Abstract:

Social media platforms, which have an important place in people's lives with the development of communication technologies, mediate the development of an interactive communication structure in today's conditions. Public institutions are also actively involved in social media platforms, where a large part of the citizens who make up the target audience, is to provide interaction. Local governments, which have a public legal personality, also need public relations through social media to strengthen their relations with their citizens, get the support of the public, and express themselves correctly. Within the scope of the research, it is aimed to reveal the level of use of Twitter accounts and the mutual interaction status of metropolitan municipalities and mayors from local government units in the context of public relations. Within this framework, Twitter accounts of the five metropolitan municipalities and mayors with the highest population according to the TUIK 2021 report were examined between January 1, 2022, and January 31, 2022. In the context of public relations, Twitter usage of relevant public institutions has been evaluated by using content analysis method over three categories: account structure, sharing interaction, and content. Accordingly, it has been determined that there is a relationship network between the Twitter platforms of municipalities and mayors. In addition, it has been observed that municipalities and mayors actively use the Twitter platform, but the shares are more informative, apart from an interaction-oriented understanding.

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