Never before have so many questions been asked via social media to the various municipalities. This has emerged from a study by the Association of Flemish Cities and Municipalities (VVSG) in collaboration with the social media agency. Almost all Flemish cities and municipalities are now active on social media. In this way, they mainly communicate about the services and engage in crisis communication. About 70 percent of the population is also active on Facebook. For them, that medium is gradually becoming a new municipal counter: no fewer than nine out of ten municipalities receive questions from residents via social media today, half of which also receive complaints. The municipalities think differently for the time being. They lack the resources to fully pull that card, as the survey shows. (Source: The Latest News)
Six out of ten municipalities today receive more private messages from citizens via Messenger and WhatsApp. In the Netherlands, no less than seven out of ten municipalities will be active on WhatsApp by the end of this year, but things are not going that fast in our country for the time being. Barely 7 percent of the municipalities already have an information line via WhatsApp, 61 percent are not even considering it at the moment.
“It is up to the management to encourage the municipal services to use social media in their daily work,” says Mieck Vos, general manager of the VVSG. "Of course, this is not possible without room for training colleagues and making things such as smartphones, tablets and other tools available.
Almost all municipalities have at least one Facebook page. Facebook is therefore the leader, because 70 percent of the inhabitants are active on it. Two out of three municipalities are also on Twitter, although they do not reach 5 percent of their inhabitants. Instagram is also gaining importance (66 percent of municipalities have an account), although it is mainly used to communicate with the younger population.
Municipalities are most successful with messages about mobility, waste, safety and nuisance. If necessary, they also use social media for crisis communication. However, municipalities can do much more. For example, Roeselare involves its residents in the preparation of the long-term plan via a Facebook page. But to really make full use of the 'virtual village square', more resources, people and training are needed, according to the VVSG.
Source: The Latest News - https://www.nieuwsblad.be/cnt/dmf20190604_04444507