Use Facebook to Promote Your Cause
Facebook (http://facebook.com) is a social networking website similar to MySpace. Instead of allowing users to view the profiles of anyone on the network, Facebook restricts access to people who are connected through a real-life network, such as a college, a place of employment, or a city. Users can meet friends through browsing profiles of people in their real-life networks or by viewing limited information about other users. Users can join and create groups, share pictures, leave public or private messages for their friends, and post messages on their personal pages.
Facebook Groups
The best way to share your advocacy message on Facebook is to create a Facebook group. It is possible to create a user-account for an organization as a whole. However, unlike MySpace, Facebook users do not react so kindly to messages from an organization instead of an actual person. Also, registering for a user account on behalf of a group is against the site terms (and, as some organizations have discovered, this is an enforced policy).
Creating a Facebook group will not have a dramatic impact on your website traffic. However, if you have the time to dedicate to daily group maintenance, you can recruit a group of several hundred members, many of whom will check-in regularly to read your advocacy message.
When you create a Facebook group, use a group name that is descriptive enough that users can identify what the group is about and catchy enough to encourage users to visit. Each user's profile lists the groups he or she has joined. Often, users will read their friend's group lists and become members of groups their friends have joined. Your name needs to be catchy enough to convince them to visit your group. For example: "Action Team – Make a Difference in 15 Minutes (CharityGuide.org)."
Make your Facebook group stand out by adding a group image or logo, writing a complete group description in a personable tone, adding group news, and including additional photos. Include multiple links to articles-of-interest on your organization's website. Users want to see a group that's active, so update the information regularly. Start group discussions, and respond to discussion threads that other group members start. As soon as your Facebook group is up, invite employees and volunteers to join. The more people that join your group, the more exposure your group's name and link will have on Facebook.
Once you have a small group established, stay on the lookout for new ways to share your advocacy message. Consider these ideas:
- Write a news entry about ways users can help your cause. Include a link to an article on your website.
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Start a discussion asking users to help you solve a problem (i.e. What else do you think our organization should do to encourage recycling?). Get users talking about your cause on their own.
- Upload photos from rallies, protests, charity events, etc. Include a link to an article about the event. Invite users to submit their own photos.
- Post an "urgent" entry asking people to take an advocacy action (such as signing a petition) and asking users to share the message with their friends.
With Facebook groups, the point is to organize a mini army of users who are willing to help promote your cause for you. If you can find enough dedicated users, you can allow volunteer users to become group moderators, freeing up your time and promoting group loyalty.
