Tenant participation and emerging social media practices in the social housing sector

Abstract

Many housing organizations are using social media to engage with a range of stakeholders including tenants. Tenant participation is being reworked in social media spaces as different (previously more separable) audiences are brought together in a digitalized ‘context collapse’. This multi-method study examines the emerging social media practices of housing organizations in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. Datasets generated in 2015 and 2021 include two digital audits of housing providers’ social media use, and in-depth qualitative interviews and focus groups with 26 social housing representatives. Participants reported that three intersecting agendas shape their social media use: 1) tenant participation and engagement, 2) advocacy for social housing, and 3) marketing and promotion, which create challenges that housing organizations must navigate in digital spaces. As critical tenant perspectives can present a threat to organizational brand identity and reputation, organizational social media use/s can seek to weaken or hide tenant voices at a time when tenant rights are more important than ever.