Communication of Non-Governmental Organizations via Facebook Social Network

Abstract

The paper explores online communication of environmental non-governmental organizations (NGO) with their stakeholders. The aim of the research is to determine whether organizations use Facebook social network, and what communicative purpose they use it for. The subject of analysis has been firstly the transparency of NGO operations, secondly the engagement of stakeholders for the purposes of strengthening relationships and securing resources, and thirdly the potential of Facebook social network as a public relations tool that is able to ensure openness in the activities of the civil sector. Based on the conducted study, it was concluded that majority of environmental NGOs have still not developed an awareness on the benefits of this type of communication, and that only minority of organizations which do use Facebook as a public relations tool pay any significant attention to establishing of interactive dialogue with the main stakeholders. For more exhaustive conclusions and in order to explain the findings from manager’s point of view, we used secondary data from surveys conducted by the NGO “Civic Initiatives”, such as questionnaires and in-depth interviews with managers of non-governmental organizations. The significance of this paper is that it provides an overview of the current situation in the study area and provides theoretical background and guidance to managers and public relations practitioners for the improvement of their activities.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ee.25.2.3594