The era of social media: An exploration of community responses to school districts’ Facebook crisis communication strategies

Love , Ebony Danielle

Item

The era of social media: An exploration of community responses to school districts’ Facebook crisis communication strategies

Love , Ebony Danielle

Date

2025-04-15

Abstract

The educational K-12 space is evolving. Communication is no longer about only coming together face to face or through newsletters or emails, but there is a preference to online, social media communications. In a society that has a social media-centric culture, school leaders must find ways to connect, collaborate, and effectively share critical information through social media sites. Especially when crisis arise, clear communication is crucial as school communities demands more transparency, rapid communication, and ease of access to information that is efficient and precise (Balasubramanian & Fernandes, 2022; Brion, 2021; Dirani et al., 2020; Eichenauer et al., 2022; Forster et al., 2020; Quinn & Spreitzer, 1997). A combination of Social Network Theory and Situational Crisis Theory framework, my netnographic dissertation builds a deeper understanding of crisis management communication strategies via social media. Through examining archival data and analyzing posts of Four North Texas School district Facebook communities. This dissertation answers the following questions: 1. What communication strategies do districts utilize to co-create Facebook culture with their K-12 community? 2. How can effective district communication be characterized by the community's reactions (via emojis/status buttons) and comments on district posts? The results show that by using netnography to examine Facebook cultures, districts can extract information that will guide strong communication strategies and practices to keep a strong culture between the school district and the larger K-12 community. Findings suggest that community members cared about the quality of postings, alluding to understanding the why behind the decisions during crisis and how the community needs to react verses the amount of postings provided. The timing of the post also makes a difference in the reception. This research? shows potential for netnography to be a viable research method in education and that there is a need for districts to better understand online communities that take on a culture of their own.