Looking for Friends, Fans, and Followers? Social Media Use in Public and Nonprofit Human Services
Author | Christopher J. Wells,David A. Campbell,Kristina T. Lambright |
DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/puar.12261 |
Date | 01 September 2014 |
Published date | 01 September 2014 |
David A. Campbell is associate profes-
sor and chair of the Public Administration
Department in the College of Community
and Public Affairs at Binghamton University.
His research interests include performance
measurement in nonprofi t organizations,
philanthropy, and campus-based civic
engagement. He has published his research
in a cross-section of public administration
and nonprofi t management journals.
E-mail: dcamp@binghamton.edu
Kristina T. Lambright is associate
professor of public administration in the
College of Community and Public Affairs
at Binghamton University. Her research
interests include service delivery structure,
contracting, organizational performance,
and campus-based civic engagement. She
has published or has articles forthcoming
in several journals, including the Journal
of Public Administration Research
and Theory, Journal of Policy Analysis
and Management, Administration &
Society, American Review of Public
Administration, Nonprofi t and
Voluntary Sector Quarterly, and the
Journal of Public Affairs Education.
E-mail: klambrig@binghamton.edu
Christopher J. Wells is a 2013 gradu-
ate of the master of public administration
program at Binghamton University. He
currently works in the nonprofi t sector in
Washington, D.C.
E-mail: cjwells67@gmail.com
Looking for Friends, Fans, and Followers? Social Media Use in Public and Nonprofi t Human Services 655
Public Administration Review,
Vol. 74, Iss. 5, pp. 655–663. © 2014 by
The American Society for Public Administration.
DOI: 10.1111/puar.12261.
David A. Campbell
Kristina T. Lambright
Christopher J. Wells
Binghamton University
is article uses interviews and Internet data to examine
social media use among nonprofi t organizations and
county departments involved in the delivery of human
services in a six-county area in south-central New York
State. Social media use was modest, with nonprofi t
organizations much more likely to use it than county
departments. Organizations used social media primarily
to market organizational activities, remain relevant to
key constituencies, and raise community awareness. Most
organizations either had a narrow view of social media’s
potential value or lacked a long-term vision. Barriers to
use included institutional policies, concerns about the
inappropriateness of social media for target audiences,
and client confi dentiality. Findings build on recent
research regarding the extent to which nonprofi t organi-
zations and local governments use social media to engage
stakeholders. Future research should investigate not only
the diff erent ways organizations use social media but
also whether organizations use it strategically to advance
organizational goals.
The proliferation of social media has changed
how people provide and receive informa-
tion, creating fundamentally diff erent ways
for individuals to interact with
each other and democratizing
participation in community life.
Social media has the poten-
tial to change a wide variety
of management practices in
nonprofi t and public organiza-
tions. For example, social media
has contributed to innovations
in how nonprofi t organizations approach fund-raising,
organizing, and advocacy (for illustrations, see Guo
and Saxton 2014; Kapin and Ward 2013). It is easy to
imagine how social media’s emphasis on engagement
and dialogue could contribute to similar advances in
performance measurement for both nonprofi t and
public organizations (e.g., Kanter and Paine 2012).
Researchers have shown an increasing interest in
the role of social media in nonprofi t organizations
(Bortree and Seltzer 2008; Guo and Saxton 2014;
Lovejoy and Saxton 2012; Lovejoy, Waters, and
Saxton 2012; Waters and Jamal 2011) and local
government (Bonsón et al. 2012; Hand and Ching
2011; Kavanaugh et al. 2012; Klang and Nolin 2011).
Although this research has provided a valuable founda-
tion for understanding social media use in those set-
tings, there are several gaps in our current knowledge,
which this article addresses. First, much of the recent
research in the nonprofi t fi eld has examined social
media use among large, prominent nonprofi t organi-
zations but not among smaller, community-based
entities. Similarly, research on social media use by local
governments has focused primarily on entities located
in larger metropolitan areas. Second, previous studies
have considered either nonprofi t or public organiza-
tions, but not both and not comparatively. Finally,
researchers have not focused on how leaders in human
services use social media to advance organizational
goals. e close relationship between human service
providers and their stakeholders ( particularly benefi -
ciaries and funders) suggests considerable potential
for those organizations to draw on social media’s
capacity to engage stakeholders. To address these gaps
in our knowledge, this study
analyzes data gathered through
interviews and Internet searches
to explore how nonprofi t
organizations and county
departments involved in the
delivery of human services
in a six-county region in
south- central New York State
use social media. e article addresses the following
questions:
1. To what extent are nonprofi t and public
human service organizations using social
media?
2. Why are these organizations using social
media? In particular, to what extent do these
organizations use social media to engage
stakeholders?
Looking for Friends, Fans, and Followers? Social Media
Use in Public and Nonprofi t Human Services
Social media has the potential
to change a wide variety
of management practices
in nonprofi t and public
organizations.
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