Analysing the promotional effectiveness of non-profit organisations in Malta when addressing the youth sector

Abstract

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to explore and better understand the effectiveness of the promotional tools used by non-profit organisations in Malta, particularly when addressing the youth sector. Design/Methodology/Approach – Journals, articles and textbooks were mainly used to get a better understanding of past literature. An online survey was conducted to obtain primary data. This online survey was distributed to youths aged between 16 to 35 years. Findings – Results show that social media has become very popular and it has gained a higher rate of usage than any other traditional media channel. In fact, even some of those who do not do voluntary work, use social media networks to keep in touch with non-profit organisations. Facebook is by far the most effective network, followed by Youtube. Online presence has an influential role, because the respondents see those non-profit organisations with an online presence as the most credible organisations. A huge majority of the respondents believe that the Maltese non-profit organisations are trustworthy, and good promotional campaigns help nonprofit organisations to get new volunteers on board. Research limitations/implications – Due to time constraints, the researcher was unable to collect further data, and if more time was allocated, a wider target audience would have been studied. Moreover, the online surveys were distributed in a period where Puttinu Cares had two major fundraising marathons and thus, high interest was build through the media coverage that this organisation was given. This could have influenced some of the respondents in questions where the researcher wanted to know their favourite non-profit organisation in Malta. Originality/value- This research shows that non-profit organisations are using social media because they are already aware that this will give them a positive effect.