Facebook Effectiveness for Non-Profits

Now that we have talked about how to set up your website and some dos and don’ts of blogging, lets take a look at Facebook.

Facebook, simply, is a way to connect to other people.  Facebook was founded as a social networking site for Harvard University, but quickly expanded to include other Boston area colleges and Ivy League schools.  Facebook then allowed all college and university students to join, then opened the site to high school students, and finally, in late 2006 to anyone with a valid email address.

Facebook is only available to people.  In other words, you can only create a profile is you are a person; you’re not able to create a profile for you organization.  However, you now have the option to create a page for your organization.

You should begin by creating your own profile page using your professional contact information.  Make sure that you spend a little time filling out the details of your profile.  People judge your credibility by how involved you are in the Facebook community.  In other words, if you don’t have a picture in your profile or if you don’t take the time to actually fill out most of your profile, people will not take you seriously.

Once you have registered your own profile, head over to the section of Facebook for businesses and organizations.  There’s no cost to create a page for your organization.  Plan to spend at least four hours completing your page.  You will need to upload a few pictures, hopefully from a recent event, and fill out the background information about your organization.

After you are happy with the information you have submitted, you can get to the social aspect of social networking: finding friends.  I would recommend using a list of all your volunteers and donors as a guide. Simply begin searching for your friends, donors and volunteers and asking them to ‘become a fan’ of your organization.  You will be notified when people respond to your requests via email.  I’d recommend responding personally to each request and thank your new friends for becoming a fan of your organization.

One of the features of Facebook is called The Wall.  This is a place to post notes about yourself and your organization.  Just as I mentioned with blogging, you can’t half-ass your Facebook profile and expect to receive any value from your friends.  To be effective on Facebook, you need to start conversations with your fans and engage them in their conversations.  Comment on other people’s profiles, respond to their questions, congratulate them on their achievements, and invite them to visit your page for updates on your organization.

To begin, this seems pretty complicated and time consuming.  To be honest, it will take a bit of time to get started, but once you get the hang of Facebook, updating and interacting will become second nature.  I cannot stress this enough: You must update your page.  You must interact with other Facebook members.  Otherwise you will end up with an out of date page that no one takes seriously.  This doesn’t mean that you have to update the page three times a day, seven days a week. But plan to spend an hour or so a week posting updates and responding to other users.  You need to have an active part in the community in order to be accepted into the community.

Too many organizations will set up a Facebook page, update it a few times, and then let it languish without any updates for months at a time.  Before you start your page, make sure you know that you will have time to update the page.  If you know you won’t have time to update the page, delegate the tasks to another staff member.  If you have a volunteer that you trust and uses Facebook frequently, they might be willing to manage your page for the organization.  While the page does not have to be updated personally, it has to be updated and maintained.  You need to make sure your contact information is easily accessible and that you frequently list your events and news.

Most of all, have fun with Facebook.  Thanks to this developing technology you have the ability to connect with your current donors and volunteers in a new medium and, maybe more importantly, find people that are interested in your mission and are willing to contribute their time and talent to help you succeed.

Tagged as: business, communication, facebook, free stuff, nonprofit, Online Communities, Social network