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Erna Uricska

Online reputation management on the Instagram profile of police_hu

Online reputation management on the Instagram profile of police_hu

Abstract

In recent decades several experts have argued that the relationship between the police and the community is particularly determined by the quality of communication. The findings of studies carried out by Google show that 22 percent of the organisations and companies searched for themselves online in 2001. The figure was 56% in 2013, so it can be assumed that this proportion will be even higher in 2021. Thus, it is no wonder that in the digital age a new concept, an essential professional and social skill is emerging – online reputation management. It is not indifferent what type of digital footprint has been left behind in the online space, and it is not only true for citizens, but also for companies and organisations, and for the police as well, nowadays. The aim of reputation management is to make the overall picture of the organisation well-known and influence it positively. The use of policing social networking sites is applied between the police as a service provider organisation and the members of the community, and there is a chance for sharing and getting real time information. As a result, policing social networking sites bear utmost importance for citizens, journalists and press officers as well. Police officers not only seek to share information but persuade the citizens to cooperate. The limited importance of textual content can be seen and in parallel, the visual content has become more important. It can be stated that the members of community do not expect a quantitative, but a qualitative presence. Thus, it is the number and quality of comments that reveal how deeply users have been involved in the topic and its imagery content. This study deals with the Instagram profile of the Hungarian Police (police_hu) between July 3, 2019 and July 3, 2020. Applying the method of discourse analysis, the research characterises the most popular and most commented entries during the one-year period. As a result, it can be said that the process taking place on the Instagram of the Hungarian Police implements a kind of brand building, which can be considered as a positive example of police communication, while the characteristics of policing digilect can be well observed and analysed.

Keywords

Social Media, Instagram, Hungarian Police, online reputation
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