Kommuners externkommunikation på Instagram

Abstract

My purpose with this study was to examine how some local counties in Sweden are using Instagram as a means of communication, and also why. I used a blend of different theories in this study, among them city branding and strategic communication. I did interviews with communications officers in charge of the Instagram account at seven local counties around Sweden. I also studied their strategic documents connected to the accounts, using text analysis method. I found that the purpose of the Instagram accounts is to strengthen the brand of the county. The target audiences is mainly the citizens living in the county, but the communications officers are also hoping to reach tourist and perhaps even potential new citizens. I also found that there are two kinds of accounts, one where the county itself publishes updates and one where citizens are allowed to take over the account through rotation curation. I also found that dialogue between the followers of the account and the county is barely existing. The followers do like pictures, and sometimes comment on them but when they do they just simply compliment the posted image, an “extended like”. They rarely ask questions or write something that leads to a meaningful dialogue.