Evolution of the use of social media by the local governments of the Lodzkie voivodship

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of the article is to present changes in the use and basic advantages of social networks in communication of local government units on the example of cities in the Lodz voivodeship. Design/methodology/approach: The study consisted in analysing the content of the official websites belonging to the local governments of the individual cities of the Łódzkie Voivodeship in order to see how information on the social networks used (location of plug-ins) is made available and a review of active profiles on these sites was carried out in order to diagnose what content is published. The survey was conducted in December 2022. The results were cross referenced with the corresponding survey carried out in 2019 and 2020. Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version). Findings: The study showed that out of the 44 cities analysed in the Łódzkie Voivodship, 42 use at least one social networking site. The most common is Facebook - 42 cities have a profile, followed by YouTube - 25, Instagram - 14 and Twitter 7. 3 cities have profiles on 4 sites at the same time, 11 have 3 official profiles on different social networking sites, while another 15 cities have 2 and 13 have one each. For 2 cities, no profiles were found on social networks. The content and frequency of publication on the profiles varies. Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version). Research limitations/implications: The study did not take into consideration social networks which were less popular at the time of writing (e.g. TikTok - among the cities surveyed, only Łódź has an official profile there). The objectives of the communication activities of individual cities are not known. This may be part of further research through in-depth interviews with those responsible for promoting the cities. It is also possible to extend the research to cities of other voivodships and among the target recipients of communication activities in particular sites. Practical implications: On the basis of the author's audit of the communication activity of cities in the Łódzkie Voivodship on social networking sites, this article suggests that the use of social media is an appropriate tactic in cities' communication, both in the external promotional dimension and in communication with citizens due to the participatory, interactive and open nature of social media. Originality/value: The publication presents the results of research carried out on the basis of the author's audit of the activity of the cities of the Lodz voivodship in the social media. Keywords: social media, city marketing, city promotion, marketing communication. Category of the paper: Research paper.