Management and Usage of Facebook Platform by Public Relation Practitioners: Ministry of Health in Focus.
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Date
2023-09
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
The aim of this study was to assess how the Ministry of Health’s public relation department manage and use Facebook platform during COVID-19 pandemic. A qualitative research approach was used. In-depth interviews conducted with communication professionals selected purposefully from the Ministry of Health. Messages posted between April 9, 2020 to July 7, 2020 on the Facebook page of the ministry also collected and analyzed. The social media integrated theory model as well as Content theory also used to evaluate the contents posted on MoH’s Facebook page. Ministry of Health used different approaches including three message presentation formats, designing content message that would increase public awareness regarding the pandemic as well as the ministry slightly used Facebook Boosters However, some of messages presented through these mechanisms lacks skill that needed to develop or write for social media. In addition, the Facebook page managed without any or very little interaction with the public. Many Scholars including Garcia’s social media integration theory affirm that lack of engagement with public believed to reduce to the audience number and effectiveness of the page. However, the MoH’s Facebook page has exhibited different performance without public engagement. The page has able to gain millions of followers, which used to be ten thousand before the pandemic. Therefore, the researcher concluded that circumstances and the privileged given to the ministry has enabled it garner millions of followers.
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COVID-19 pandemic