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Aalto University School of Business Master's Theses are now in the Aaltodoc publication archive (Aalto University institutional repository)
School of Business | Department of Marketing and Management | Marketing | 2010
Thesis number: 12355
Humanitarian non-profit organizations’ marketing’s effects on donor behavior in social media
Author: Lassila, Hannareeta
Title: Humanitarian non-profit organizations’ marketing’s effects on donor behavior in social media
Year: 2010  Language: eng
Department: Department of Marketing and Management
Academic subject: Marketing
Index terms: markkinointi; marketing; non profit; non-profit organizations; kolmas sektori; informal economy; sosiaalinen media; social media; kuluttajakäyttäytyminen; consumer behaviour
Pages: 107
Full text:
» hse_ethesis_12355.pdf pdf  size:3 MB (2105280)
Key terms: social media; viral marketing; donor behavior; non-profit organizations; social networking site; sosiaalinen media; viraalimarkkinointi; lahjoittajakäyttäytyminen; voittoatavoittelemattomat organisaatiot; sosiaaliset yhteisöt
Abstract:
HUMANITARIAN NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS’ MARKETINGS’ EFFECTS ON DONOR BEHAVIOR

This study aims to find out how humanitarian non-profit organizations can best use social media, more precisely Facebook and Twitter, for fundraising. Additionally, this study focuses on finding out donors’ motivations for donating to emergency relief campaigns in social media. Theoretical framework has been conducted after approaching theories in four areas: social media, viral marketing, donor behavior and NPOs’ marketing.

Case study research has been chosen as a research method for this study in order to provide comprehensive results from this quite new phenomenon. Data was collected through semi-structured qualitative interviews and quantitative questionnaire, which gathered 384 answers. Also observation was done for Facebook and Twitter profiles of interviewed NPOs. Thematic data analysis was used for analyzing the interviews.

Results suggest that Finnish humanitarian non-profit organizations already are well aware how to utilize social media for fundraising purposes. No significant differences among social media use of organizations were found. However, there is still lack in knowing how to measure platforms’ effectiveness and in interactivity with organizations’ fans. No clear evidence of peer-pressure’s impact on donor behavior was found, even though it was assumed to affect.
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