Social Media and the Social Good: How Nonprofits Use Facebook to Communicate with the Public
Abstract: In this study, we examine the social networking practices of the 100 largest nonprofit organizations in the United States. More specifically, we develop a comprehensive classification scheme to delineate these organizations' use of Facebook as a stakeholder engagement tool. We find that there are 5 primary categories of Facebook "statuses", which can be aggregated into three key dimensions - "information", "community", and "action". Our analysis reveals that, though the "informational" use of Facebook is still significant, nonprofit organizations are better at using Facebook to strategically engage their stakeholders via "dialogic" and "community-building" practices than they have been with traditional websites. The adoption of social media seems to have engendered new paradigms of public engagement.
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What is this paper about?
This paper looks at how big charities in the United States use Facebook to talk with the public. The authors examined what these nonprofits post on their Facebook pages and grouped those posts into simple types to understand whether Facebook helps them share news, build relationships, and inspire people to take action.
What questions did the researchers want to answer?
The study focused on two easy-to-grasp questions:
- What kinds of messages do nonprofits post on Facebook?
- How much do nonprofits rely on Facebook to share information, build a sense of community, and motivate people to do something (like donate or volunteer)?
How did they do the study?
Think of a nonprofit’s Facebook page like a public bulletin board and a chat space combined. The main things they looked at were “status updates,” which are the short posts organizations put on their page for all followers to see.
Here’s the approach in everyday terms:
- Picking who to study: They started with the 100 largest U.S. nonprofits (based on money raised in 2008). Big groups were more likely to have active Facebook pages.
- Gathering posts: Using a simple computer script (written in Python), they downloaded each organization’s Facebook status updates posted between December 5, 2009 and January 4, 2010. After removing duplicates, they had 1,036 posts. Of the 100 nonprofits, 65 had official Facebook pages.
- Sorting the posts: Two team members read the posts and labeled each one based on what it was trying to do. This process is called “content analysis.” To make sure their labels were consistent, they double-checked each other’s work and agreed about 93% of the time (that’s strong agreement).
- Grouping the labels: The posts fell into three main functions:
- Information: sharing news and updates about the organization and its work.
- Community-building: starting conversations, thanking people, asking questions, and sharing stories to make followers feel involved.
- Mobilization (action): encouraging people to donate, attend events, or take specific actions (like contacting a senator).
- Comparing organizations: They also looked at how much each organization relied on each function. This helped them see which groups mostly shared information, which mostly pushed for action, and which focused on building community.
What did they find and why does it matter?
The big picture: nonprofits use Facebook for more than just announcements—though announcements still dominate.
Key results (roughly):
- Information posts were most common (about 52%). These included things like project updates, links to news, and stories about what the charity was doing.
- Mobilization/action posts were also significant (about 32% total), broken down into:
- Fundraising (about 20%)
- Event promotion (about 9%)
- Calls to action (about 3%), like asking followers to advocate for a cause
- Community-building posts made up about 16%. These were posts like holiday greetings, thank-yous, quizzes, and questions meant to get followers talking and feeling connected.
When they compared organizations:
- Most active organizations were “information providers” (they mostly posted updates).
- A smaller group leaned toward “promotion/mobilization.”
- Surprisingly, none were mainly “community builders,” although some mixed approaches (e.g., both information and action).
Why this matters:
- Compared to old-style websites, Facebook makes two-way conversation easier. People can comment, ask questions, and react publicly. This helps charities build trust and a sense of belonging, which can lead to more support over time.
- Still, many nonprofits weren’t fully using the “community” side of Facebook. There’s room to grow in creating real dialogue, not just broadcasting news.
What does this mean going forward?
Implications and impact:
- For nonprofits: Facebook (and social media in general) can do three powerful things—inform, connect, and mobilize. To get the most out of it, charities should balance these three, especially investing more in community-building and two-way conversations.
- For the public: When organizations listen and respond, people feel valued and are more likely to donate, volunteer, and spread the word.
- For the sector: Even large nonprofits often have limited staff and time. Managing social media well takes planning and effort. But it can pay off by strengthening relationships and increasing support.
- Limits of the study: It looked at one month, focused on large U.S. nonprofits, and couldn’t see private messages (which might be where some real conversations happen). So results are a snapshot, not the whole story.
- Future directions: Researchers can explore how different types of nonprofits (like advocacy groups vs. service providers) use social media, look at other platforms, and study how followers respond. The lessons also apply outside the U.S.—any nonprofit can use social media to reach people and build trust.
In short, the study shows that Facebook is more than a notice board—it’s a conversation space and a launchpad for action. Nonprofits that use all three functions—information, community, and mobilization—can better achieve their missions.
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