Tips, Tidings, and Tech: Governmental Communication on Facebook during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic led governments to rely on the versatility of social media to communicate with their citizens. This paper analyzes the Facebook communication of political leaders and health departments from 17 countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. We evaluate the citizen's response under the frameworks of media richness and user engagement. We note that governments and leaders communicate primarily through richer media (photos and videos), despite a negative correlation between media richness and user engagement. Plain-Text messages posted by country leaders attract the most engagement, while their COVID-19 communication tends to generate lower engagement. On the other hand, health departments' pages experienced a sharp increase in engagement around COVID-19 communication as citizens sought information during the pandemic. Finally, topical analysis shows that Discussions and Co-Use of COVID-19 with other topics can boost citizens' engagement. Our comparative analysis shows practical implications for social media users and social media designers. Our findings can help governments and organizations design effective social media communication during crises.