Evaluating the Effectiveness of Social Media in Promoting Public Engagement and Transparency: A Mixed-Methods Case Study of Lusaka City Council

This study evaluates the effectiveness of social media in promoting public engagement and transparency through Lusaka City Council's digital communication strategies. Anchored in a pragmatist research paradigm and drawing on the Technology Acceptance Model, Participatory Governance Theory, and Transparency-Trust Theory, the research adopted a mixed-methods, single case-study design. A stratified random sample of 402 residents across five Lusaka constituencies completed a structured Likert-scale questionnaire, complemented by semi-structured interviews with twenty LCC communication officers and eight senior administrators, a focus group discussion with twelve civil society representatives, and six months of social media content analysis. Quantitative data, analysed using IBM SPSS Version 27, revealed that all three thematic scales fell significantly below the neutral midpoint of 3.00: communication strategy (M = 2.81), transparency perception (M = 2.70), and responsiveness (M = 2.49). One-sample t-tests, chi-square tests, Pearson correlations, ANOVA, and multiple regression confirmed statistically significant and pervasive dissatisfaction across demographic groups. Qualitative thematic analysis identified three converging themes: strategic communication deficit, breakdown of transparency and trust, and structural-institutional barriers with clear improvement opportunities, most notably citizen demand for expanded WhatsApp use and routine transparency reporting. Triangulation demonstrated that citizen dissatisfaction stems from identifiable institutional behaviours—ad hoc posting, selective disclosure, and under-resourced response systems—rather than subjective perception alone. The study concludes that LCC's social media presence has not yet translated into meaningful engagement, accountability, or trust. It recommends a formal digital communication strategy, a dedicated digital communication unit, published response-time standards, and mobile-first, multilingual approaches to bridge the identified gaps in Zambian municipal governance.