The Impact of Social Media Applications on Donor Engagement and Retention in the Saudi Arabian Blood Donation System

Study purpose: The objective of this study is to evaluate the influence of social media applications on donor engagement and retention within the blood donation system in Saudi Arabia. Methods: A cross-sectional survey design was adopted in this study. The population aged above 18 years and living in Saudi Arabia was included in the study. Using convenience and snowball sampling techniques, an online questionnaire was distributed using social media channels such as WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram. A total of 463 participants were included in the study. Results: The majority of the study participants (78.1%) engage on social media applications multiple times a day for charity causes such as blood donation by responding to requests, while 51.8% of them engage on social media applications for the same reason a few times a month. Focusing on donor engagement, 46.8% and 27.3% of the total participants were likely to engage in the blood donation process; 60% were likely to continue to use social media applications for blood donation. The ANOVA findings showed a significant difference (p<0.05) between participant groups characterized by age and educational level on their engagement on social media applications for the blood donation process. Younger participants and participants with bachelor's degrees and above were more likely to engage in social media applications for the blood donation process compared to minimum educated and older participants (p<0.05). Conclusion: Charity or blood donation organizations must adopt strategies to actively engage the donors on the platforms, as social media can effectively contribute to donor engagement and retention.