Making online influence: Chinese ENGO’s Weibo activity and retweetability

This study examines Weibo use behaviors of Chinese environmental NGOs (ENGOs) and the factors that contribute to the retweeting of environmental messages on Weibo. Through a content analysis of 75 ENGOs' Weibo posts (n = 2664) during a two-month period, the study finds that government-organized NGOs (GONGOs) and grassroots NGOs bear significant differences in applying technical and content strategies. The regression results show that registration status, NGO type, mass media coverage, and Weibo status (i.e., the number of posts, followers and followees) are significant predictors of retweetability. Meanwhile, containing hashtags and mentions, including more opinion leaders, charged with negative emotions and posting dialogic content can facilitate retweetability, whereas the inclusion of complicate media forms and hyperlinks did not exhibit significant effect. More importantly, the study finds an interaction effect between Weibo contents and NGO type, suggesting that GONGOs will garner more retweets when releasing community-focused and action-oriented messages, while grassroots NGOs will benefit more from informational content and advocacy-related messages. The results shed light on understanding social media use behavior of Chinese ENGOs, and offer practical implications for strategic use of Weibo in future environmental campaigns.