An exploration of the integration of social media with organisational communication in a non-profit organisation: A case study of People Opposing Women Abuse (POWA)

Abstract

In offering a platform for dialogue, social media has transformed one-way organisational communication with stakeholders into interactive communication. A review of the literature reveals that there is scant evidence concerning social media integration with organisational communication in non-profit organisations. The study sought to fill this gap by exploring this integration and proposing a framework for social media integration with organisational communication in a non-profit organisation. The proposed framework has the potential to be beneficial for non-profit organisations, as it can be used as a guideline for integrating social media with organisational communication. It can also be used as a yardstick to establish whether non-profit organisations have achieved their objectives of integrating social media with organisational communication. A single case study approach through semi-structured interviews, focus group interviews and secondary data sources was used to collect data at People Opposing Women Abuse (POWA). The case study approach allowed the exploration of the integration of social media with organisational communication and revealed insights that could encourage non-profit organisations to adopt this approach to integration. Findings revealed that communication through cross media planning enables non-profit organisations to communicate consistent messages to stakeholders. In addition to that, evidence suggests that when organisational communication is integrated with social media, POWA is able to communicate consistent messages across the organisation.