Forging Connections: Nonprofits, TikTok, and Authentic Engagement – A Mixed-Methods Study

Abstract

TikTok, a social media platform designed for sharing short videos (“microvlogs”), provides an opportunity to learn how nonprofits adapt and implement social media strategies. Similarly, exploring nonprofits’ behavior on TikTok is useful for analyzing the impact that strategy has on the content nonprofits produce and user engagement. Using a mixed-methods design, this study analyzed data from 29 interviews and 575 microvlogs to answer three questions. First, how are nonprofits incorporating microvlogging into their social media strategy? Second, applying the hierarchy of engagement framework, do nonprofits produce social media content aligned with their expressed strategy? Finally, does alignment between strategy and output affect user engagement? The findings indicate that, unlike Facebook and Twitter/X, nonprofits on TikTok harness community-building content to facilitate information sharing and action. Strategy-output alignment significantly increases user engagement, but only for community-building content. Thus, social media strategy may be less important than authenticity on TikTok.