Territorial intelligence in rural areas: The digitization of non-profit associations through social media

Rural communities are facing the challenge of technological development to address territorial management, by overcoming the digital divide, by introducing digitization in these resilient areas and connecting them. This article thus analyses the relationship that exists between territorial intelligence and development in rural areas through the use of social networks in non-profit associations. The aims are to establish the monitoring and evaluation of social networks in the Local Action Groups (LAGs) of Andalusia and to establish whether the demographic vacuum conditions interactivity.Fourteen indicators have been developed that are linked to social networks, using the LAGs’ websites—Facebook, Twitter and YouTube—as sources. The purpose of all this is to examine the volume of information and the degree of visibility that exists on each of the three platforms. Three indices of interactivity are obtained which are finally included in a cluster analysis.The results show that these associations use social networks more as a means of unidirectional communication with little interaction with society at large. Facebook continues to be the most widely used tool for spreading information in the rural environment. Although the majority of LAGs make an effort to communicate with each other, they should create more synergies. Rural depopulation need not hinder interactivity; a change of mentality is needed, along with the creation of new cultural paradigms for the delivery and use of public services.