What 1.2 million government posts can teach you.
We have the data almost nobody else has: the daily Facebook activity of 5,000+ U.S. city and county governments. This is where we turn it into answers you can use.
A Link Costs You Likes, Not Shares
“Don’t put links in your posts” is half right. Across 1.1 million posts, a link costs a quarter of your engagement — but it falls almost entirely on likes (0.67×) while shares run dead even at 1.00×. Link posts are proportionally more shareable. Plus the 64% swing that comes from moving the URL to the end, and why writing more beats writing less. Seven screenshot case studies. Read the analysis →
New · DataSocial Media as the Front Door to the Civic Core
One post in five points residents to an owned channel — and 94.7% of governments do it. But it’s overwhelmingly one door: 23 website links for every emergency-alert signup. Every pointer costs reach (0.60× own-page median), yet a bare link runs 0.09× while the same ask inside a video runs 1.02×. With charts and seven screenshot case studies of asks that worked anyway. Read the analysis →
New · Data#CityHallSelfie Day 2026: 248 Governments, and the Best-Performing Post Most of Them Will Publish All Year
We measured every post from August 11. The median City Hall Selfie earned 4× its own page’s normal engagement and 85% of participants beat their own median — the biggest lift we’ve recorded for any content type, from a phone photo. Plus the Georgia anomaly: 40.7% participation against a 5.5% national rate. Seven screenshot case studies. Read the recap →
DataData Centers Are the Most Comment-Heavy Subject in Local Government — and the Fastest-Growing
1,030 posts from 422 governments: the rate tripled in eleven months and the number of governments involved grew six-fold. A quarter of these posts draw 25+ comments — eight times the normal rate. Governments are mostly convening and regulating, not celebrating, and water outranks power as the top concern. With charts and six screenshot case studies. Read the analysis →
DataHow Local Governments Manage Rumors and Misinformation Online: Inside 540 Real Responses
We pulled every direct rumor response from 1.1 million posts and read them for the how: five techniques governments converge on — from Bethany, OK’s three-sentence correction to Monroe, OH’s permanent Fact Check page — plus what gets corrected, the 75% rise in the practice, and the arrival of AI-image corrections. A field guide with six screenshot case studies. Read the analysis →
DataElection Posts Get Shared More and Commented On Less. Two in Five Governments Never Publish One.
We found the 16,854 election posts inside 1.1 million: compared to a government’s own other content, election posts are shared 5.4 points more often, commented on 3.7 points less often, and less likely to draw a large comment thread. Yet 39.6% of governments never post one, the median government posts once, and on Election Day 21.3% of everything local government says is about voting — before the topic falls 91% the following week. With screenshot case studies from five governments. Read the analysis →
DataVideo Earns Local Governments 2–3× the Engagement. It’s 2% of What They Post.
708,415 posts across 4,773 governments: video earns a median 16 interactions vs 5 — and it still wins when you compare each government to itself. Yet it’s 2.3% of the median calendar, and the one topic where video delivers zero lift is the most over-filmed. Read the analysis →
New · ProductMeet the Post Composer: Type a Topic, Get a Post — Grounded in Real Peer Examples
Now on every GovFeeds account: type what the post is about, click Draft with AI, and get a ready-to-edit Facebook post — with the real peer posts it drew on listed and linked, honest [placeholders] instead of invented facts, an optional matching graphic, and one-click hand-off to Meta Business Suite. With real screenshots of an unedited run. See it in action →
New · From our inbox“We Are LIVING for These Benchmark Reports!!” — What Users Actually Say
Verbatim, de-identified reactions from the communicators using GovFeeds: reports that go straight to boards and staff meetings, our first subscriber’s two-year story, the peer question everyone asks first, the requests that built our roadmap — and how it spreads peer to peer. Read their words →
New · DataWhen Local Governments Turn Off Facebook Comments — and What It Costs
About 1 in 8 local-government pages run with comments off — most among small towns, and in some states over a third. They also earn ~two-thirds fewer likes and 40–55% fewer shares per post, even versus same-size peers. What the data shows, and what to do about it. Read the analysis →
New · DataWhat an Engaging Month of Municipal Social Media Looks Like
We rebuilt 23,167 municipality-months — split into three population bands — to find which topics engage residents, how much to post, and when. Infrastructure, public safety, and events lead at every size; the weekend is wide open. Includes a copyable content calendar. See the calendar →
New · DataWhat Local Governments Should Post on Facebook
We ranked 667,000+ posts by engagement to find the content themes that actually land — and the one type of post governments publish most but engages least. Read the ranking →
New · DataLocal Governments Get Shared More Than Commented On
56% of local-government posts earn a share; only 34% earn a comment. Why residents forward civic info instead of debating it — and what that means for how you post and measure. Read the report →
New · DataHow Local Governments Are Talking About AI on Facebook
We read nearly a million government posts and found 957 where cities and counties talk about AI — policy and ordinances, data centers, scam warnings, chatbots, and more. Seven themes, with screenshots of the real posts from 570 governments. Read the report →
Data reportBest Time for Cities to Post on Facebook
We analyzed local-government Facebook posts to find the days and times that actually drive engagement — and why the generic “post at 9 a.m.” advice doesn’t fit local government. Read the breakdown →
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What’s a Good Engagement Rate for Local Government?
The real range across local governments — so you can see what’s typical and what’s exceptional, instead of chasing one misleading average.
The Most-Engaging Local Gov Posts of 2026
The standout posts across 5,000 accounts — with a teardown of why each one worked.
What Makes a Local-Gov Post Go Viral?
We reverse-engineer the top 1% by content type, topic, and format.
PIO Social Media Metrics for Your Council Report
The handful of numbers worth putting in front of elected officials — and the ones to skip.
A Social Media Report Template for City Council
A free, benchmark-ready template you can drop your numbers into. Gated download.
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