Effectiveness of Government Communication in Delivering Public Policy on Social Media

Authors

  • Dwi Siyamsih Universitas Islam Negeri Sultan Thaha Saifuddin Jambi Author
  • Muhamat Arif Afandi Universitas Halu Oleo Author
  • Ihsan Suri Fakultas Ilmu Komunikasi Universitas Pancasila Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.62872/sycdg691

Keywords:

government communication; , social media; , public policy; , message effectiveness; , public participation.

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the effectiveness of government communication in conveying public policies through social media. The method used is a descriptive qualitative approach with data collection techniques in the form of content analysis of official social media accounts of government agencies, in-depth interviews with key informants, and online observation of public involvement. The results of the study indicate that the effectiveness of government communication on social media still varies between agencies, influenced by communication strategies, language styles, and forms of content presentation. Policy messages are often delivered formally and less communicatively, so they are not fully understood by the public. Two-way interaction is also still limited, resulting in low responsiveness to public comments and questions. Supporting factors for communication effectiveness include the professionalism of the management team, consistency of uploads, and the use of attractive visual content. Meanwhile, the obstacles faced include low digital literacy of the apparatus, limited communication budget, and the absence of standard digital communication guidelines. This study recommends the need for a more humanistic and participatory communication approach so that the delivery of public policies can be more effective and impactful.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Adeola, O., Hinson, R.E., & Evans, O. (2020). Social Media in Marketing Communications: A Synthesis of Successful Strategies for the Digital Generation. In B. George & J. Paul (Eds.), Digital Transformation in Business and Society (pp. 61–81). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-08277-2_4

Alzubi, A. (2023). The Evolving Relationship between Digital and Conventional Media: A Study of Media Consumption Habits in the Digital Era. THE PROGRESS: A Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies, 4(3), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.71016/tp/jjexez32

Arshad, S., & Khurram, S. (2020). Can government's presence on social media encourage citizens' online political participation? Investigating the influence of transparency, trust, and responsiveness. Government Information Quarterly, 37(3), 101486. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2020.101486

Ausat, AMA (2023). The Role of Social Media in Shaping Public Opinion and Its Influence on Economic Decisions. Technology and Society Perspectives (TACIT), 1(1), 35–44. https://doi.org/10.61100/tacit.v1i1.37

Belkahla Driss, O., Mellouli, S., & Trabelsi, Z. (2019). From citizens to government policy-makers: Social media data analysis. Government Information Quarterly, 36(3), 560–570. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2019.05.002

Chami, G. (2025). Social Media as a Conduit for Civil Society Movements. In N. Roy, From Epic Tales to Digital Trails (1st ed., pp. 11–37). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003628910-2

Chung, J. (Jae), Ding, Y., & Kalra, A. (2023). I Really Know You: How Influencers Can Increase Audience Engagement by Referencing Their Close Social Ties. Journal of Consumer Research, 50(4), 683–703. https://doi.org/10.1093/jcr/ucad019

Erbaugh, J. T., Chang, C. H., Masuda, Y. J., & Ribot, J. (2024). Communication and Deliberation for Environmental Governance. Annual Review of Environment and Resources, 49(1), 367–393. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-environ-112321-082450

Estevez, L. (2022). A Humanist Perspective on Economic Policy: Ecuador’s Economic Reforms and Industrial Policy, 2007-2017 [Apollo - University of Cambridge Repository]. https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.96464

Hügel, S., & Davies, A. R. (2020). Public participation, engagement, and climate change adaptation: A review of the research literature. WIREs Climate Change, 11(4), e645. https://doi.org/10.1002/wcc.645

Kim, D. K. D., & Kreps, G. L. (2020). An Analysis of Government Communication in the United States During the COVID‐19 Pandemic: Recommendations for Effective Government Health Risk Communication. World Medical & Health Policy, 12(4), 398–412. https://doi.org/10.1002/wmh3.363

Lai, C.-H., Ping Yu, R., & Chen, Y.-C. (2020). Examining Government Dialogic Orientation in Social Media Strategies, Outcomes, and Perceived Effectiveness:A Mixed-Methods Approach. International Journal of Strategic Communication, 14(3), 139–159. https://doi.org/10.1080/1553118X.2020.1749634

Lerouge, R., Lema, M. D., & Arnaboldi, M. (2023). The role played by government communication on the level of public fear in social media: An investigation into the Covid-19 crisis in Italy. Government Information Quarterly, 40(2), 101798. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2022.101798

Liaw, S.-T., Kuziemsky, C., Schreiber, R., Jonnagaddala, J., Liyanage, H., Chittalia, A., Bahniwal, R., He, J. W., Ryan, B. L., Lizotte, D. J., Kueper, J. K., Terry, A. L., & De Lusignan, S. (2021). Primary Care Informatics Response to Covid-19 Pandemic: Adaptation, Progress, and Lessons from Four Countries with High ICT Development. Yearbook of Medical Informatics, 30(01), 044–055. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0041-1726489

Liu, J., Shahab, Y., & Hoque, H. (2022). Government Response Measures and Public Trust during the COVID‐19 Pandemic: Evidence from Around the World. British Journal of Management, 33(2), 571–602. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8551.12577

Lovari, A., & Bowen, S. A. (2020). Social media in disaster communication: A case study of strategies, barriers, and ethical implications. Journal of Public Affairs, 20(1), e1967. https://doi.org/10.1002/pa.1967

Lovari, A., & Valentini, C. (2020). Public Sector Communication and Social Media: Opportunities and Limits of Current Policies, Activities, and Practices. In V. Luoma‐aho & M. Canel (Eds.), The Handbook of Public Sector Communication (1st ed., pp. 315–328). Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119263203.ch21

Mansoor, M. (2021). Citizens' trust in government as a function of good governance and government agency's provision of quality information on social media during COVID-19. Government Information Quarterly, 38(4), 101597. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2021.101597

Marson, F., Eagly, P., & Russell, O. M. (2023). Impact of Social Assistance Programs on Family Economic Welfare in Urban Environments: An Analysis of Equity and Community Engagement. Law and Economics, 17(3), 186–202. https://doi.org/10.35335/laweco.v17i3.44

Ologunebi, J., & Taiwo, E. O. (2025). The Impact of Digital Communication on Governance, Political Dynamics, and Leadership; A Case Study of the Nigerian People and Process. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5094521

Palmisano, F., & Sacchi, A. (2024). Trust in public institutions, inequality, and digital interaction: Empirical evidence from European Union countries. Journal of Macroeconomics, 79, 103582. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmacro.2023.103582

Pérez-Curiel, C., & Velasco Molpeceres, A. M. (2020). Impacto del discurso político en la diffusión de bulos sobre Covid-19. Influencia de la desinformación en publicos y medias. Revista Latina, 78, 65–97. https://doi.org/10.4185/RLCS-2020-1469

Piotrowski, S., Grimmelikhuijsen, S., & Deat, F. (2019). Numbers over Narratives? How Government Message Strategies Affect Citizens' Attitudes. Public Performance & Management Review, 42(5), 1005–1028. https://doi.org/10.1080/15309576.2017.1400992

Reynolds, J.P., Stautz, K., Pilling, M., Van Der Linden, S., & Marteau, T.M. (2020). Communicating the effectiveness and ineffectiveness of government policies and their impact on public support: A systematic review with meta-analysis. Royal Society Open Science, 7(1), 190522. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.190522

Sahn, A. (2025). Public comment and public policy. American Journal of Political Science, 69(2), 685–700. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajps.12900

Sibuea, N. (2025). Digital Innovation as the Key to Efficiency and Accountability of Public Administration in Medan City, Indonesia. Golden Ratio of Data in Summary, 5(1), 24–31. https://doi.org/10.52970/grdis.v5i1.821

Starbird, K., Arif, A., & Wilson, T. (2019). Disinformation as Collaborative Work: Surfacing the Participatory Nature of Strategic Information Operations. Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction, 3(CSCW), 1–26. https://doi.org/10.1145/3359229

Sun, L., Rao, Y., Wu, L., Zhang, X., Lan, Y., & Nazir, A. (2023). Fighting False Information from Propagation Process: A Survey. ACM Computing Surveys, 55(10), 1–38. https://doi.org/10.1145/3563388

Suzuki, K., & Demircioglu, M. A. (2021). Is impartiality enough? Government impartiality and citizens' perceptions of public service quality. Governance, 34(3), 727–764. https://doi.org/10.1111/gove.12527

Wukich, C. (2021). Government Social Media Engagement Strategies and Public Roles. Public Performance & Management Review, 44(1), 187–215. https://doi.org/10.1080/15309576.2020.1851266

Downloads

Additional Files

Published

2025-05-28

How to Cite

Effectiveness of Government Communication in Delivering Public Policy on Social Media. (2025). Journal of Dialogos, 2(2), 25-35. https://doi.org/10.62872/sycdg691

Similar Articles

11-20 of 29

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.