The use of Facebook in the recruitment of foster carers: A dialogic analysis

• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/pa.1869
• Author: Jennifer Rowley,Rachel Stringfellow,Brendan Keegan
• Date: 01 May 2019
• Published date: 01 May 2019

ACADEMIC PAPER

The use of Facebook in the recruitment of foster carers:

A dialogic analysis

Rachel Stringfellow

1

|Brendan Keegan

2

|Jennifer Rowley

3

1

Division Children's Services, Bury Council,

Bury, UK

2

Social Media Marketing, Manchester

Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK

3

Department of Languages Information and

Communications, Manchester Metropolitan

University, Manchester, UK

Correspondence

Jennifer Rowley, Professor in Information and

Communications, Manchester Metropolitan

University, Manchester, UK.

Email: j.rowley@mmu.ac.uk

Social media is becoming increasingly important for communication and community

building, yet research on the use of social media by non‐profit organisations is limited

and largely restricted to content analysis of social media comments. This article con-

tributes to addressing this research gap, through a survey‐based study of the perspec-

tives of key informants in U.K. Local Authority fostering teams on their use of social

media. Specifically, it examines the extent to which the Facebook activity of local

authority fostering teams is aligned with the principles of successful social media

engagement, as represented by dialogic strategies and outcomes. A questionnaire

on the use of Facebook was circulated to all local authority fostering teams in

England. Findings suggest that although there is progress, many teams are at an early

stage in their social media journey and that there is considerable variation between

agencies. The limited evidence of engagement in relation to dialogic principles sug-

gests that there is some adoption of a strategic approach. In particular, of the three

dialogic principles associated with successful online engagement, two (updating and

community building) were applied by about half of local authority fostering teams

and the third (engagement) by just over a quarter.

1|INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this study is to understand how local authority (LA)

fostering teams in England are using social media (SM) to support mar-

keting and recruitment activity, with a specific focus on their use of

Facebook. The need for LA fostering teams to recruit more of their

own carers, and the potential for SM marketing to contribute to such

recruitment, mean that this research area is of strategic importance to

LAs. From an academic perspective, the research contributes to

research into SM strategies, which suggests that many organisations,

including LAs in the United Kingdom, are failing to exploit SM for

online engagement and relationship building (Fitch, 2012; Kamel

Boulos & Wheeler, 2007; Simpson, 2016).

This study uses Facebook as the SM platform for investigation

because it is the most widely used in the United Kingdom today.

According to the latest figures from Statista (2018), nearly 42 million

U.K. citizens use Facebook. In addition, Ellison and Hardey (2014,

p. 30) suggest that Facebook offers LAs “the clearest possibilities

for sustained, detailed interaction between local people and ‘their’

local authority.”

The aim of this research is to examine the extent to which the

Facebook activity of LA fostering teams is aligned with the principles

of successful SM engagement, as represented by dialogic strategies

and outcomes. The specific objectives are to

•Identify and develop a theoretical framework for operationalising

an engagement strategy using SM.

•Explore and critically evaluate the extent to which practitioners

within the LA fostering sector are applying these principles in their

use of Facebook.

2|CONTEXT

Foster carers play an essential role in the system for safeguarding chil-

dren by providing a home for children who cannot safely remain with

their birth families. Demand for foster carers is increasing in response

to a steady rise in the number of children coming into care and a sharp

decline in the number of adoption orders approved by the courts. At

Received: 26 September 2018 Accepted: 27 September 2018

DOI: 10.1002/pa.1869

J Public Affairs. 2019;19:e1869.

https://doi.org/10.1002/pa.1869

© 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/pa 1of9