Social media utilisation as relationship building component in the Public Relations (PR) strategy of nonprofit organisations (NGOs) - An example of an international NGO 'Mercy Corps'

Master's Thesis from the year 2012 in the subject Communications - Public Relations, Advertising, Marketing, Social Media, grade: 2,0, , language: English, abstract: The developments in the digital word introduced new communications channels in the Public Relations (PR) work, which encompass technologies such as social networking. PR and communications practitioners generally accept this development as an advantageous phenomenon. However, recent research on social media has shown that the PR industry in the nonprofit sector lacks a full integration of new media to its full extent in order to be more efficient. Limited research has been carried out to explore the challenges in the adoption of social media channels in this particular sector. This study sought to explore the experiences and perceptions on the process of social media integration in an international NGO. By using the findings of semi-structured interviews of the staff and that of the content analysis of the deployed social media channels, it aims to investigate the effect of social media communication on the relationship building with the supporters through dialogue. The study revealed that different concepts such as dialogical communication and relationship building have enormous value within the online PR work in organisations. The new online platforms can be used for building relationships with stakeholders by embracing two-way communication which leads to a mutual understanding and commitment from the donors. It seemed that strategic social media adoption is also dependant on the organisational culture and power structures in it. Providing for a different understanding of organisational goals and the value of social media on the management level can marginalise a successful contribution of these channels to the strategic communications and fundraising work. The conclusions from this research represent a broad theoretical framework for further research into the effects of social media on successful PR practice in NGOs on a local, national and international level.