Non-profit Organizations on Social Media (Term Paper Sample)

Student’s Name Instructor’s Name Course Date Non-profit Organizations on Social Media The evolution that has been taking place in the technology industry has affected many organizations and institutions across the world. Non-profit organizations are some of the major beneficiaries of the technological advancements taking place. The case study will focus on USAID and how it uses Facebook to reach its audience. The USAID commands a mass following of 1.1 million followers on its Facebook page. The use of Facebook by USAID will be analyzed through the lenses of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The main aim is to know the advantages and disadvantages of USAID using Facebook. STRENGTHS The first strength is the mass following that the agency has on Facebook. The USAID page has more than 1.1 million followers (Appendix 1). Having a mass following is an advantage because the agency gets to inform the world about people in need (Bogna). The purpose of USAID is to promote peace and growth and protect people’s health by providing humanitarian aid. Considering that the agency engages in humanitarian activities, having a mass following is an advantage because it gets to reach many people. Also, it establishes a big network on Facebook which can help share information about people or areas that are in dire need of help. The second strength is the consolidation of support from like-minded people on Facebook. On social media, profiles, groups, and pages attract like-minded people (Bogna). For example, people who follow USAID have a kind heart and they follow the agency to demonstrate their support. When an agency has followers who share its ideologies and beliefs, the followers are likely to offer helpful support. As a result, the agency can use the platform to consolidate support. For example, on March 4th, USAID made a post requesting people to support Ukrainians affected by the war (Appendix 2). In this case, people with the ability to support would do so and that would increase the support that USAID is offering to Ukrainians. WEAKNESSES The weakness of using Facebook is that USAID cannot dictate if its followers are like-minded. It is a challenge to know if every follower supports USAID missions. In some cases, followers might not partake in the ideology of the page owners. Such cases can be rooted in disappointments because some of the followers can turn into an opposing force (Haddad). When people do not share the ideology of the page owner, they are likely to comment negatively about the page. For example, some people may think that USAID consolidates support to benefit its members of staff. When the administrator of the page requests financial support from the followers, the opposing followers might accuse the administrators or USAID in general of coning its followers. Remarks of such nature are likely to hurt the initiatives of USAID because they might reduce the trust of other followers who are committed to helping. The second weakness is associated with dormant followers. Even though the page has more than 1.1 million followers, it is difficult to know if they are active or dormant. On social media, active followers are helpful and supportive as opposed to dormant followers (Haddad). For example, when USAID posts about the problems that Ukrainians are going through, it needs active followers to share the posts and provide financial support to needy Ukrainians. When most of the followers are dormant, the use of Facebook becomes insignificant and of no value to the mission of USAID. OPPORTUNITIES The increased use of social media platforms is an opportunity for USAID. The mission of USAID is to provide help to different people around the world and when a platform has numerous subscribers, the chances of getting help are high. Also, it is essential to note that Facebook has a feature that allows users to share the posts of a page (Haddad). USAID followers can act as agents of change by sharing posts. When such happens, the posts reach a significant audience and that makes it easier for USAID to consolidate considerable support through Facebook. The second opportunity is that many people are turning to the internet to follow up on unfolding and trending events (Haddad). For example, the war between Russia and Ukraine is one of the recent events in the world and there are many people following what is happening. On the other hand, USAID shares information about the war and people in need. Therefore, having a Facebook account attracts many people who could be helpful in changing the lives of the needy. THREATS The first threat is the frustration of some of the followers. Fa...