Social Media and Local Governments

Today, social media provide public institutions with new channels for rapidly spreading information, transparency, self-promotion to improve their image in the public eye, methods for designing and delivering public services with citizens. Taking advantage of the opportunities offered by social media is not limited to central government. Local governments deploy Internet-based innovative technologies that complement traditional methods in implementing different functions. However, social media tools provide opportunities as well as risk and challenges for local governments. In this context, aim of this chapter is to provide an overall evaluation of the relationship between local governments and social media.

This study aims to contribute to the newly developing social media policy literature through examining the process of designing social media policy particularly for local governments, and analyzing opportunities and challenges that local governments face in implementing them. We underline the importance of creating a cultural shift in local governments through the help of a transformational leadership as a necessity for an effective social media policy in local governments. As a conclusion, we argue that the main principles of “social media governance” can be adopted into local governments. In such a model, local governments should design their own social media policy and guidelines with regard to the broader central government policy, incorporation with local government’s other policies, and considering audiences’ needs and expectations.

Public agencies are being pressured for innovation, driving service delivery towards a more personalized, outcome-driven, participative, efficient, and collaborative model. In this regard, social media has been told to be a potential powerful tool to support public engagement, intended as the improvement of public services and the establishment of relationships between government and citizens based on information sharing and dialogue. This chapter captures the perception of policymakers responsible of strategies for e-government in local governments with the aim at analyzing the following research questions: (a) Do policymakers think that Web 2.0 technologies promote the effective involvement of citizens in the improvement of public sector services? (b) Do policymakers think that Web 2.0 technologies promote the technological innovation in public services? and (c) Do policymakers think that Web 2.0 technologies promote the sharing knowledge needed to improve public sector services? To answer these research questions, an e-survey was sent to policymakers responsible of strategies for e-government in large Spanish local governments. Findings indicate that policymakers are prone for using Web 2.0 technologies to engage citizens in the process of public services delivery, but only making suggestions through consultations. No co-production or technological innovation is expected from citizens because they are expected to play a passive role more than an active one.

The objective of this chapter is to provide an initial assessment of Facebook use by Western European municipalities considering two aspects: citizens’ engagement and municipalities’ activity. The sample for this study comprises the 15 earliest member countries of the EU represented by the five largest cities of each. Thus, data on 75 local governments are employed to test the following research questions: (1) How are Western European municipalities using Facebook? and (2) How are citizens engaging with their local government by using Facebook? In order to answer these questions, a set of metrics will be used that can help governments interpret and understand their impact in the use of social media. The answers to these questions will help to determine whether the use of social media is indeed increasing citizen participation in local governance. Results show that the use of Facebook by some of the biggest Western European local governments has become commonplace. Thus, the availability of a Facebook page is confirmed as a symbol of modernity and responsiveness, which may be perceived as particularly necessary for political legitimacy, especially in times of crisis. The audiences of the official Facebook pages of Western European municipalities are rather high. But a high number of fans does not automatically mean an engaged audience and citizen engagement, in general, is still low. Therefore, these findings suggest that the interest is limited on the part of citizens in terms of engaging in conversations with local governments.

The objective of this chapter is to undertake a critical examination of social media usage by local or municipal governments in Canada in terms of both presence and purpose. By presence, we mean the existence of social media channels linking municipal actors (administrative and political) to their local citizenry. By purpose, we mean the objectives sought by municipal actors in leveraging social media as either an informational and communications tool on the one hand, or as a platform for consultation and engagement on the other hand, or some combination of both. Based upon a wider review of social media government practices in Canada and a specific examination of four municipalities, we, therefore, seek to respond to the following key questions: (1) to what extent are local and predominantly urban governments in Canada making use of social media; (2) what is the balance between providing information and communications vs. seeking more interactive and collaborative forms of public engagement (and how is this balance reflected in both municipal intent and actual public participation); (3) what is the balance between administrative and political actors in social media deployment and public participation; and (4) what are the most significant and identifiable opportunities and challenges for municipalities in both widening and improving public engagement capacities through social media?

Academic research about how local governments use social media platforms are scarce. Most of the research is focused on services, comparative perspectives, or assessment. Little is known about the impact of Twitter and Facebook on communication means or strategic use for promoting a conversation with citizens. Despite these facts, the majority of local governments implement social media into their web sites and communications without any strategy or knowledge about their advantages or perils. Also scholars are blind-folded of what kind of research has to be done on social media and governments to understand this phenomenon and capitalize its use on public service. The purpose of this chapter is to identify new trends and lessons on social media use in local governments. Analyzing a data collection of Twitter and Facebook from the 32 Mexican local governments from 2010 to 2014, we discovered a behavior pattern very similar to the diffusion and innovation theory proposed by Rogers (Diffusion of innovations. Simon and Schuster, New York, 1995). We analyzed our data from this focus and provide five lessons to understand local governments’ use of social media.

This chapter explores social media adoption and use by Australian capital city local governments. Despite digital communication with the community being an integral part of modern local government functions, the types of digital communication being used are not commonly monitored or analyzed in the Australian context. This chapter provides an investigation of the types of social media being employed by local governments and a sentiment analysis of Twitter accounts from a sample of local governments in Sydney. The results suggest that social media is being used in a variety of forms according to the size and function of the local governments and is influenced by the level of Twitter activity undertaken by the mayor.

This chapter analyses the dynamics of adoption of social media in Spanish local governments with over 50,000 inhabitants. Specifically, the study seeks to respond to the following questions: (1) What are the key factors that explain the use of social media in public administrations? (2) What is the perception of those who manage social media regarding the level of development in their institution? (3) What are the key inhibitors for the development of these technologies in local administrations? This chapter is based on a questionnaire aimed at those in charge of social media in all Spanish local governments with over 50,000 inhabitants (146), which obtained a response rate above 97 % and presents the results through descriptive statistics relating to the defined indicators. The most significant conclusions are, on the one hand, that despite there being a high level of diffusion of these technologies at the level of local administrations, initial actions and strategies for their promotion have either not been clearly defined, or have been inadequately implemented. Second, we are at an early stage of development of social media in the local government sphere. Nonetheless, this is a field of widespread academic interest, bearing in mind the potential for innovation in management and in improved public administration interaction with citizens.

Are Greek local governments moving towards e-government 2.0 model? What are the factors that impact adoption of Web 2.0 tools? What is the effectiveness of these tools in terms of citizens’ awareness, interest, and engagement? The present study addresses these questions by investigating the usage and effectiveness of Web 2.0 applications employed by the 325 Greek local governments. Results indicate that local authorities in Greece are moving towards an e-government 2.0 era, albeit slowly. Local governments originating from municipalities with a large number of educated inhabitants who have made use of e-government services are more likely to be adopters of Web 2.0 tools. In addition, findings suggest that Greek citizens are beginning to be more aware of the Facebook pages of their local governments while they seem more interested in their YouTube channels. Hopefully, local governments can increase their citizens’ engagement by being active on Facebook. Officials of local governments should increase their presence on social media such as Facebook and YouTube but their strategies should be differentiated for each social medium in order to benefit from their potential.

Microblogging has been increasingly used in the public sector across the world, and it is pivotal to understand the drivers of their diffusion. This chapter adapts innovation adoption and diffusion theories and uses panel data of China’s 31 provinces (2010–2012) to empirically examine the diffusion of microblogging among government agencies and officials. The results suggest that the drivers of agency and individual microblogging are subtly distinct, implying their adoption may follow different routines. The findings also show that agencies and officials in jurisdictions with larger population, higher level of citizen demand, under advocating leadership, and bordering on pioneering peers are more likely to use microblogging.

Digital technologies and social media platforms are changing civic expectations surrounding interaction with government. Local governments hold key positions in the development of digital spaces for civic participation in the issues that directly impact citizens’ everyday lives. However, local practices largely prioritise information and services over reciprocal dialogue with citizens. This chapter explores digital civic engagement in Australian local governments. It draws from a nation-wide survey of councils’ digital practices to highlight that opportunities for civic participation are increasing, particularly through social media. However, substantial discrepancies exist between the digital practices of rural and urban local governments. This discrepancy is further examined through comments from seven rural councils that participated in a workshop on digital engagement, and the views of urban citizens (through focus groups) whose local government offers advanced digital practices. For the rural authorities, key challenges to digital development include limited connectivity, capacity, and financial resources, as well as the different expectations that citizens have in relation to social media use. For the (urban) citizens, participation in online spaces has gone unanswered by their government, which is creating a sense of disenfranchisement. While there is evidence of innovation in Australian digital local government, civic demand and government use largely fail to align. Councils need to reconceptualise current approaches to digital engagement by considering the purpose of participatory spaces and integrating their use into everyday operations. Moreover, greater government receptivity and responsiveness is required to enable civic participation to inform local decision-making. Such involvement allows citizens to develop a sense of connection with local government and facilitates increased civic engagement.

Social media have changed how governments communicate with society, encouraging participation and the interaction of citizens in public affairs. The main aim of this study is to analyse the online practices of Spanish local governments, through Facebook, to examine the factors that influence these practices and to determine citizens’ mood in this respect. The results obtained show that the popularity and virality of municipal Facebook pages are greater than their followers’ degree of commitment. Users take a positive view of the pages, and the type of information most commonly shared on Facebook by Spanish local governments is of a social nature. Factors that influence local government’s Facebook practices include the level of internet use among the population, the level of municipal debt, the number of inhabitants and the economic capacity of the population.

What characterizes the discourse that takes place on social media platforms involving municipal pages and their fans? Does the character of the activities on these social media platforms differ in periods preceding or following municipal elections, compared to non-election periods? The article examines the scope and character of Facebook activities on Israeli municipality pages before and after municipal elections, in comparison to non-election periods. For this purpose, the article surveys municipalities’ Facebook presence and analyzes its correlations with socio-demographic and geographic indicators. The distributions of various engagement indices of municipal pages (number of fans, and average number of likes, comments, and shares of posts) are presented, and the contents uploaded by the page managers and fans are compared. We conclude by reviewing municipalities’ Facebook activity and engagement over time, with the aim of identifying changes in Facebook pages in pre-election and post-election periods.

Today, social media offer political actors (i.e., politicians, political parties, NGOs, activists) opportunities for political communication, particularly during election periods. Political parties and candidates use social media tools such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube comprehensively to convey their messages to large audiences, persuade their voters, and mobilize their supporters. The use of social media causes changes in the nature of election campaigns and paves the way for a “co-generated campaign.” However, studies focusing on the experiences of political actors’ use of social media in the campaigns at the subnational level (regional or local) are rare in the relevant literature. In this context, this chapter aims to analyze the net effect of Twitter on the election success of the candidates in the 2014 local elections in Turkey. Findings of our analysis show that when other variables are fixed, candidates with a Twitter account have 4.5 times greater chance of winning the election than those without an account.

Social media has become a popular tool in the political landscape. As a result, it is of increased importance to evaluate social media campaigns of politicians. However, there is currently little knowledge how to measure and evaluate the influence of social media in political campaigns, especially at the local scale. This chapter is a step further towards the development of a theoretical framework and an algorithm that contributes to more reliable impact measurement of social media campaigns by politicians. The Social Media Indicator-2 framework and a related scoring algorithm are introduced to evaluate the influence of individual political candidates via social media on their social environment. The framework is tested by applying it in an empirical pilot study based on the local 2014 municipal elections in the Netherlands. We collected data for the political candidates and their parties in a pre-defined period and were able to relate scores to voting outcome. Positive correlations were revealed between social media contribution scores of politicians and their preference votes within the province of Overijssel in the Netherlands.

This chapter is a comparative study of how three local governments—Cape Town (South Africa), Philadelphia (Pennsylvania, USA), and Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, USA)—use social media platforms in their city branding attempts. Theoretical arguments in the fields of corporate and city branding point out the potential of these new communication platforms to change how brand-related content is created and shared with target audiences. However, the practice is understudied. The study first explains the potential of social media in branding through media ecology, city brand communication, and brand co-creation theories. Second, the performance of the aforementioned three cities on social media is evaluated by analyzing their Twitter and Facebook presence. The findings suggest that there is room for improvement for local governments in their employment of social media for city branding campaigns. The chapter concludes with recommendations for practitioners.

Social media has changed the way public administrations face their strategic communications, to the point that social media networks are considered even more effective tools for managing a risk or a crisis than traditional media. This chapter reflects on the opportunity Twitter presents for local governments facing critical scenarios, according to the main principles of the theory of Crisis Communication Management. A qualitative analysis from this perspective of how the Madrid city government faced the Madrid Arena tragedy lets us learn from the city government’s main mistakes, allowing us to think about the opportunity that social media presents local communities.