Social Media Strategies for Building Trust in Nonprofit Hospitals a Conceptual Framework

Purpose: The paper examines how nonprofit hospitals can use social media in health awareness campaigns to improve public engagement and build trust. The study responds to a gap in management and marketing research, where outcomes such as credibility and institutional trust are underexplored compared with awareness and behavioral measures. Findings: The review highlights three mechanisms: interactive communication increases engagement, transparent messaging strengthens credibility, and effective misinformation management protects trust. Together, these mechanisms suggest that social media can operate as more than an information channel, functioning as a relationship-building tool for nonprofit healthcare organizations. Theoretical Implications: The framework extends relationship marketing theory to the nonprofit hospital context, emphasizing engagement and trust as central outcomes of digital communication. Practical Implications: The paper provides hospital managers with guidelines for designing campaigns that prioritize transparency, interactivity, and community dialogue, offering a path to improve both health outcomes and institutional legitimacy. Originality/Value: By integrating insights from marketing, healthcare management, and nonprofit studies, the paper reframes social media use in nonprofit hospitals as a trust-building practice rather than a simple awareness tool. Research Limitations/Future Research: The propositions require empirical testing in diverse cultural and institutional settings. Future studies might assess platform-specific effects or compare nonprofit and for-profit hospital communication. Paper Type: Conceptual JEL Classification: M31, I11, L31, M14, D83