Building Communities Online:
in 30 Minutes
presented by: Lori Greiner, Communications Manager
Michael Sutphin, Writer
Information and Communications Technology Professional Development Series, July 12, 2011
Overview
• What is Facebook and why be social?• Steps for creating a profile and a page• Keys to posting engaging content and
interacting with target audiences• How to measure success
• Facebook was launched February 2004• As of July 1, there more 750 million active users, 151 million
in the U.S. alone• 50% of the active users log on to Facebook in any given day • The average user has 130 friends • People spend over 700 billion minutes per month on Facebook• Average user is connected to 80 community pages, groups and
events • More than 30 billion pieces of content (web links, news stories,
blog posts, notes, photo albums, etc.) shared each month • About 70% of Facebook users are outside the United States
Source: Facebook.com
Facebook By the Numbers:
Impact of Facebook• Media • Social • Political
About Facebook• Free to users• Users can develop profiles, groups, and
pages• Users can communicate through public or
private messages• News feed – “wall”• Upload albums and photos • Third-party applications
Profile/Personal Page
• A way to portray yourself and connect and interact with friends
• Off-limits to companies and nonprofit organizations
Privacy• In the upper right, click “Account” and then
select “Privacy Setting.”• Control how your friends can find you• Customize who sees what information on
your Facebook profile• Bottom Line: Do not post content on
Facebook that you would not want the world to see
Groups• A way to connect with
like minded people or give information about a particular topic
• Groups can be kept open, closed, or secret
• If you are a group admin., your name will appear on that group
Pages• A way to promote your
business, product, service, or organizations or to represent a public figure, celebrity, or band
• Pages never display their admins’ names
• Vanity URL
• Promotional widgets
• Metrics
Vanity URL• The URL of your
Facebook page is randomly generated until you reach a certain amount of fans (currently 25). Then Facebook lets you pick your own vanity URL
• http://www.facebook.com/username
Invite and Promote
• Send a personal message to your friends; don’t ask everyone
• Make posts on other pages to invite others to your page
• Insert the image on your website home page and link it to your Facebook page
• Link your Facebook page to Twitter
Invite and Promote
• Promote your page on other social media sites, websites, presentations, fliers for events, email signatures, Wikipedia, print materials, etc.
• If you are addressing a live audience, encourage people to join your page via SMS. Facebook users can send a text message to 32665 (FBBOOK) with the words “fanyourusername” OR “like yourusername” (without the quotes).
Facebook Ads• Target by keywords, interests,
age, gender, college, and more• Geographic radius• Drive audience to online
content, whether Facebook page or other website
• Cost per clicks vs. cost per impressions
• Daily price caps
Develop Engaging Content
• Update your page regularly and frequently• Keep content fresh and conversational• Provide exclusive content• Pay attention and reply to fans• Your page should be social – not just an
outlet for news releases
Interact
• Show your friends/fans that you care about them. Answer their posts and at a minimum, “like” their posts.
• Ask fans to post content on your page. Interaction keeps people connected.
• Every time someone interacts on your page, if may appear in that person’s news feed, promoting your site to their friends.
Post and Tag Photos
• Post event photos and tag participants
• Encourage fans to tag themselves
Tag Your Page• Use the @ tag. As long as you
“like” your own page, you can “@ tag” you page on your own personal profile.
• If Facebook does not automatically link to a friend’s name or page name, start typing the “@” symbol and the first few letters of the fan page name and it should appear in a drop- down menu.
• This can also be done when you post messages to other people’s walls or fan pages.
Measure Your Success• Track readership and learn• Use Facebook Insights• Get statistics on your
audience, demographics, page views, interactions and much more
• Measure feedback• Monitor global discussion
and sentiment• Measure click-throughs
Keys for Success
• Post regularly with high quality content• Use visuals• Ask questions• Show your passion
Questions?
Sample Facebook pages @Virginia Tech• www.facebook.com/vtagricultureandlifesciences
• www.facebook.com/VirginiaCooperativeExtension
• www.facebook.com/VCEAAMasterGardeners
• www.facebook.com/virginiatech
• www.facebook.com/vtesarecpp
• www.facebook.com/hokiesports
Resources & References
• Beginners Guide to Social Media in Extensionhttp://collaborate.extension.org/wiki/Beginners_Guide_to_Social_Media_in_Extension
• Virginia Tech Social Media – Guidelines and Procedureshttp://www.unirel.vt.edu/web/social-networks/index.html
• e-Xtension professional development websitehttp://www.extension.org/learn
Resources & References
• www.facebook.com
• http://mashable.com/2009/05/27/facebook-page-vs-group/
• Secrets of a successful and effective Facebook page, presented at the 2011 ACE/NETC Conference by Peter Tögel, Clemson University
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/facebook
