Social Media in Religious Corporate Communication A Case of Infinite Fellowship Ministries (INFEMI)
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Date
2021-10
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Daystar University, School of Communication. Nairobi
Abstract
Kenya is one of the most active African countries on social media with 7.1 million and one million active monthly users on Facebook and Twitter respectively (Bloggers Association of Kenya, 2018). Kenyan churches have thus increased their social media activity, which has impacted their reputation and relevance online. This thesis sought to understand the dynamics of framing social media communication by Kenyan churches using Infinite Fellowship Ministries (INFEMI) as a case. A mixed methods design was adopted using interviews and questionnaires and the findings revealed that framing in INFEMI is an active, collaborative effort between INFEMI’s leadership and their scribes. It is affected by factors such as INFEMI’s vision, volunteer numbers, technology costs and negative publicity received by Kenyan churches online. It emerged that both INFEMI’s leadership and members are more concerned about the church fulfilling its evangelism mandate and upholding its integrity as a Christian organization than any negative publicity it could receive on social media. This shared view has given INFEMI a favourable reputation with 51.79% of its members who gave it positive reviews and 30.36% who had mixed reviews including positive ones. However, there is room for the church to grow in expansion of content formats for framed messages, reach and interaction with its external public. One of the key recommendations made was for INFEMI to consider the creation and adoption of a tangible social media policy to better meet their communication goals. This is also an area that could benefit from further academic research as the corporate use of social media by Kenyan churches has room for more exploration.
Description
MASTER OF ARTS
in Communication
Keywords
Social Media, Religious Corporate Communication, Infinite Fellowship Ministries (INFEMI)
Citation
Mukundi, M. W. (2021). Social Media in Religious Corporate Communication A Case of Infinite Fellowship Ministries (INFEMI). Daystar University, School of Communication. Nairobi