Can Governments benefit from Social Media Activity?

A recent article on communicationonline.nl discussed the potential of social media as a way to close the perceived gap between the government and its citizens. It cited a recent study by research institute CTIT of the University of Twente in which it became clear that governments do not yet use the full potential of social media. The government could use social media as a way to let its citizens interact during policy creation. However, the medium is currently mostly used as a way to communicate about traditional communication channels and broadcast messages devised by Public Relations departments.

So many option… but how should governments use social media?

Social media potential

The perceived gap between the government and its citizens has been the headache of many politicians and policymakers, and so far no real solution to the issue has been found. The gap becomes larger every year because citizens feel that they do not have any say in how policy is made. This oftentimes leads them to refrain from voting during elections and ultimately to a weaker legitimacy for the government. In order to reengage citizens with national and, especially, local policymaking the government tries to engage with their public via social media. However, this channel is not (yet) actively used as a way for citizens to voice their opinions about recent policies. As stated within the communicationonline.nl article, this is because governments tend to focus on relaying information, rather than seeking engagement with its audience. It then seems that social media can be further employed to increase the legitimacy of the government.

Steadily building on trust

However, does the government actually benefit from communication with their citizens through social media? A recent research by Hong seems to indicate that social media could indeed influence the level of trust between the government and its citizens, but only when citizens have a successful experience while interacting with the government. According to this article, the government should try to focus on satisfying the expectations of the social media interaction in order to gain trust. While trying to engage the public in policymaking, Lee and Kwak propose that the government should gradually increase the level of openness when trying to engage the public in open government initiatives. Rather than immediately make use of ubiquitous engagement over social media, governments should first build up initial conditions, open up on data transparency, invite participation, start collaboration and ultimately engage in ubiquitous engagement.

Roses and sunshine?

While the government does indeed have room for increasing their social media presence and strategies in order to increase its legitimacy, social media is not without danger. As was already alluded to while discussing Hong, a negative social media experience with the government does not benefit its level of legitimacy with this person. Consequently, not all policy is suited to be deliberated on via social media. Governments should therefore carefully devise their social media strategy while opening up ways for the citizens to participate.

About the author

Marc Dols (1992) is a Master student Public Administration and Communication- and Information Sciences at the University of Tilburg. His current interest is in the relationship between policymaking and the translation of policy in communication to the public.

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