Government Public Relations and Social Media: An Analysis of the Perceptions and Trends of Social Media Use at the Local Government Level

Abstract

Using survey data collected from 463 local government officials from municipalities across the United States, this study examines the use of social media tools by local governments and their perceptions of social media use by their citizenry. It specifically addresses how social media are used as public relations functions to serve democratic, participatory, and transparency models across a range of government contexts. Results indicate that social media are somewhat underutilized by local governments, with about a 70% overall use rate. Perceived importance of social media predicted actual use; however, it was disappointing to find that these officials’ perceptions of whether or not their citizens expected them to use social media did not predict use. Facebook and Twitter were the most commonly used tools; the vast majority of posts and tweets they write are about special events. Well over one-third used at least one research or conferencing social meia tool. Implications and importance of findings are discussed.