Digital Public Relations and Crisis Management: Evaluating Social Media Crisis Communication and Public Perception Among Students of Federal Polytechnic Bida, Niger State, Nigeria
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This study examined digital public relations and crisis management, focusing on social media crisis communication and students’ perceptions at Federal Polytechnic Bida, Niger State, Nigeria. It was guided by three objectives: assessing social media use for crisis communication, examining students’ perceptions of its effectiveness, and identifying challenges affecting digital public relations and crisis management in the institution. A survey research design was adopted, and data were collected using a five-point Likert scale questionnaire. Out of 174 distributed questionnaires, 173 were retrieved and analyzed. The study was grounded in the Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT) and the Image Repair Theory. Findings showed that the institution uses platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook, and X (Twitter) for crisis communication. Students generally viewed social media communication as effective, particularly in terms of speed, clarity, reliability, and usefulness during emergencies. However, several challenges were identified, including poor internet connectivity, delayed official responses, misinformation from unofficial sources, weak management of official accounts, and inadequate digital communication strategies. The study concluded that social media plays an important role in crisis communication and positively shapes students’ perceptions during emergencies, though its effectiveness is constrained by infrastructural and managerial limitations. It recommended strengthening digital public relations strategies, improving response speed and consistency, better managing official social media platforms, upgrading internet infrastructure, and training communication personnel on effective crisis communication practices.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Dr. Dennis Emeka Ubani, Dr. Florence Ucheanya
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