Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Previous empirical studies of social media use by nonprofit organizations suggest
that its dialogic potential has not yet been fully realized. Yet drawing from content
analysis and surveys, these studies shed little light on the underlying motives and values
that drive nonprofit social media practices, neither do they address to what extent these
practices are effective on social media followers. To fill in the gaps of this existing
research, I conducted two qualitative studies to explore the experiences of multiple
stakeholders implicated in nonprofit social media use. First, I interviewed social media
point persons (SMPPs)—nonprofit employees who self-identified as being primarily
responsible for their organization’s social media planning and implementation—and
found that SMPPs’ mindsets and social media tactics reflect dialogic principles,
specifically those of mutuality, empathy, propinquity, risk and commitment. Second, I
conducted focus groups with individuals who followed some of the SMPPs’
organizations on Facebook, and found that their followers want nonprofit organizations to
take the lead building a community shaped by connection, dialogue and involvement. By
comparing perspectives of SMPPs and their followers, I found that dialogic activities on
social media can catalyze a culture of dialogue within a community, encouraging sharing,
mutual support and connections. To facilitate the process, nonprofit professionals have
taken on the role of a moderator that promotes dialogue centered around the community. Taken together, my research expands our current understanding about nonprofit
organizations’ roles in public relations, and raises questions for future research about how
nonprofit professionals balance the dialogic culture they work to cultivate on social
media with other organizational priorities within an organizational or even sector-wide
context.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:IUPUI/oai:scholarworks.iupui.edu:1805/17931 |
| Date | 11 1900 |
| Creators | Li, Yannan |
| Contributors | Voida, Amy, Benjamin, Lehn M., Burlingame, Dwight F., Shaker, Genevieve G., Parrish-Sprowl, John |
| Source Sets | Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Dissertation |
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