Social media is an important channel for charitable organisations to reach potential donors and volunteers by communicating who and what requires their aid. This thesis aims to explain how a charitable organization can use these channels to its advantage through creating more reactions from their readers in the form of likes, comments and shares. This subject is explored under the following main research question:  Which aspects of a charity’s communication in social media creates the most and the least amount of reactions from those who receive the communication?  The research question is answered using an abductive approach in a netnographic observation of posts and comments on the Swedish Red Cross Facebook-wall during the months of September 2012 and September 2016. Data from two months with four years in between was observed in order to create further understanding of how this phenomenon has changed over time. Additionally, an interview was conducted with two employees at the Swedish Red Cross to supplement the netnographic observation.  The results of the study indicate that four overarching themes were essential in determining the reaction a post receives: Drama, a connection to news and sharing values led to more reactions, whilst urging the readers to take action led to fewer reactions. The results also show that whilst the Swedish Red Cross’ use of Facebook has become more professional since 2012, the themes determining how many reactions a post receives remain the same. The results were analysed using the theories of compassion fatigue, clicktivism and intertextuality.  Lastly, this thesis offers a discussion about how progressing towards increasingly striking messages in social media may result in people caring less. And furthermore, how the underlying mechanisms affecting people’s choices on social media may have consequences for society as a whole. / Sociala medier är viktiga kanaler för välgörenhetsorganisationer att nå ut till potentiella givare och volontärer med budskap om vem och vad som behöver deras hjälp. Den här uppsatsen syftar till att ta reda på hur en välgörenhetsorganisation kan nyttja dessa kanaler till sin fördel genom att framkalla fler reaktioner från sina läsare i form av gilla-markeringar, kommentarer och delningar. För att ta reda på detta har en övergripande forskningsfråga utformats:  Vilka aspekter av en välgörenhetsorganisations kommunikation i sociala medier leder till den största respektive minsta mängden reaktioner från dem som mottar kommunikationen?  Frågan besvaras med hjälp av en abduktiv studie som baseras på en netnografisk observation av inlägg och kommentarer i Svenska Röda Korsets Facebook-flöde under september 2012 och september 2016. Material från två månader med fyra års mellanrum har observerats för att skapa förståelse för hur fenomenet har ändrats över tid. Den netnografiska observationen kompletteras med en intervju med två anställda på Svenska Röda Korset.  Det sammantagna resultatet delas in i fyra övergripande teman som enligt studien varit avgörande för hur mycket reaktioner ett inlägg får, där dramatik, nyhetskoppling och värderingar leder till fler reaktioner medan uppmaningar leder till färre. Resultatet visade även att trots att Svenska Röda Korsets användning av Facebook har blivit mer professionell sedan år 2012, så var de teman som avgjorde antalet reaktioner desamma. Resultatet analyseras med hjälp av teorierna compassion fatigue, clicktivism och intertextualitet.  Slutligen diskuterar uppsatsen hur en utveckling mot alltmer slående budskap i sociala medier kan leda till att människor bryr sig mindre. Samt hur de underliggande mekanismerna som styr människors val på sociala medier kan innebära konsekvenser för samhället i stort.

Social media have become one of the most important tools for international development organizations when it comes to spreading their message and reach a greater number of followers around the world. However, the connection between the users and the organization is mainly based on one-click basic interactions which does not guarantee a strong commitment. The goal of this study is to check whether initiating a dialogue with users increases participation. We want to observe if there are noticeable improvements in the engagement that justifies a more frequent use of the conversation with the subscribers within the social media channels of the organization. We will analyse the work of UNESCO, the United Nations' specialized agency for education, science and culture. We have worked from within on the social media campaigns analysed.This research uses a mixed method combining quantitative results, such as statistical analysis, and qualitative results through content analysis and interviews with six experts in the management of social media. The Social Media Engagement Theory by Di Gangi and Wasko will provide the theoretical framework for this work.