros y redes de intercambio científico: la Asociación de Investigadores en Relaciones Públicas (AIRP) y la Asociación Española de Investigación de la Comunicación (AE-IC). Con el estudio de las tesis doctorales defendidas y de las contribuciones a los congresos internacionales que organizan ambas asociaciones en el período comprendido entre 2004 y 2018, se persigue el objetivo principal de determinar, describir y analizar la investigación en relaciones públicas como objeto del debate científico de la disciplina en España. Para ello, se utiliza el análisis de contenido como método cualitativo y cuantitativo de las ciencias sociales. Entre los resultados más relevantes destacan el predominio de mujeres investigadoras en el campo, las relaciones públicas y comunicación digital como temática mayoritaria, el uso de una metodología mixta y el análisis de contenido como principal técnica de investigación. El diagnóstico de su evolución y de cómo se gestiona la investigación de las relaciones públicas en España define las tendencias y los retos como resultado del estudio.

Today, being actively present on social networks promotes visibility in the digital environment. Active Presence requires choosing the platforms that best suit the communication needs of the audiences, developing a frequent activity (Activity) and disseminating a certain type of publications (Presence). This study defines and evaluates the level of the main dimensions of Active Presence in social networks (Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn) of 70 universities (Europe, the United States and Latin America). The results show an adequate frequency of publications with mainly own content, although with considerable differences between institutions, regions and platforms. Regarding activity, Facebook is above the daily average and among regions Latin America stands out over the United States and with greater distance over Europe. Regarding the type of presence, universities tend to use their own content on Facebook and LinkedIn, while on Twitter there is a combination of own, hybrid and shared content.

Social media have become a key tool in the institutional communication of universities to disseminate content and establish interaction and dialogue with their publics. Content strategy in social networks is a relevant aspect to inform their audiences about their daily activities and position universities in the digital sphere. This article studies the influence of the different types of content posted by universities on their social networks on the level of engagement of their publics. We conducted a content analysis of more than 90,000 posts by 70 universities in three regions (Europe, the United States and Latin America) on their institutional profiles on three social networks (Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn). The results show that the level of engagement achieved by the universities’ posts is very low. Universities clearly prioritize institutional content over functional content, and organizational topics are the most published on social networks. Institutional content achieves a higher level of engagement than functional content, and posts on organizational topics have the best level of engagement. Our study might refute the hypothesis that “functional content will generate a higher level of engagement than institutional content on social networks.” Thus, it can be concluded that the combination of content on social networks suggests that universities mainly use social networks to develop an institutional positioning strategy on social media.

Social media has become an important tool for universities to implement strategies to promote, position and differentiate their brand identity, to establish and foster the communicative relationship with their stakeholders. This study explores the interactivity strategy developed in digital communication by 70 leading universities from Europe, the United States and Latin America. A specific quantitative methodology was designed to analyze the universities’ social media publications (90,241). The general communicative approach and the communication resources applied were studied through quantitative content analysis. Results show that the universities have an informational approach in their publications on social networks, with little differences among regions and platforms. Expositive and interactive resources are being used in a broad, integrated manner although there are some differences in each region and social network. Thus, the universities opt for a monological interactivity strategy in their digital institutional communication, with little differences between social networks. They are changing toward a model that continues to prioritize dissemination of information, but it is evolving toward more combination of various communication resources that make content more attractive to their publics. This research provides insights into interactivity strategies used by universities on social networks to develop effective digital communication strategies for enhancing engagement with publics.

Este estudio se centra en la estrategia de comunicación de las organizaciones de pacientes con enfermedades raras en internet. Objetivo: Analizar la utilización de las herramientas de comunicación en internet. Métodos: Se examinaron 143 organizaciones de pacientes nacionales. Se ha realizado un análisis de contenido de cada una de las webs de las organizaciones, redes sociales y blogs. Y se han llevado a cabo encuestas telefónicas a 90 organizaciones con las que se contactó, el 63% del total. Resultados: El 84% de las web está gestionada por miembros de las organizaciones sin formación específica y el 16% por profesionales. Se dirigen en la misma proporción a pacientes y allegados que al resto de la población, pero no utilizan herramientas que les permitan una comunicación más fluida. Discusión y Conclusiones: Los resultados muestran la necesidad de contar con personal especializado y con espacios habilitados en la red para comunicarse con el resto de la población.