Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the Arab world should make good use of social networks to spread their message and increase awareness around specific causes, according to this new infographic by Jordanian social volunteer directory Nakhweh.

While the infographic reveals statistics on the general behavior of social media users in the region, it is the information about engagement with NGOs that is most interesting. To set the stage, Nakhweh identified that 99% of their respondents are on Facebook, 59% on Twitter and 49% on YouTube, with only 25% on LinkedIn. Most respondents say they use social networks to stay in touch with other people (88%), 58% use them to discuss politics, 56% for entertainment, and just 39% for business purposes.

People tend to closely follow and engage with causes they care about. 64% of respondents said that they follow NGOs and social initiatives on their social media channels, where the majority prefer to interact with content such as photos, articles, and news. The respondents note that they do pay special attention to posts by NGOs; 46% say they are “always” attracted by these posts and 48% say “sometimes”. 

Nakhweh’s focus of matching volunteers with opportunities in the Arab world obviously sees a huge opportunity on social media for NGOs to raise awareness around their projects and this data backs that up; 62% of respondents believe that social media channels can help them find the right NGO to volunteer with.

Check out the infographic below for more about social media user behavior in the Arab world and how these users interact with brands and NGOs. Click on the graphic for a larger image.