Implementasi Strategi Komunikasi Komunitas Volunvibes dalam Membangun Keterlibatan Relawan di Surabaya

Abstract

Volunteer communities in Indonesia are growing rapidly among young people, yet without binding contracts, their sustainability depends largely on how well they manage communication. This study examines the communication strategy implemented by Volunvibes, a youth-based volunteer community established in Surabaya in 2024, in building volunteer engagement. Using Hafied Cangara’s (2020) communication strategy framework, comprising communicator, message, channel, communicant, and effect, this qualitative descriptive study collected data through participant observation, in-depth interviews with seven informants, and documentation, analyzed using the interactive model of Miles, Huberman, and Saldaña (2014). The findings show that Volunvibes builds communicator credibility through consistent, non-hierarchical engagement; delivers layered informative, persuasive, and educative messages anchored by the slogan “Saatnya Berbagi” (Time to Share); applies a multichannel approach that assigns WhatsApp to internal coordination, Instagram and TikTok to recruitment, and face-to-face interaction to emotional bonding: and adapts its approach to new and long-standing volunteers through personal, two-way engagement. This integrated strategy produces cognitive, affective, and conative effects that move volunteers from passive participation toward active, recurring, and team-level involvement, reflected in higher retention, stronger contribution, and a growing sense of belonging. The study concludes that Volunvibes communication strategy functions as the primary driver of volunteer engagement in the absence of formal incentives or structures, extending Cangara’s framework with an empirical account of how it operates as one integrated system in practice, and offering a practical model that other youth-based volunteer communities can adopt to strengthen member engagement.