How international nonprofit organizations can use Facebook to build relationships with potential donors and volunteers

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to investigate and discuss the applications of marketing in the nonprofit sector, among international nonprofit organizations. The paper will focus on the role of Facebook in nonprofit marketing, this study aims to investigate the connection between Facebook engagement and real world behavior – in this case, donation and volunteer activity. The goals of this investigation were accomplished through a mixture of qualitative and quantitative research backed by a thorough literature review. The content of three nonprofit organizations’ Facebook pages was analyzed, and a survey was administered to the followers of these organizations. Findings revealed that a follower’s perceptions of the content shared by the nonprofit organization, as well as his/her relationship with that nonprofit organization, positively influences that follower’s engagement on Facebook in the form of likes, comments and shares. It was also revealed that engagement via Facebook is related to a follower’s real-world donation and volunteer behavior. To achieve success via Facebook and garner donors and volunteers, international nonprofit organizations must therefore focus on sharing interesting and engaging content as well as building relationships with their followers through Relationship Marketing techniques and online interactivity.