Abstract

As many communications organizations employ social media without a handbook or from prior decades of public relations guidelines, how these groups use this new delivery method to build relationships must be examined. These are groups that need to spur people to action, to activism, and to continually act – sometimes digging into their wallets, often to spread the message. Environmental messages can prompt fear and high perceived threat, or remain informational. The impacts of different framing methods are important to research to determine effective messages through social media. Using electronic means to communicate allows organizations an option for promoting and branding themselves as more sustainable for not producing and distributing a printed product. Is it as effective? What is the most effective framing method? Fear? Informational? Thus our study asks the research question: How is behavioral intent to take environmental action influenced or moderated by perceived environmental threat, perceived efficacy, and fear level? For this study, we have chosen an experiment and survey as our method. We randomly assigned a questionnaire with a video about coal from the Sierra Club to half the participants. The video offers much information about coal as an energy source. The other half of participants received a questionnaire with a video about coal from Greenpeace. The video contains no information about coal. Instead, it is an ominous animation that starts with a single piece of coal that ends up destroying the world. Prior to viewing the video, participants detail levels of ecological concern and level of involvement in environmental issues. Their responses provide a baseline demographic profile as to their engagement in community, social issues, as well as social media use and their opportunities for activism. Results show people are motivated to act when frightened, threatened, and responses exist that could alleviate those threats.