FACEBOOK AS A PUBLIC RELATIONS TOOL OF LUCENA CITY PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE AS PERCEIVED BY SELECTED MSEUF COLLEGE STUDENTS

Public Information Officers of the local government units play a vital role in establishing and maintaining its image. Also, public relations practices have greatly increased because of social media among the public information officers who promote various activities in local government units. The present study investigated the use of Facebook as a public relations tool in Public Information Office-Lucena City as perceived by the selected one MSEUF college students. This descriptive research used an online survey questionnaire as instrument. Using purposive sampling, 100 selected college students were chosen to participate in this study. Results revealed that Facebook has become a new way of communication as communication has changed due to the transformation of social media. It has become a platform that allows the public to interact with the government. With its potential, Facebook is an effective platform for the local government in approaching the public. However, little research has been done to explore how Facebook can be used as a public relations tool thus, more research is needed to better understand the impact of Facebook as a public relations tool for the local government.