Taking the relationship to the next level: a comparison of how supporters converse with charities on facebook and twitter

Social media provide a unique opportunity for charities to reach a large audience with whom they can engage in productive two-way conversations. This abstract reports findings from a study that seeks to determine the extent to which these conversations occur, and whether they differ between Facebook and Twitter. Differences arise showing that Facebook receives more conversations in response to the charities' own posts. However, on Twitter more comments are made per each engaged supporter, which could represent more unsolicited discussion that provides an alternative type of value.