If you’re like the other 750 million or so people on facebook, then you probably have a handful of “fan pages” that you’ve “liked” over time. By liking one of these pages, you are telling facebook, in essence, that you want to hear a little bit more from the curator of that page, until otherwise opting out – or “unliking” the page.
Here at United Way of the Greater Triangle, we have a good following of steadily growing numbers on facebook, but it’s never enough. Our facebook page is the first place that we, and many other nonprofits, post breaking news, blog posts, photographs, event details, and much more. This post will give you 7 undeniable reasons to connect with any nonprofit you may be interested in on facebook.
7. You can gain insight to the organizational opinions, beliefs, and mission just by reading the updates they post on their facebook page. Often times, advocacy posts will appear in an organizational facebook page. These posts will instantly tell you where the nonprofit stands on a particular issue.
6. An organization’s “personality” also comes through in the posts on a facebook page. Are all the posts asking for money? Are an inordinate amount of the posts just pushing out boring press releases? Are the posts engaging and interesting as a reader? All of these characteristics will tell you how the nonprofit expects to communicate with their constituency.
5. Just as you can gauge the organizational personality, you can also see a bit about their donors and advocates by reading comments and posts left by users. Are the comments fanatical, serious, thought-provoking, or worse…are there no comments at all? Reading the users’ comments can give you an idea quickly about whether or not you want to be associated with this particular group.
4. Many organizations use their facebook pages to announce and invite their constituents to special events. While not everyone will read an email or open a direct mail invitation, most active facebook users will at least open a facebook message or invitation. Many nonprofits use the facebook event feature for complete rsvp management for special events.
3. You can get access to special content. For example, the UWGT facebook page has certain content for visitors that just visit, and then separate content allowed for those who actually like the page. Not all nonprofits will have this type of content filtering enabled, but its worth a try to like the page, and then you can always unlike it later!
2. Almost every nonprofit I have ever encountered on facebook utilizes the facebook photos section extensively. It is a free, and virtually unlimited, photo album for the organization to show off photos from events, special ceremonies, the staff, etc. By liking the page, you are ensuring that you have the most access to the photos the organization posts on facebook.
1. The most important reason to “like” a nonprofit on facebook, is that most nonprofits use their facebook and/or twitter feeds as the first spot for breaking news or information about the nonprofit. If you want to stay on top of what is going on at that particular organization, just Like their Facebook page, and you will instantly be ahead of press releases, media stories, and website updates.