Creating Nonprofit Facebook Page

07-05-2008 3:05 AM

TechSoupblog

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Joined on 06-19-2008

Tech Soup blog has a message for those of you at organization's grappling with a jump into social networking sites like Facebook. Our pals over at the Wild Apricot blog have some helpful primers on how to maximize your presence. Does seeing other nonprofits on facebook make you want to create a page of your own? Who has a really good Facebook page?

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RE: Creating Nonprofit Facebook Page: Does seeing other nonprofits on Facebook create a pa

07-16-2008 3:10 PM

MeganKeane

Top 10 Contributor

Joined on 08-20-2001

San Francisco, CA and the web

TechSoup just got its own Facebook page--come be a fan! We have a Facebook group as well, but we're planning on using the Facebook page going forward for our Facebook presence, as we've found there is a lot more functionality with having a Facebook page vs a group. Advantages include: you can use some applications there, you can have an RSS feed on the page, and and anytime someone interacts with your Fan Page it gets posted to their news feed, so more people can hear about your organization's activities.

Best,

Megan

In reply to

RE: Creating Nonprofit Facebook Page: Does seeing other nonprofits on Facebook create a pa

07-17-2008 9:55 AM

jasonsamuels

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Joined on 05-01-2007

TechSoup Member

We made a similar jump from a Facebook Group to a Page. The newer platform is pretty cool.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/NCFR/18069103276

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RE: Creating Nonprofit Facebook Page

07-23-2008 6:10 AM

akmeade

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Joined on 02-21-2008

Boston, MA

TechSoup Member

I was in the process of setting up our Facebook group when I learned about the Facebook page and decided it was a better option for us. We have very few fans, but I think interest will pick up as more people learn about our presence on Facebook.

PRIM&R Facebook Page

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RE: Creating Nonprofit Facebook Page: Does seeing other nonprofits on Facebook create a pa

07-23-2008 1:35 PM

carielewis

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Joined on 06-22-2007

TechSoup Member

if you have an existing facebook group and you'd like to move to a facebook page (which i highly recommend - better features!) you can request that facebook does all the work for you. here's how:

From : http://www.facebook.com/help.php?page=175

I have a Facebook Group. Can it be converted into a Page?

If you have a group that fits into one of the categories offered for Pages and you are the official representative of that artist, business, or brand, we can help you convert your group into a Page. Please fill out your request here [ http://www.facebook.com/help/contact_generic.php ] by providing us with the URL to your current group and the URL to the Page you have created that you would like your group members and group content transferred to.

In reply to

RE: Creating Nonprofit Facebook Page: Does seeing other nonprofits on Facebook create a pa

07-30-2008 12:09 PM

MeganKeane

Top 10 Contributor

Joined on 08-20-2001

San Francisco, CA and the web

Carie, thank you so much! I had no idea that Facebook would do this for you. Just submitted our TechSoup group to be converted to our TechSoup Facebook page. Thanks again for the tip!

--Megan

In reply to

RE: Creating Nonprofit Facebook Page: Does seeing other nonprofits on Facebook create a pa

08-09-2008 5:37 AM

glfhc

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Joined on 12-11-2007

TechSoup Member

I'm slowly creeping towards creating a page on Facebook for our NPO for simple exposure if nothing else. We're actually in the process of creating a media plan which covers what can and can't be done by staff on the Internet in the way of representing the organization - so once that is established - I suspect more will be done in the way of social networking by our organization.

In reply to

RE: Creating Nonprofit Facebook Page: Does seeing other nonprofits on Facebook create a pa

08-11-2008 11:09 AM

MeganKeane

Top 10 Contributor

Joined on 08-20-2001

San Francisco, CA and the web

Cool, Marc, keep us posted on how this goes for you!

So for an update, I followed Carie's tip and got the TechSoup group information & past activity transferred over to our Facebook page. Facebook did it within the day and it was pretty darn seamless from what I can tell. When you do the transfer you can ask Facebook to delete the group or keep it (or have Facebook delete it at a later date).

Best,

Megan

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RE: Creating Nonprofit Facebook Page: Does seeing other nonprofits on Facebook create a pa

09-13-2008 8:18 AM

tsfbeth

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Joined on 12-12-2003

aside from the "better features" which is the ability to incorporate more applications so there is more functionality - why else would you use Fan Page versus a group? Is there a side-by-side comparison of features/benefits/pros and cons? When might you want both?

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RE: Creating Nonprofit Facebook Page: Does seeing other nonprofits on Facebook create a pa

10-09-2008 6:53 AM

jjoconnor

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Joined on 09-18-2008

TechSoup Member

I think this link is useful to see the difference in functionality between a Facebook group and page:

Facebook Group vs. Facebook Page

This article is not that up to date, so some aspects may have changed since but I think it is at least a good start in determining whether a group or page is right for your organization.

We went with a page and it has worked out well for us so far.

Hope this helps!

Joe O'Connor
We-care.com

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RE: Creating Nonprofit Facebook Page: Does seeing other nonprofits on Facebook create a pa

11-12-2008 2:16 AM

PR_Person

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Joined on 11-12-2008

TechSoup Member

What kind of results are you seeing with facebook? new volunteers, hits, etc.? Also how are you marketing the page?

Rich

In reply to

RE: Creating Nonprofit Facebook Page: Does seeing other nonprofits on Facebook create a pa

12-10-2008 2:47 PM

MeganKeane

Top 10 Contributor

Joined on 08-20-2001

San Francisco, CA and the web

Rich, one thing we've seen with our Facebook page is an increase in attendance for events, often from folks who had not heard of us before. I've found it to be one of the most important event-promotion channels, as there is such a large, existing audience on Facebook.

Over time Facebook has been adding new features, such as Facebook Connect that present more ways an organization can connect effectively with new and existing audiences. In the time since this thread, I'm curious how everyone has been using Facebook and/or if your strategies have changed.

Best,

Megan

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Re: RE: Creating Nonprofit Facebook Page: Does seeing other nonprofits on Facebook create a pa

12-25-2008 6:57 PM

WRENintheWEW

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Joined on 10-17-2008

TechSoup Member

Megan and all,

I'm curious, too, whether you notice that your Facebook members are recruiting their friends to your organization's events, i.e. event announcements through Facebook? I think that one of the most exciting benefits of Facebook is how community supporters are doing wonderful publicity work on behalf of an organization without any prompts or use of precious staff time.

-Windy with WREN in Eugene, OR
www.wewetlands.org

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Re: RE: Creating Nonprofit Facebook Page: Does seeing other nonprofits on Facebook create a pa

01-18-2009 5:28 PM

didjaever

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Joined on 06-21-2000

TechSoup Member

I am thoroughly confused about all this Facebook stuff. I created a Facebook page for our non-profit (I think!) but it doesn't seem to look like all of your pages... there are ads, I see no option for people to become Fans - only Friends. Did I create a personal page?? How can I check??

Thanks for your replies!!

http://www.facebook.com/people/Endometriosis-ResearchCenter/1646985835

Kimberly

www.endocenter.org

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Re: RE: Creating Nonprofit Facebook Page: Does seeing other nonprofits on Facebook create a pa

01-23-2009 11:50 PM

MeganKeane

Top 10 Contributor

Joined on 08-20-2001

San Francisco, CA and the web

HI Windy--

You bring up a great point about the viral effects of Facebook--so mcuh so that your supporters are doing some of the publicity for you.. I know that's one of the benefits of Facebook, but honestly it's one of those things that's hard to track--there are ways to track how people find out about it through Facebook, but hard to pinpoint how many of them found out through another person passing on the word. Looking at things like the number of new supporters, groups members, etc. might be one way of doing it. i also see the viral effect happening on Twitter, where many people will re-post (re-tweet) and announcement from one person to their networks and the updates (tweets) are passed on from there.

I think you also hit the nail on an important thing to remember about social networking efforts: by far the most important thing is maintaining a relationship with your supporters. Without that, savvy strategy and outreach can only go so far.

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