The Use of Social Media as A Public Relations Tool in the Work of Metropolitan Assemblies—A Study of Accra Metropolitan Assembly

Abstract

This study examined the extent to which the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) employs social media as a Public Relations tool in the work of the Assembly. The specific objectives of the study were to explore the Assembly‘s social media practices, examine the role of social media in the execution of the Assembly's policies and programmes, assess the level of priority the Assembly gives to the use of social media as a tool for engaging the inhabitants and explore the inhabitants‘ experiences concerning their use of the Assembly's social media platforms. The study adopted the mixed methods approach to gather data from both the Assembly and its publics and content analyzed the social media posts of the Assembly. Qualitative data were gathered through in-depth interviews with six (6) staff of the Public Affairs Directorate of the AMA. Also, the survey was employed to gather quantitative data from two hundred and four (204) respondents who are the inhabitants (publics) of the AMA. Guided by the media ecology theory propounded by McLuhan (1964) and the Excellence theory, the study uncovered that the Assembly is very active on social media, and has social media handles on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube which are used to engage its publics. Facebook and Twitter were used more frequently to engage the public than Instagram and YouTube. The Assembly through its Public Affairs Directorate uses social media to create awareness, educate, and inform the publics by posting several kinds of information or messages which include upcoming engagement programmes with its publics, meetings with stakeholders, courtesy calls on its publics, public announcements, revenue mobilization, sanitation programmes, waste management programmes, an artworks, educating the public on an issue within the community, and any activity that involves the Assembly together with the Mayor. The Assembly gives much priority to the use of social media for its activities since social media are one of the important channels of the Assembly to reach its publics. Majority of the publics are aware and follow the various social media accounts of the Assembly. The publics confirmed that the Assembly frequently posts information on an enactment and enforcement of policies, developmental projects, upcoming events and projects, and messages on customer care services on its various social media platforms. Additionally, majority of the publics indicated a high level of satisfaction in the manner in which the Assembly manages and engages its publics on social media platforms.