Comunicação pública nas plataformas de mídias sociais: apropriação, atuação e impacto da utilização do Facebook e Instagram pelas prefeituras da microrregião de Varginha-MG

Abstract

Faced with a contemporary scenario marked by the development and increasing use of Information and Communication Technologies, this paper analyzes the use of social media platforms by the 16 city halls that make up the Varginha microregion, located in the state of Minas Gerais. It was discussed how city halls have Facebook and Instagram as a socio-state interface and a public communication instrument in the digital context for accountability, transparency and interaction with society. The classification of this work in terms of research objectives can be defined as exploratory, of a mixed nature. The Content Analysis technique was used to aggregate, analyze and contextualize the information obtained, with a model discussed by Sampaio and Lycarião (2021). The empirical research was divided into two stages, the first of which manually collected posts made on the 16 Facebook fanpages and the 12 Instagram profiles that were active from October 1 to December 31, 2021, totaling 6,203 posts. This phase was subdivided to analyze the appropriation, performance and impact of the use of social media platforms by municipal administrations. In the second stage, 17 questions were prepared and sent to city halls through the Citizen Information Service Electronic System, provided for by Law No. 12,527, of November 18, 2011, known as the Access to Information Law. The purpose of this phase was to understand the communication structure responsible for preparing the posts. There was a response from 12 city halls at this stage. Among the research findings, it was found that, in general, social media platforms were used to disseminate administration actions, as a one-way street and, as classified by Lüchmann (2020a), as a cognitive interface of transparency, aimed at for government information and propaganda. This is due to the low presence of interaction and posts inviting public engagement, while the disclosure of social public services and government actions had more posts. It was also found that most media platforms were created in previous administrations and continue to be maintained in the current administration. Content aimed at covid-19 occupied the first places in the number of posts. The posts that used videos were the ones that had the most engagement. Regarding engagement on Facebook and Instagram, it was found that the highest average was with the Municipality of Campo do Meio with the posts on Facebook and with the Municipality of Três Pontas on Instagram. In view of the contribution that communication and social media platforms can bring to public administration, it was found that, in a significant number of city halls, the structure of the area is still small for the growing demands, being composed mostly of commissioned servants trained in journalism. Despite the unfavorable structure, it was verified that the platforms can contribute to public communication, mainly in terms of guaranteeing access to information, but they are still little used to foster dialogue and encourage participation in public decisions. There is also the fact that there is no mandatory content that must be posted on the platforms, which undermines accountability, as administrations tend to post subjects that lead to a positive image of the organization.