So I started to dig into the problem to understand why. I talked to students and looked at different trends and numbers for our campus and Springfield in general. I found a few good nuggets. I learned that students here don’t want to use Facebook or Twitter for information, they want to limit it to social networking. Students also don’t care for blogs. Most didn’t know what a RSS feed was. Further, out of all of our students (both undergraduate and graduate level) less than 1% are using Twitter. In the entire Springfield community? Less than .01%. Those numbers are staggering and factor into the big picture, but still doesn’t address the level of engagement. Low usage simply isn’t a sufficient excuse.

I’m noticing the voluntary nature of social media leads to a level of interaction that is unpredictable. Think about it. I could post this and you could forward it to some friends, retweet it on Twitter, comment, or do nothing. I may have an idea how something may go over and predict possibilities to a certain extent, but never completely know what will happen. So what does this mean for social media strategies? A cornerstone of any strategy should include periods of evaluation that include three stages: the Research stage, Adjust stage, and Build stage. It is my belief that if you’re not doing these things, you’re not creating the best strategy possible.

Research

We’ve all been told to listen, but here’s the thing, listening isn’t enough. It’s just one piece of an entire puzzle. What other points of data are you analyzing? Are you considering and learning about the target’s environment? How are you actively getting to know the people you’re targeting?

This is also a time where your organization analyzes internally. How is our progress looking? Are we still adding value and helping solve problems? Do our objectives align with our mission?

The marketing world revolves around the buzzword of influence. A major problem I have seen with marketers is incredible rigidity. Instead of reevaluating, time is wasted attempting to influence people to adopt a failing system. This research portion is the first step in meeting people where they’re at; focusing on relationship, trust, and collaboration, not simply influence. We need to focus on relationship and trust because we should come from a short-term and long-term perspective and this heavily influences positive word of mouth.

Adjust

After doing research it’s now time to set a plan of action. That’s why it’s important to have an overarching mission, flexible goals, and solid objectives so that plans can be perfected as you learn more. You need to do something with your research. Your strategy should never stay the same because people always change. As needs, desires, and be interaction shift, you should be right there moving with them. Don’t forget to consider long-term goals as well. Social media isn’t actively used on our campus now, but it will be in the future. That’s why I am focusing so much on building a sustainable system that can function well even when I’m not around.

Build

Now it’s time to implement your objectives and build on your foundation. Remember to think big and build small. Every small victory leads to more accuracy, more reach, and better content.

One thing I’m also working on that is important to remember is patience. I’m heavily engrossed in social media so it affects the rate at which I expect things to happen, i.e., immediately. Not everybody works on 140 characters and real-time communication.

Think of crafting your social media strategy as art. In photography there are rules that help you compose good photos, but ultimately rules can be broken and one photo can have forty different interpretations. Photography also requires trial an error to see which shots work. Building a masterful strategy can be arduous, but as you test the waters, evaluate, and learn, you’ll be creating an amazing community of engagement and effectively reaching your niche.

Facebook Fan Pages used in the most effective way are gateways; one-stop-shops. What do I mean by that? Think of your fan page as the exterior of a house. You want it to look as welcoming as possible; lawn trimmed, a little gnome here and there, a welcome mat, you know what I mean. It sets the stage for people to enter the home, connect, and go deeper. You don’t want to target your Facebook Fan Page to be a destination, but an open door to the separate rooms in your house. Your facebook fan page should be set to point your target audience in the right direction of what they’re looking for and help them connect on a deeper level (whether that means groups, link to your website, social media, etc.).

Before anything is started marketers usual ask the question, “Who’s our target?” I’m going to be honest with you. It kind of matters, but it doesn’t matter. Target everyone, not anyone. The better question organizations can ask is, “Who are we and how do we want to represent ourselves to everyone?”

Look at these numbers:

1. Facebook Demographic Statistics (allfacebook.com)

2. istrageylabs reports: 2009 Facebook Demographics and Statistics Report: 276% Growth in 35-54 Year Old Users

With these numbers and your Facebook Fan Page being a one-stop-shop gateway do you REALLY want to ignore all these users? It’s their choice if they want to enter and go deeper. Let them decide.

What does this mean for the Facebook Fan Page?

The picture you select is more important than you think. It represents your brand to everyone. Do you want to go with a logo, a more organic photograph, simple text? It will be different for everyone. I chose to go with the organic photo route for our office because I think a logo looks too rigid and doesn’t send the right message when representing a volunteer office. Here’s the photo I went with:

I found a picture that I felt could represent service, but not show faces or specific action. Our target is everyone, not anyone. If we focus on a picture of someone serving, we brand what a volunteer looks like, what volunteers are doing, and possibly unintentionally alienate people. Focus on everyone, not anyone.

Important Notes for a Remarkable Fan Page

1. Choose your title wisely. It’s what will be a “badge” on profiles and also serve as your keywords for search engine optimization.
2. Don’t launch your fan page bare. Facebook has a great feature where you can work on your fan page before you publish it. Use that to your advantage and have everything you can set before you start to promote it.
3. Watch clutter. Know your brand and what’s necessary and not necessary. Games may enhance user experiences for some, but not for others.
4. Make it easy for others to connect, whether through wall discussion, forward to blogs, pictures, etc. Make it easy to connect and find what they want. It will help convert fans as well as give people a reason to visit your fan page
5. Open communication is key. Watch, listen, discuss, and help where you can. People take notice when organizations take time to add to discussions and help. Send periodical updates through the update feature, but don’t be spam.
6. Have the mentality that your page is OUR page, not your page or my page.

Applications I Use & Recommend

1. RSS-Connect - Pull your RSS Feeds directly into your page
2. Static FBML – With basic HTML knowledge you can create custom boxes to cater to your needs. I used them to create a box to direct users to our social media sites.
3. YouTube Box – Integrate YouTube videos from your account (*can add to clutter)
4. Other then that I use the default applications: photos, videos, etc. I don’t use Notes due to RSS-Connect

Notes on Promotion

While you can’t send mass invites for Facebook Fan Pages to the people you’re not Facebook friends with (use suggestion feature for that), fan pages are easy to build a buzz around. How can you get your word out?

1. Tell people your fan page exists. We have an e-mail distribution list we notified & are including some links in our press releases.
2. Let others evangelize you. When people become fans it shows on the profile as well as their mini-feed. Post photos/videos of your community. As pictures become tagged (and show up in their profiles) your community will become infused with your fan page. Even just ask people to help out. Some people will do it for free, others may require incentives.
3. Be creative. During National Volunteer Week there will be a campaign asking people to donate their status in support of volunteering & become a fan of our page. If you’re a bar run a promotion that cover is free on a certain night if they’re a fan of your page. Give away free things. The possibilities are endless! Use the analytics with the fan pages and see what’s worked for you.
4. Transfer members from your group and notify them. Starting a fan page and already have a group? No problem! Collegewebeditor.com outlines some great instructions. *Note: Facebook has discontinued transferring groups to pages.

I hope these ideas help you get started on your road to creating a remarkable fan page. Comment up your thoughts or if you think anything else needs to be added!

In a meeting yesterday my office discussed Facebook and where to focus our attention: groups, profile, or fan page? I responded that I believe we should be focusing 65% on the fan page, 25% on the group, and 5% on the profile page. I believe that using all mediums are important, but the fan page has the best ROI and reach. The search engine journal outlines some key differences as follows: