The Impact of Social Media on Volunteerism

Abstract

This paper seeks to answer the question of how social media can be best used to supplement traditional media in a volunteer recruitment campaign. Various social media channels are experimented with to build a network of concerned citizen stakeholder groups. In this study, an array of social media interventions was employed, and their success was tracked to gauge their impact on volunteer engagement. The results of these efforts are reported. It was found that social media can be an effective supplement to traditional media for certain forms of volunteer engagement and recruitment, but that social media alone cannot build enduring relationships, nor can it forge new ties with community members. Organizations interested in social media marketing should be advised to use these new channels as supplements to traditional media, not replacements for tried and true methods. This study raises several questions about the actual utility of social media in a volunteer recruitment context. A literature review helps to sharpen the focus of these questions, and is therefore presented first. The recruitment or engagement of volunteers is the lifeblood for many community-based organizations, yet it can also be a source of frustration. Organizations that rely on volunteers know that building a successful volunteer program is cumulatively time consuming; finding and communicating with new volunteers, developing volunteer opportunities, and building relationships with existing volunteers requires both energy and a sustained commitment.

The web is saturated with advice on how social media can be harnessed; tools exist as platforms suited to building loose and informal social networks. Regardless of the hype, and despite there being many instances where they are indeed successful, questions remain of how reliable these tools are. The influence of loose and informal social networks is difficult to determine - enduring volunteer relationships are founded on shared commitments and trust. Moreover, social networks are fleeting; participants may engage for a single post or event, and the inherent informality and relative anonymity of social media can easily discourage dialogue or a sense of commitment. Finally, the professional applications of social media are not yet well understood. Businesses are enamored with the advent of social networking and social media, hoping to harness its widespread influence to bolster marketing efforts. But for all the hype, there remains little empirical evidence to support – or refute – the supposed utility of social media, particularly when it comes to engagement or recruitment efforts where traditional media has a long and well established precedent.

Keywords-social media, volunteerism, recruitment campaign, community engagement, traditional media, volunteer relationships, stakeholder networks, marketing strategies.