Cities that post on Facebook basic news, without political messaging, demonstrate more online engagement with their citizens, according to a study in Government Information Quarterly. 

Hyacinth Balediata Bangero, a researcher from Bowling Green State University, analyzed the content of Facebook posts for 25 cities in the Philippines, finding that cities with the best interactivity posted three to five posts daily, including weekends, and focused on health, nutrition and public safety. They also found that the more successful cities used videos effectively, as well as their city’s logo as their profile picture. 

The study, “Best practices in e-government communication: Lessons from the local governments’ use of official Facebook pages,” found that posts involving politics had less engagement – that people prefer basic apolitical news you can use. 

As well, cities with younger mayors tended to demonstrate greater interactivity with people. Success was measured by the percentage of likes, comments, shares and replies in relation to their total followers. 

Government-posted information is becoming increasingly important as media fragmentation reduces public-affairs journalism. However, city posts are not independent – only the most positive of information is provided. 

Official government social media posts also should be archived and available for public inspection. In the United States, official government websites are generally subject to public record laws, according to research published in the Brechner FOI Project’s Journal of Civic Information. 

Posted: February 27, 2025
Category: Brechner News
Tagged as: Brechner Freedom of Information Project, FOI, Journal of Civic Information, open records laws, public records