Analysis of the Twitter communications of the Spanish Armed Forces and State Security Forces: an empirical model

Abstract

Social networks have become a major communication channel for organizations, including those focused on security and defense. This article specifically examines how the Spanish Armed Forces and State Security Forces communicate on Twitter, with the aim of analyzing the factors that influence engagement with their tweets. A model validated with a sample of 14,540 tweets shows the role that a series of variables related to rational and emotional communication attributes has. These variables are estimated utilizing techniques such as Python and VBA. Subsequently, a logistic model using IBM SSPS estimates the effect of each variable on the probability that a tweet will lead to more or less engagement. The results show that followers of military accounts, such as the Army, tend to have higher rates of interaction than followers of other accounts, even though military accounts have fewer total followers than police accounts. Furthermore, the results confirm the importance of using both rational and emotional stimuli for a message to be effective. To increase engagement, information provided by organizations should use elements such as hyperlinks, emojis, and photographs, and refer to topics that appeal to individuals´ emotions, such as patriotism.