Facebook is the largest social network. Users create a personal profile where they can share information, pictures, and updates with friends, family, networks, and online community at large. Members can use the site to communicate directly with members, join interest groups, and subscribe to and interact with organizations or brands through pages.
5 WAYS TO USE FACEBOOK
1. Share your story
- Share your mission and story in a personal way
- Add pictures, videos, and any other applications to highlight the work you do, and the faces behind it
- Invite supporters to contribute their own photos, stories, videos
- Example: invisiblepeople.tv [Read why: Case Study: InvisiblePeople.tv by Geoff Livingston]
2. Engage and grow your community
- Ask questions, encouraging members to share feedback, stories, and insights
- Here are 16 Ways to Ask Questions on Facebook(by John Haydon)
- Respond to wall posts
- Interact and join the conversation on other organization’s pages
3. Fundraise
- Use applications like Causes to raise money
- Choose a fundraising platform that has Facebook share feature, like FirstGiving, Crowdrise, or GiveZooks
- How to get started with Causes here.
4. Educate, raise awareness, and promote
- Create content worth sharing. As members share, more people learn about your organization and work
- Use events and updates to promote upcoming events
- Example: Oceana
5. Drive traffic to your website or newsletter (and vice versa)
- You still want to direct people to your website, blog, and newsletter. Make sure to encourage people to sign up and subscribe directly
- Include social sharing features on your website, blog, and newsletter
- Add Facebook (and other social networks) link to your email signature
- Add email subscription tab to your Facebook Page
- Example: 350.org
TIPS
- Personal profiles are for you. Pages are for your organization. More here.
- You can create a Page, without having/creating a personal profile. Create a page here.
- There is a difference between Facebook Groups and Pages. How are Pages different than Groups? by Facebook
- Consider using Facebook Places. But first: Four questions you need to answer before using Facebook Places for your nonprofit by John Haydon
- Facebook Engagement Practices: Recent Studies and Discussions, by Debra Askanase, Community Organizer 2.0
MORE RESOURCES
- Nonprofits on Facebook: Get Started, on Facebook.com
- Nonprofit Facebook Guide (PDF), Facebook Best Practices
- Social Media Toolbox, WeAreMedia.org
- Build Your Own Facebook Page, by Janet Fouts
- Facebook Best Practices for Nonprofit Organizations, Diosa Communications
- Facebook Ads – Case Studies – Library of regularly updated examples of successful Facebook ad campaigns, ie (RED)
- How Non-Profits Can Maximize Engagement on Facebook from Mashable’s Social Good section (including tips from Danielle Brigada of NWF, Holly Ross of NTEN, Brook McMillan of Livestrong)
- Social Media Listening and Monitoring tools — by Janet Fouts – http://bit.ly/kOg3Cn
Policy & Guidelines Examples
- Example of Community Guidelines, AARP FB Fan Page from Beth Kanter
- Social Media Policies in the Workplace , Created and curated by Vivienne Storey (on Scoop.it)
- Does Your Enterprise Have a Social Media Policy? http://rww.to/lToI8d
