Engagement and Social Media. Bibliometric Analysis from the Scientific Field of Public Relations

One of the most influential aspects of social media is the engagement with stakeholders, thanks to which a company or organization can converse with its interest groups. The objective of this work is to carry out a bibliometric analysis to identify the importance and evolution of engagement on social media in the area of companies and organizations by reviewing the specialized literature about Public Relations and Communication Management. A quantitative bibliometric content analysis has enabled us to assess the scientific activity and production of papers published in academic journals in top JCR and Scopus positions in the field of Public Relations between 2010 and 2017. Diverse indicators have been included to pinpoint production, dissemination, collaboration, scientific literature, scientific accuracy and thematic patterns. Regarding the indicators for dissemination, results show a gradual increase of scientific productivity on the topic of study during the period under scrutiny. Ten thematic patterns have been identified along with common tendencies regarding authorship and references. After analysing the data, it is evident the importance that engagement on social media has acquired for the field of Public Relations. It is especially noteworthy the number of papers linked to corporate social responsibility, crisis communication, legitimacy and reputation, on account of the interest of organizations in improving and strengthening relations with their target.