Social media. Facebook. Fan pages. Twitter. Just when you thought you were finally getting the hang of it and how to apply Web 2.0 to your nonprofit communications plan, Facebook has to go and change all the rules. It hardly seems fair, does it?
Facebook is working to transform your web experience so that you will be able to "like" articles and other noteworthy bits of information that you come across. All it takes is a click of a button. Of course, with that click, you are also sharing your private information with the worldwide web, but that's another post––one that Dan Tynan has written already in "Why I, Like, Really Dislike Facebook's "Like" Application."
The new release of the Like Application has taken over the chatter that's been circulating about the big change to Facebook's Fan Pages. You have no more fans. Only people who like you. Facebook has changed the language referring to its fan pages. Instead of "becoming fans," people now simply have to "like" you.
Your page functionality isn't changing at all. Just the language used to describe people joining
According to Facebook, clicking "like" requires less emotional investment than "becoming a fan." The company says that people click "like" twice as often as they do "become a fan," and so, in theory, you'll now have more people join your page.
"Great!" you exclaim.
Not so great. Really, it isn't.
You don't want likers. You want FANS. Fans are engaged. They follow your updates. They comment on your page's posts. They share your news with their friends. They respond when you have a need. Fans are amazing. They're supporters. They're valuable.
Likers? Not so much. There is such a thing as a threshold that's too low. Making it too easy for people to join makes it too easy for them not be contribute. It takes no effort so it requires no effort.
The good news is that you will likely have more people seeing your page and joining (even if they don't realize they're joining). The bad news is that you'll have a smaller percentage of people actually interacting with your page.
What does that mean for you?
- Take the numbers with a grain of salt.
- Measure your page's success by the number of interactions you get with your posts.
- Work harder to engage your "likers." Post exclusive content for just for your Facebook page.
- Send messages to your members and interact with them.
- Be consistent. Consistency helps grow friendships out of "likes" in real life, and it will work on Facebook, too.
Need help making sense of all the social media nonsense? We're here for you. Contact us today about how we can help you develop and execute a social media plan.
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