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ISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978
How to cite this article:
Sánchez Jiménez, M. Á.; Correia, M.; De Matos, N. (2018). Main topics used in the social communication by immigration NGOs in
Spain through the social network Facebook.
Doxa Comunicación
, 27, pp. 213-232.
https://doi.org/10.31921/doxacom.n27a10
Main topics used in the social communication by immigration NGOs in
Spain through the social network Facebook
Principales temas utilizados en la comunicación social de las ONG de
inmigración en España a través de la red social Facebook
Miguel Ángel Sánchez Jiménez
is
a
Professor and Researcher at the Department of Marketing and Communication,
University of Cádiz (Spain). PhD in Marketing and Communication. Coordinator of the module of tourism
marketing strategies in the Master’s Degree Program in Tourism at the University of Cádiz and member of the
Research Institute for Sustainable Social Development (INDESS). Research activity oriented to tourism and new
digital technologies in marketing and communication. Author of several publications in indexed journals, books
and participation in research congresses.
University of Cádiz, Spain
[email protected]
ORCID:
0000-0002-4271-3522
Marisol B. Correia
is an Assistant Professor at the School of Management, Hospitality and Tourism (ESGHT) of the
University of the Algarve (UAlg) and she holds a PhD in Electronics and Computer Engineering, Computer Science
specialty, from the University of the Algarve. She is a member-investigator of CiTUR (Centre for Tourism Research,
Development and Innovation) and she is a member-collaborator of the CEG-IST (Centre for Management Studies,
“Instituto Superior Técnico”, University of Lisbon). Her current research interests include business intelligence,
databases, information systems, website evaluation, evolutionary computation, information and communication
technologies applied to management, marketing, hospitality and tourism, among others. School of Management,
Hospitality and Tourism (ESGHT), University of the Algarve & CiTUR, Centre for Tourism Research, Development
and Innovation & CEG-IST, “Instituto Superior Técnico”,University of Lisbon.
University of Algarve, Portugal
[email protected]
ORCID:
0000-0002-1788-6114
Nelson de Matos
is an Assistant professor of Marketing at the University of the Algarve. He has a PhD in Tourism,
and his research interests are Experience Marketing, Tourism Experience, Destination Image, digital marketing
and consumer behavior. He is a member of CIEO -The Research Centre for Spatial and Organizational Dynamics.
He is the author of several publications in national and international journals, conferences and books.
University of Algarve, Portugal
[email protected]
ORCID:
0000-0002-6263-5007
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Main topics used in the social communication by immigration NGOs in Spain through the social...
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Abstract
:
This study’s aim is to learn about the communication of Spanish
immigration NGOs in their official social network, Facebook.
Therefore, a content analysis of the publications made by the
NGOs was performed using the software Nvivo11, to identify the
main topics and categorize and subcategorize the publications. In
addition, the study sought to identify the most popular topics, the
ones that generated greater degree of interaction, greater number
of feedback posts, and also the number of likes and comments, for
each category and subcategory. The results showed NGOs focus
to be centered on the geographical locations where immigration
problems occur, and on the subjects that generate greater user’s
interest, such as immigrants problems and consequences, but
also maritime environment. Moreover, findings also shown there
is more interaction in positive messages, among users, than in
those messages related to problems and injustices. In addition,
users were found to be more reluctant to participate in discussions
that required a more active and personal interaction, or a greater
involvement with immigrants, such as reception, integration
and participation. Lastly, findings highlight the importance of
educational topics in the communication of NGOs, due to users’
concern about mafias in immigration.
Keywords
:
Social networks; communication; NGOs; immigration; refugees.
Received: 11/07/2018 - Accepted: 21/09/2018
Resumen:
El objetivo de este estudio es conocer la comunicación de las ONG
de inmigración en España a través de su red social oficial de Fa
-
cebook mediante un análisis de contenido de las publicaciones a
través del software Nvivo 11 en la que se identifican a través de ca
-
tegorías y subcategorías cuáles son los principales temas o asuntos
tratados. Además, para conocer los temas más utilizados y aquellos
que generan mayor actividad o interacción se obtiene el número de
publicaciones, así como el número de “likes” y de comentarios para
cada categoría y subcategoría. En los resultados se determina una
disposición de las ONG a destacar localizaciones concretas donde
ocurren problemas de inmigración y un interés de los usuarios en
lo referente a los problemas y las consecuencias que tiene el entorno
marítimo. Además, se observa en los usuarios una mayor interac
-
ción en mensajes positivos que en aquellos referidos a problemas e
injusticias. También, los usuarios son más reacios en aquellos temas
que requieren de una interacción o una involucración más activa y
personal con los inmigrantes como son la acogida, la integración y
la participación. Por último, resaltar la importancia de los temas
educacionales en la comunicación de las ONG y la preocupación de
los usuarios por las mafias en la inmigración.
Palabras claves:
Redes sociales; comunicación; ONG, inmigración; refugiados.
Recibido
: 11/07/2018 -
Aceptado
: 21/09/2018
1. Introduction
Social networks are used by organizations and institutions both as a channel of communication and as a tool to build social
interactions. Due to the ubiquitous availability of new technologies (i.e., ICT), social networks have radically changed the
way organizations communicate, creating communities and incorporating individual users as part of the information
exchange age (Brendzel-skowera and Lukasik, 2016).
Through a brand community it is possible to strengthen the loyalty of users, and at the same time, it can serve as a
communication channel to exchange knowledge between brands and their target audience (Bruhn et al., 2014). Thus,
many users can use these social networks to stay informed of what is happening around the world, eliminating cultural,
geographical or physical barriers. In addition, empirical research has shown that consumers who participate in brand
communities tend to have a deeper and closer relationship with the brand than those who are not involved in communities
(Laroche et al., 2013; Potgieter and Naidoo, 2017; Rosenthal and Brito, 2017).
In this context, social networks have become an ideal communication channel for non-governmental organizations (NGOs),
making it possible to disseminate the content of their messages about social problems to reach a wider target audience
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(Islam and Walkerden, 2015; Zhou and Pan, 2016). In addition, social networks will allow NGOs to have a more involving
and direct communication with citizens (Arroyo et al., 2013). NGOs are voluntary organizations of citizens, belonging to the
so-called non-profit sector, with national or international nature, formally constituted, with political, economic or social
objectives (Ortega et al., 2011: United Nations Organization UN, 2018). In effect, a large number of NGOs have emerged
with the purpose of meeting and satisfying social needs using programs and actions, since States and countries has failed
to comply with such needs, and the private sector is not interested in intervening in such sector. These organizations carry
out communication campaigns on social issues with the purpose to publicize the existing societal problems and to develop
programs to influence or modify social behaviors, for the benefit of a group of individuals, or for the benefit of the society
as a whole. To do this, they facilitate and stimulate beneficial behaviors and discourages those considered harmful (De la
Casa, 2009; Mier-Terán Franco, 2004).
Within these social behaviors, it is important to highlight the immigration. The international migratory flows are increasingly
important, due to their economic and social impact. The situation can be explained by the fact that many people leave their
countries of origin and settle down in other places in the search of a better life, and thus, millions of people live in a country
other than the one they were born. Moreover, immigration has a social dimension, since there is a close link between the
societies of the country of origin and those selected by the immigrants as the destination, important demographic and
cultural aspects are included on those dimensions (Cuevas, 2018).
Immigration in Spain has experienced a great growth since 2000 and has become one of the basic components of Spanish
demography, and it is a phenomenon of great economic and social importance (Instituto Nacional de Estadística INE,
2017). It should be noted that the Spanish concern about immigration, has more than doubled in recent years, to stand in
the eighth position regarding the main problems the Spanish face presently (CIS, 2017). In addition, the economic crisis
has had a great negative impact on immigrants, which are generally more vulnerable, and regularly placed in less qualified
jobs (Europa Press, 2017).
In this context, a more active role was assumed by the immigration NGOs that intervene in Spain. These NGOs, dedicate
themselves to defend the inclusion of immigrants in their countries of arrival, especially those who flee from their homes in
the search of a better life. The NGOs defend immigrants’ rights, provide them with shelter and medical assistance, and favor
their legal inclusion in the country they arrived while fleeing from the violence in their home country (GuíaONGs, 2018).
From these reflections, it can be argued that communication practices of NGOs need to be evaluated, not only in terms
of technology use but especially regarding the content generated and the efforts made to promote participation by
activating the citizens (creating impact or interaction), allowing the existing social injustice structures to be transformed
(Iranzo and Farné, 2014).
Therefore, the objective of this study is to evaluate the communication of immigration NGOs in Spain, on the official
social network, Facebook. The analysis of the facebook publications’ content, will be made with the aid of the software
Nvivo 11. With the support of the software, categories and subcategories of the main topics can be identified and explored.
Subsequently, to know the most used topics and those that generate the greatest impact or interaction, we obtained the
number of publications, as well as the number of “likes” and comments for each category and subcategory. In this sense, it
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should be noted that the number of “likes” and comments per publication are the main indicators to measure the impact
and interaction in social networks (Hung and Valencia Cobos, 2014, Bueno et al., 2017). The analysis covers all publications
made during the years 2016 and 2017.
The social network considered for this study is Facebook, because it is the one in which NGOs are most active (Nonprofit
Tech for Good, 2018, Hung and Valencia Cobos, 2014). The sample selected for this study is formed by the 10 immigration
NGOs that intervene in Spain, with more than 10,000 followers on Facebook because they are considered the most
representative: Accem, Acnur, Aesco, Association of Support to the Syrian People (AAPS), Association of help to immigrants
without papers, Welcome Refugees, Clear, Platform of aid to refugees in Murcia, Proactive Open Arms and SOS refugees.
2. NGOs and social networks
Social networks or social media have marked a new era in non-profit entities regarding how activities on the communication
channels should be managed, since this new type of communication, constitutes a channel of interaction and dialogue with
audiences to achieve a more fluid and dynamic communication (Jiménez et al., 2017). However, despite the importance of
social media in this area, the number of studies focused on the use of social networks by NGOs is very limited.
In 2005, the new concept of web 2.0 or social web as specified by O’Reilly (2005) highlighted that users will not wait for
companies to communicate through advertising, the uses, and benefits of their products, but instead, they will themselves
share their experiences and opinions on the internet. Thus, a new social web, accompanied by the social networks, emerge
and key elements organizations use in the communication (Gopaldas, 2015). Presently, companies take advantage of the
opportunities offered by the social web, such as enabling the users to create, to share content, to intervene, and to assume
the role of the main protagonist in the commercialization process. Thus, in this section, we will define the concept, social
media marketing, and its fundamental characteristics. In this regard, Nadda et al. (2015) define social networks as content
publishing platforms, where the editing and the exchange of information are facilitated. In short, social networks are at
the service of companies to listen to their customers, but at the same time, they can be used as a marketing tool do design
strategies to interact with customers. Social networks are very advantageous when comparing to traditional communication
environments since it allows users to reach large audiences and provides them with instant mass interaction.
In this context, social networks, are becoming an important part of changing the daily lives of people. At a time, instant
feedback is essential, social media platforms offer this opportunity to its users for free. However, reaching large audiences
is also important for brands, and public institutions and non-governmental organizations. Among these, NGOs have used
this opportunity to reach a wider audience, which transformed social networks as an important tool for these organizations
in increasing the number of followers and the impact of their communication (McPherson, 2015). Therefore, social
networks have marked a new era in the management of NGO activities, as a new type of communication, that provides a
channel of interaction and dialogue to achieve a more fluid and dynamic communication. Companies use social media as
a new marketing tool, to build new business models (Curtis et al., 2010) to strengthen and solidify their relationships with
consumers, and to overcome the limitations of time and place (Bolotaeva and Cata, 2010).
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Thus, inevitably, the new communication environment created by social networks has influenced the public relations’
purpose, especially that of NGOs. In particular, the characteristics of social networks, such as moderation, interactivity,
interchangeability, proximity, receptivity and dialogue (Kent, 2010, Landsbergen, 2010) changed the communication
p