Challenges to the successful implementation of social media in a South African municipality

Abstract

Social Media has been embraced by government agencies around the world as a tool to transform interaction with citizens and enhance public participation. The selected municipality has adopted Social Media in such a capacity, however, it has been faced with challenges in their efforts. This paper explores the challenges in Social Media adoption in this municipality based on interviews with the Communications department who are responsible for both offline and online communications. Using thematic analysis, five categories of challenges were identified; Information, Administrative, Legal, Social and Economic, and Technological. The study reveals a lack of leadership support at the municipality being the biggest obstacle to change; other challenges are closely linked to this issue. This study contributes to the current discussion on Social Media adoption in South African government and is a positive step towards developing a solution to its successful and effective implementation.