Communication Strategies: Problem of Sustained Engagement on Social Media Platforms in Kenya’s Political Discourse

Abstract

This paper focuses on communication strategies used to sustain engagement on social media in Kenya. While social media platforms have transformed political engagement globally, little is known about their effectiveness in Kenya, creating a need to examine how they influence political dialogue and participation. This study investigated the strategies employed by social media to shape political discourse among Kenyan youth. It was anchored on the Agenda-Setting Theory (McCombs & Shaw, 1968; Rogers & Dearing, 1988), focusing on media, public, and policy agendas and the Diffusion of Innovation Theory (Rogers, 1962), which considers innovation adoption, communication channels, time, and social systems. Using a descriptive research design with a qualitative approach, data were collected from 42 participants through interviews, questionnaires, and focus group discussions. Participants were drawn from a target population of 500 Generation Z students at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA) using non-probability snowball sampling. Data were analysed qualitatively and thematically. Findings revealed that social media shapes political discourse through four key strategies: information dissemination and awareness, content sharing and visual communication, dialogical engagement and opinion shaping, and online mobilisation and advocacy. The study concludes that social media is a powerful tool for political engagement, enabling Kenyan youth to access information, express opinions, and participate in democratic processes in the digital era. This study contributes fresh insights to debates on digital engagement in Sub-Saharan Africa.