Assessing the use of social media for stakeholder communication in the environmental and faith-based NGO sector

Abstract

The debate about social media as a powerful tool to disseminate information timely and expansively is ongoing. The rise of social media for mainstream communication has resulted in organisations wanting to tap into this space to achieve organisational goals. Since 2010, social media has penetrated profoundly into the day-to-day running of life, influencing people's social communications and institutional bodies and in the corporate sector (van Dijck and Poell, 2013: 2). In South Africa, organisations evolve and adapt to the ever-changing communication platforms to understand and cater to the general public's needs and concerns. Organisations depend on people to respond to the work they put out. The public only responds if they feel considered and engaged by an organisation, which strongly depends on its relationship with its audience. The non-profit division proceeds to grow tremendously in Africa and globally. More than two hundred non-profit organisations are registered in South Africa alone. This number has increased, representing over 200% over the past decade (Radebe and Nkonyeni, 2020a). Being positioned in the Global South affords organisations in South Africa with diversity, a deeper understanding and connection to different values, and a range of communication freedoms. Steyn and Puth (2000:55) state that the organisation's members' commitment and energy are fuelled by the values that drive the organisation. The study assessed how faith-based NGOs increase awareness on climate change use social media to communicate with their external stakeholder groups.