Creating Vocal Advocates on Twitter

1. CREATING VOCAL
ADVOCATES ON
TWITTER
GAPS & DISAGREEMENTS

2. GOAL:
• Through content analysis, this study will investigate which
types of messaging on the social media networking site,
Twitter, are the most effective in turning online users into
engaged and active publics within the education-based
nonprofit community.

3. DISAGREEMENTS
• Previous studies have indicated that non-profit organizations tend to use Twitter
for one-way message communication (Lovejoy 2012, Waters 2009, Waters 2011 &
Xifra 2010).
• In regard to message content, a research study conducted in 2013 revealed that
the majority of tweets were aimed at providing information to stakeholders,
followed by building an online community and then calling that community to
action (Saxton, 2013).

4. DISAGREEMENTS
“Rather than using public messages to reply to other Twitter
users or connecting to others by retweeting messages that
may be helpful to others, nonprofits are primarily using the
site to relay information using one-way communication,”
(Lovejoy & Saxton, 2012)

5. DISAGREEMENTS
• Saxton and Waters (2014), which examined what information stakeholders
engaged with and shared on Facebook, conversely found that nonprofits'
Facebook publics are more receptive to community building and call-to-action
messages.
• In contrast to prior studies, Saxton and Waters (2014) research found that one-
way messaging such as event promotion, fundraising messages and informational
messages were less successful in garnering audience engagement.
Where does my research fit in?

6. GAPS
• Although information is known about how nonprofit organizations are using
Twitter, there is little research pertaining to how target audiences respond to
different types of messaging.
• Prior research concerning social media use by nonprofit organizations indicates
that there is a gap between sending out information and creating dialogue
(Waters, 2009).
• As a result, this study aims to explore how nonprofits are communicating on
Twitter and what messages they are using to motivate users to become active
publics.

7. IMPORTANCE
• Purpose: Develop an understanding of current Twitter practices among
education-based nonprofit organizations and to determine how they can
influence social change by creating vocal advocates for their cause.
• This information will be valuable to:
• Nonprofit organizations using social media who wish to increase their
active
• Beneficial to any organization interested in learning more about their
social media audience and how to develop messages which will best
appeal to them.