Central Bank Communication with Public: Bank of England and Twitter (X)

TL;DR

This study analyzes how the Bank of England's Twitter content influences public engagement, revealing that media-rich, well-timed posts significantly boost interaction, with implications for central bank communication strategies.

Contribution

It provides empirical insights into engagement drivers for central bank social media, highlighting content type, timing, and media format effects on public interaction.

Findings

Media content greatly increases engagement, e.g., videos by 1700%.

Evening posts attract more interaction despite fewer posts.

Content quality and timing outperform posting frequency in effectiveness.

Abstract

Central banks increasingly use social media to communicate beyond financial markets, yet evidence on public engagement effectiveness remains limited. Despite 113 central banks joining Twitter between 2008 and 2018, we lack understanding of what drives audience interaction with their content. To examine engagement determinants, we analyzed 3.13 million tweets mentioning the Bank of England from 2007 to 2022, including 9,810 official posts. We investigate posting patterns, measure engagement elasticity, and identify content characteristics predicting higher interaction. The Bank's posting schedule misaligns with peak audience engagement times, with evening hours generating the highest interaction despite minimal posting. Cultural content, such as the Alan Turing 50 pound note, achieved 1,300 times higher engagement than routine policy communications. Engagement elasticity averaged 1.095 with substantial volatility during events like Brexit, contrasting with the Federal Reserve's stability. Media content dramatically increased engagement: videos by 1,700 percent, photos by 126 percent, while monetary policy announcements and readability significantly enhanced all metrics. Content quality and timing matter more than posting frequency for effective central bank communication. These findings suggest central banks should prioritize accessible, media-rich content during high-attention periods rather than increasing volume, with implications for digital communication strategies in fulfilling public transparency mandates.