Social media capital and civic engagement: Does type of connection matter?

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between a person's social media capital and civic engagement, focusing on the networks formed via two social network sites (SNSs) of Facebook and Twitter. The analysis of the survey data on young people's social media use and civic engagement in the U.S. shows that, although all three types of online social ties (Facebook Friends, Twitter followers, and people one follows on Twitter) are positively associated with civic engagement, there are differences across the different types of connections. The findings reveal that Twitter social capital is more strongly associated with participation in political organizations while Facebook social capital is more strongly associated with participation in non-political charitable organizations. Between Twitter followers and following, the number of people one follows is more strongly associated with participation in both types of organizations than the number of one's followers. These findings suggest that nonprofit managers take a platform-specific approach when using social media for marketing and stakeholder involvement.

Leveraging Social Media to Build Online Social Capital and Employer Brand

“…Scholars are increasingly interested in the concept of social media capital, which denotes the social media-based resource bundle an organisation acquires through its social media efforts (de Zúñiga et al, 2017; Lee, 2022; Saxton & Guo, 2020). This resource bundle may include tangible or intangible forms of capital to be attained through efforts like tweeting, pinning, posting, friending and sharing (Saxton & Guo, 2020).…”

“…There is an evident need for research in this area to explore the interlinkages among the concepts of social capital created through social media (referred to as social media capital subsequently in this article), employer branding and networking efforts to build a solid social media capital that is relevant for talent attraction. There is a shortage of research on the nature and implications of online social resources (Lee, 2022; Saxton & Guo, 2020) in the context of talent attraction and retention.…”

“…Research on social capital media has distinguished it as a particular form of social capital, with unique features and outcomes distinguishing it from traditional social capital generated through in-person interactions (de Zúñiga et al, 2017; Lee, 2022; Saxton & Guo, 2020). An organisation can also create social media capital through its social media efforts, which can be a differentiating factor in the new age technology-driven world.…”

Promotion of biosphere reserves: How to build awareness of their importance for sustainable development?

“…The process of promotion starts with a "needs and wishes" survey and ends with the pre-sale and after-sale promotion. This covers plenty of activities in order to attract customers to visit a place as well as to inform the public about the territory and thus to engage stakeholders in developmental activities (LEE, 2022).…”

“…(2017) state that the function of promotion in marketing places is to provide information about the place as a whole and about its sub-products, in order to convince society, there is an advantage to the place. Furthermore, it should provide motivation for the target markets to "purchase" the products of the place; or to visit the place; to create a brand (MOILANEN & RAINISTO, 2009;VUIGNIER, 2016;ROJÍKOVÁ, 2022); to arouse the interest of the public in solving the problems of the place; to gain public support; to reach a mutual agreement between the subjects that influence the development of the place (VAŇOVÁ, 2006;HEREZNIAK, 2017;LEE, 2022). For this purpose, it is necessary to prepare a comprehensive strategy.…”