The Role of Social Media in Corporate Reputation Management – The Results of the Polish Enterprises

Abstract The exponential growth of the Internet and social media (SM) in the recent years has contributed to changing the communication environment in which stakeholders as their users may post and distribute their opinions about the company and its products. This generates a number of potential threats to the image and reputation of both people and organizations. Companies cannot ignore this fact and should use SM not only as an additional communication marketing channel but also in a broader context - as a tool to build and protect their reputation. This article aims to identify the extent and directions of the use of SM in the activities of companies operating on the Polish market in the area of reputation management. The results of research showed that Polish companies recognize the potential of SM and try to apply them in their marketing efforts. In the approach to the SM as a communication channel, the traditional way of thinking dominates, in which they are treated as just another promotional tool used by two departments: marketing and public relations (PR). This way of using SM is not integrated and does not allow effective building and protecting reputation in the Internet environment. To achieve this goal, the following research methods were used: critical analysis of literature and analysis of secondary sources in a form of report from the research conducted by various national and foreign research centers.