The Use of Social Media by New Zealand Non-Profits for Community Engagement and Public Trust

Abstract

Many studies showed that non-profits do not fully strategise social media for community engagement and enhance public trust. This research aimed to explore how non-profits use social media for community engagement and public trust in NZ. Plus, it discovered what the challenges and opportunities were. The Social Capital Theory is used as the theoretical foundation for this study, in relation to five dimensions: network, trust, reciprocity, social norms, and personal and collective efficacy. A literature and scoping review, followed by a qualitative approach that relied on relativist ontology and constructivist epistemology backed by a series of semi-structured interviews with social media representatives of non-profits was performed.

Research findings reflected a light and distant relationship with knowledge networks, compared to the closer groups in community engagement. There is a strong bond with the trust component, especially when non-profits hear the voices of beneficiaries, perceive transparency, and accountability. A weaker bond is displayed for reciprocity since social media use is for mutual support, goodwill, and recognition. However, non-profits showed a strong bond with social norms when communicating appropriate expected behaviour on social media, including donations, volunteering, or mobilising, suggesting that they are habitual and socially valued actions. Social media promotes personal and collective efficacy from a sense of visibility and mastery experiences from storytelling and testimonials.

Networking has a bond since the majority maintain consistent interactions and create authentic content that fosters interactions to create a space where the community feels heard and connected. Sharing thoughts, experiences, and vulnerabilities helped non-profits to build trust and create a deeper connection with the community, resulting in loyalty. The hesitancy to disclose financial information on social media to boost transparency and trust with donors and supporters resulted in a weaker bond in building and maintaining public trust. As a result, building and maintaining public trust on social media is reasonably low for the majority. The scarcity of resources, lack of training, technological advancements, rapid platform commercialisation, triggering tailored content strategies, privacy, and scam issues have posed significant challenges to non-profits in optimising social media use. However, the emergence of user-friendly digital tools has significantly increased technical and creative upskilling, with greater ease and efficiency for using social media to a notable extent.

Most of the non-profits have not introduced social media into their larger communication strategy, and the organisational brand was not included. The policies that operate within the strategic framework of the non-profits were not regular and consistent across. The theoretical and practical implications of this study were discussed, including the consequences of the above limitations. Research recommendations propose practical approaches based on the findings, followed by the potential areas for future studies. The researcher expected that this research would guide future studies, inform policy decisions, and advance knowledge.