Comparative Social Media Analysis of Metropolitan Municipalities within the Framework of Public Relations Models

Ahmet Aydın

Article Details

Comparative Social Media Analysis of Metropolitan Municipalities within the Framework of Public Relations Models

Authors:

Ahmet Aydın

Publisher:

Selcuk University

Main Topics:

İletişim ve Medya Çalışmaları (Diğer) | Halkla İlişkiler

Journal:

Selçuk İletişim Vol.18 Issue 1, pp.144-179

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

4/2025

Document Language:

Turkish

Document ID (Org No.):

2001344943

pISSN:

2148-2942

Keywords:

Abstract:

 The rapid change and transformation in internet technologies, which is the most important outcome of the age, has brought many changes in communication processes. One of the fields most affected by this transformation has undoubtedly been the field of public relations. The effects of digitalisation are quite high in the public relations practices of institutions focusing on corporate success. The digitalisation in question manifests itself both in the ways of doing business of public relations and in communication with target audiences. Municipalities are the leading public institutions that tend to benefit from digital communication techniques. This study is planned to investigate how Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Bursa and Antalya Metropolitan Municipalities, selected as a sample, use social media for public relations purposes. The main purpose is to evaluate the posts of municipalities on X social media platform in terms of public relations models and to make a situation assessment. For this purpose, the posts made from the X official accounts of the relevant municipalities were analysed by quantitative content analysis method. Content analysis, which is widely used in social sciences, was used in the study to measure the effectiveness of communication, which represents an important part of social dynamics. The study covers Turkeys top five metropolitan municipalities in terms of population, namely Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Bursa and Antalya Metropolitan Municipalities. The posts on the official X accounts of these municipalities were analysed for a 60-day period from 1 January 2024 to 29 February 2024. The posts of the metropolitan municipalities were classified in accordance with the coding chart, and the posts made as reposts in the X analysis were not taken into consideration. In the study, findings on the contribution of municipalities use of social media as a digital communication technique to public relations effectiveness are included. It has been determined that social media is used intensively in municipalities for reasons such as eliminating constraints such as time, space and cost, and enabling fast, easy and mutual communication. In the statistical evaluation made in terms of public relations models, it has been concluded that municipalities use the public information model the most and prefer the two-way symmetric model the least.

 The rapid change and transformation in internet technologies, which is the most important outcome of the age, has brought many changes in communication processes. One of the fields most affected by this transformation has undoubtedly been the field of public relations. The effects of digitalisation are quite high in the public relations practices of institutions focusing on corporate success. The digitalisation in question manifests itself both in the ways of doing business of public relations and in communication with target audiences. Municipalities are the leading public institutions that tend to benefit from digital communication techniques. This study is planned to investigate how Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Bursa and Antalya Metropolitan Municipalities, selected as a sample, use social media for public relations purposes. The main purpose is to evaluate the posts of municipalities on X social media platform in terms of public relations models and to make a situation assessment. For this purpose, the posts made from the X official accounts of the relevant municipalities were analysed by quantitative content analysis method. Content analysis, which is widely used in social sciences, was used in the study to measure the effectiveness of communication, which represents an important part of social dynamics. The study covers Turkeys top five metropolitan municipalities in terms of population, namely Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Bursa and Antalya Metropolitan Municipalities. The posts on the official X accounts of these municipalities were analysed for a 60-day period from 1 January 2024 to 29 February 2024. The posts of the metropolitan municipalities were classified in accordance with the coding chart, and the posts made as reposts in the X analysis were not taken into consideration. In the study, findings on the contribution of municipalities use of social media as a digital communication technique to public relations effectiveness are included. It has been determined that social media is used intensively in municipalities for reasons such as eliminating constraints such as time, space and cost, and enabling fast, easy and mutual communication. In the statistical evaluation made in terms of public relations models, it has been concluded that municipalities use the public information model the most and prefer the two-way symmetric model the least.

 The rapid change and transformation in internet technologies, which is the most important outcome of the age, has brought many changes in communication processes. One of the fields most affected by this transformation has undoubtedly been the field of public relations. The effects of digitalisation are quite high in the public relations practices of institutions focusing on corporate success. The digitalisation in question manifests itself both in the ways of doing business of public relations and in communication with target audiences. Municipalities are the leading public institutions that tend to benefit from digital communication techniques. This study is planned to investigate how Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Bursa and Antalya Metropolitan Municipalities, selected as a sample, use social media for public relations purposes. The main purpose is to evaluate the posts of municipalities on X social media platform in terms of public relations models and to make a situation assessment. For this purpose, the posts made from the X official accounts of the relevant municipalities were analysed by quantitative content analysis method. Content analysis, which is widely used in social sciences, was used in the study to measure the effectiveness of communication, which represents an important part of social dynamics. The study covers Turkeys top five metropolitan municipalities in terms of population, namely Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Bursa and Antalya Metropolitan Municipalities. The posts on the official X accounts of these municipalities were analysed for a 60-day period from 1 January 2024 to 29 February 2024. The posts of the metropolitan municipalities were classified in accordance with the coding chart, and the posts made as reposts in the X analysis were not taken into consideration. In the study, findings on the contribution of municipalities use of social media as a digital communication technique to public relations effectiveness are included. It has been determined that social media is used intensively in municipalities for reasons such as eliminating constraints such as time, space and cost, and enabling fast, easy and mutual communication. In the statistical evaluation made in terms of public relations models, it has been concluded that municipalities use the public information model the most and prefer the two-way symmetric model the least.

 Çağın en önemli getirisi olan internet teknolojilerindeki hızlı değişim ve dönüşüm, iletişim süreçlerinde de pek çok değişimi beraberinde getirmiştir. Bu dönüşümden en çok etkilenen alanlardan birisi de kuşkusuz halkla ilişkiler alanı olmuştur. Kurumsal başarıya odaklanan kurumların halkla ilişkiler pratiklerinde de dijitalleşmenin etkileri oldukça fazladır. Söz konusu dijitalleşme gerek halkla ilişkilerin iş yapma biçimlerinde gerek hedef kitlelerle kurulan iletişimde kendini göstermektedir. Dijital iletişim tekniklerinden faydalanma eğiliminde olan kamu kurumlarının başında ise belediyeler gelmektedir. Bu çalışma, örneklem olarak seçilen İstanbul, Ankara, İzmir, Bursa ve Antalya Büyükşehir Belediyelerinin sosyal medyayı halkla ilişkiler amacıyla nasıl kullandıklarını sorgulamak üzerine planlanmıştır. Temel amaç, belediyelerin X sosyal medya platformundaki paylaşımlarını halkla ilişkiler modelleri açısından değerlendirmek ve bir durum tespiti yapmaktır. Bu amaçla ilgili belediyelerin X resmi hesaplarından yapılan paylaşımlar niceliksel içerik analizi yöntemiyle çözümlenmiştir. Sosyal bilimlerde yaygın olarak kullanılan içerik analizi çalışmada, toplumsal dinamiklerin önemli bir bölümünü temsil eden iletişim etkinliğini ölçmek amacıyla kullanılmıştır. Araştırma, Türkiyenin nüfus açısından ilk beş büyükşehir belediyesi olan İstanbul, Ankara, İzmir, Bursa ve Antalya Büyükşehir Belediyelerini kapsamaktadır. Bu belediyelerin resmi X hesaplarındaki paylaşımlar 1 Ocak 2024 ile 29 Şubat 2024 tarihlerini kapsayan 60 günlük bir süre için analiz edilmiştir. Büyükşehir belediyelerinin paylaşımları kodlama cetveline uygun olarak sınıflandırılmış, X analizinde repost olarak yapılan paylaşımlar değerlendirmeye alınmamıştır. Araştırmada belediyelerin sosyal medyayı bir dijital iletişim tekniği olarak kullanmalarının halkla ilişkiler etkinliğine olan katkılarına yönelik bulgulara yer verilmiştir. Sosyal medyanın zaman, mekan ve maliyet gibi unsurlarda kısıtları ortadan kaldırması, hızlı, kolay ve karşılıklı iletişime olanak tanıması gibi nedenlerle belediyelerde oldukça yoğun şekilde kullanıldığı belirlenmiştir. Halkla ilişkiler modelleri açısından yapılan istatistiksel değerlendirmede, belediyelerin yaptıkları paylaşımlar neticesinde en fazla kamuoyunu bilgilendirme modelini kullandığı en az ise iki yönlü simetrik modeli tercih ettiği sonucuna varılmıştır.

Article Details

Comparative Social Media Analysis of Metropolitan Municipalities within the Framework of Public Relations Models

Authors:

Ahmet Aydın

Publisher:

Selcuk University

Main Topics:

İletişim ve Medya Çalışmaları (Diğer) | Halkla İlişkiler

Journal:

Selçuk İletişim Vol.18 Issue 1, pp.144-179

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

4/2025

Document Language:

Turkish

Document ID (Org No.):

2001344943

pISSN:

2148-2942

Public Relations

Social Media

Communication

X

Public Relations Models

MetropolitanHalkla İlişkiler

Sosyal Medya

İletişim

X

Halkla İlişkiler Modelleri

Büyükşehir

Issues

Article Details

Authors: Ahmet Aydın

Publisher: Selcuk University

Main Topics: İletişim ve Medya Çalışmaları (Diğer) | Halkla İlişkiler

Journal: Selçuk İletişim Vol.18 Issue 1, pp.144-179

Document Type: Article

Publication Date: 4/2025

Document Language: Turkish

Document ID (Org No.): 2001344943

pISSN: 2148-2942

Issues

Authors:

Ahmet Aydın

Publisher:

Selcuk University

Main Topics:

İletişim ve Medya Çalışmaları (Diğer) | Halkla İlişkiler

Journal:

Selçuk İletişim Vol.18 Issue 1, pp.144-179

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

4/2025

Document Language:

Turkish

Document ID (Org No.):

2001344943

pISSN:

2148-2942