Sustainability, Journalism & Media Regeneration Conference

University of South Carolina October 2011Carol Terracina Hartman M. Laeeq Khan Michigan State

University

Are Trees Social? Nonprofit Environmental Groups

Use of Social Media

Outline

Terracina-Hartman C. & Khan M. L.

Background: “A Game With no Rules” Issues Social Media Power Environmental communications Research hypotheses, Methods Preliminary Findings What Comes Next

Are Trees Social: Nonprofit Environmental Groups Use of Social Media

Issues

A year 2000 study by Hill & White, (p. 46, 2000), found that although practitioners valued their website in terms of its usefulness in providing information to their publics and it being helpful in improving organization’s competitiveness and image, however there was “skepticism about the value of a Web site, inadequate evaluation methods, inability to keep the site updated, and quality control expectations”.

Are Trees Social: Nonprofit Environmental Groups Use of Social Media

Issues

Nonprofits often stumble their way through public relations campaigns .

(Waters et al. 2008).

Are Trees Social: Nonprofit Environmental Groups Use of Social Media

Key Definitions

"Social Media is a group of Internet-based applications that builds on the ideological and technical foundations of Web 2.0 and that allow the creation and exchange of user-generation content. [Kaplan and Haenlien (2010)

“Web-based services that allow individuals to (1) construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, (2) articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and (3) view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system.” [boyd & Ellison, 2007]

Are Trees Social: Nonprofit Environmental Groups Use of Social Media

Powerful Social Media

http://www.nmk.co.uk/article/2008/6/2/winning-the-vote-on-the-web

Are Trees Social: Nonprofit Environmental Groups Use of Social Media

Widespread SM adoption

Individuals, profit oriented firms, governmental organizations and advocacy groups are making their presence felt on the Internet especially SNS.

Are Trees Social: Nonprofit Environmental Groups Use of Social Media

Powerful Social Media

Facebook is the 2nd most visited website!

(Alexa, 2009).

Online social networking sites played a pivotal role in advocacy and fundraising for the campaign

(White, 2010).

Are Trees Social: Nonprofit Environmental Groups Use of Social Media

Tweets & reTweets

“A closer look at re-tweets reveals that any re-tweeted tweet is to reach an average of 1,000 users no matter what the number of followers is of the original tweet.”

Kwak et. al, (2010)

Are Trees Social: Nonprofit Environmental Groups Use of Social Media

With power comes responsibility

Caution is the key

Not enough to build a profile on Facebook

Are Trees Social: Nonprofit Environmental Groups Use of Social Media

Exercising social media power

Continually act, spur people into action, inspire

Managing dialogic communications

Are Trees Social: Nonprofit Environmental Groups Use of Social Media

Environmental communication

Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) uses Twitter as a major tool for its social media outreach (White, 2010).

Claire Carlton, the social media manager for WWF’s Climate Policy Campaign in 2009 further stated that, “I see our web site as our home base, the blog as our podium and Twitter, YouTube, Flickr and LinkedIn as our mega phone…” (Catone, 2009).

Are Trees Social: Nonprofit Environmental Groups Use of Social Media

Sustainability, Image, Profitability

Greenpeace protest against Nestlé's sourcing of Palm oil from unsustainably managed rainforests in Indonesia

vs

Are Trees Social: Nonprofit Environmental Groups Use of Social Media

Successful Environmental Activism

http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/campaigns/climate-change/kitkat/

Are Trees Social: Nonprofit Environmental Groups Use of Social Media

Successful Social Media Campaign

Recency of updates

Integrated, coordinated campaign

Are Trees Social: Nonprofit Environmental Groups Use of Social Media

Possible pitfalls

Dealing with unforeseen situations

Digital divide may exclude a section of the fan following

Generation gap may impede social media success as older people may face difficulty in “mastering” the Internet (Miller, 2010).

Are Trees Social: Nonprofit Environmental Groups Use of Social Media

Hypotheses

RQ1: For which types of campaigns do nonprofit environmental groups use social media?

RQ2: Will nonprofit environmental groups increasingly rely on social media to network over traditional communication methods for recruiting, fundraising, communicating news, and information purposes?

Are Trees Social: Nonprofit Environmental Groups Use of Social Media

Hypotheses

RQ3: Do nonprofit environmental groups choose to use social media for a primary communication method to create a public image as sustainable?

R4: Users increasingly rely on social media for news and communication; therefore would nonprofit environmental groups desire to create an image as a reliable and credible source by networking and using the options available through social media?

Are Trees Social: Nonprofit Environmental Groups Use of Social Media

Methods

A pilot study

An online survey

Sierra Club The Nature Conservancy World Wildlife Fund Greenpeace Natural Resources Defense Council

Are Trees Social: Nonprofit Environmental Groups Use of Social Media

Preliminary Results

A tremendous gap between who makes the decision to use social media for a specific task and who actually conducts the task.

True for 5 of the 7 offices interviewed in summer 2011

Are Trees Social: Nonprofit Environmental Groups Use of Social Media

Gap – Decision making & Implementation

Communications manager lays out a plan.

Staffer, office manager, or an intern posts updates, photos, notices on Facebook or videos on YouTube.

Another person watches associate office pages for information to link to or comment on.

Much of the social media work – 7 of 7 offices – takes place off site – security, privacy – work at home

Are Trees Social: Nonprofit Environmental Groups Use of Social Media

Pilot – Other insights

6 of 7 nonprofit groups found Facebook and YouTube the most effective in terms of responses and network potential and found Flickr and their RSS feed provided a steady contact with the public.

Twitter offered the least benefit for the effort.

Are Trees Social: Nonprofit Environmental Groups Use of Social Media

What next? - Two layers of surveys

Pilot study indicated that a survey might indeed be addressed to all staff in the office of a nonprofit environmental group involved with social media in any way, not just the communications staff to fully gather opinions and experiences from all involved.

Two layers of surveys: 1 for management 1 for staff level

Are Trees Social: Nonprofit Environmental Groups Use of Social Media

Challenges, Potential

New line of research

Users not trained with new social media tools

Lack of clear user responsibilities

Are Trees Social: Nonprofit Environmental Groups Use of Social Media

Challenges, Potential

Difficulty in quantifying what is happening - Missing the “who” in the “who, what, when, where, why and how” of social media practices.

Decisions and usage of social media among nonprofit environmental groups is far more complex than basic public relations tools and therefore, is worthy of additional study.

Are Trees Social: Nonprofit Environmental Groups Use of Social Media

Thank you!

Questions?