How Perceived Costs and Benefits of Initial Social Media Participation Affect Subsequent Community-Based Participation

Focusing on the low-cost nature of social media participation, previous studies have described social media as providing opportunities for nonprofit organizations to gain support for their campaigns, such as asking to click a button. However, the question remains whether and how social media participation subsequently encourages community-based (offline) participation. Extending previous studies’ focus on the actual cost of social media participation, we examine how perceived costs and benefits of social media participation motivate individuals to participate in community-based participation. Our analysis of two-way between-subjects ANCOVA demonstrated that the perceived benefits of initial social media participation, rather than its actual or perceived costs, drive individuals to identify with the issue and engage in subsequent community-based participation. This finding suggests that the meaning of social media participation does not lie in whether it allows for low-cost actions, but in how individuals perceive and appreciate the benefits from their actions and identify with the issue.