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The Quest for Attention
Book

The Quest for Attention

Nonprofit Advocacy in a Social Media Age

Chao Guo and Gregory D. Saxton
Stanford Graduate School of Business, 2020

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Editorial Rating

7

Qualities

  • Analytical
  • Scientific
  • For Experts

Recommendation

Sustained attention is scarce on social media. People notice whoever shouts the loudest and their interest is fleeting. How can nonprofits get their message across in this noisy environment, especially when an advocacy organization’s effectiveness depends on engaging people? In this in-depth study, Associate Professor of Nonprofit Management Chao Guo and Associate Professor of Accounting Gregory D. Saxton apply a novel scientific approach to help nonprofits understand what draws people’s attention in a social media environment – and how to leverage that attention to attain strategic objectives.

Take-Aways

  • Nonprofit organizations face a number of resource and relevance challenges.
  • Social media provides organizations with three attention-building tools: architecture, sending messages and making connections.
  • Because attention is a zero-sum game, the social media environment affects nonprofits’ messaging content.

About the Authors

Editor-in-chief of Nonprofit & Voluntary Sector Quarterly Chao Guo is an associate professor of nonprofit management at the School of Social Policy and Practice, University of Pennsylvania, and an associate faculty director of Fox Leadership International. Gregory D. Saxton is an associate professor of accounting at the Schulich School of Business, York University.

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