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02.11.10
 By
Dave TaylorI run a Facebook group and am considering switching it to a Facebook fan page, but I don't think it'll address my basic problem: how do I make a Facebook group or fan page interesting and lively to my online community? Do I need to have giveaways? Spend an hour each day making new postings? What's the secret, Dave? Dave's Answer: [This is not only a great question, but a fundamental one for anyone creating or maintaining an online community. I know, because I have the Ask Dave Taylor Fan Page on Facebook. As a result, rather than answer it myself, I asked my friend Patrick O'Keefe, author of the book Managing Online Forums, to tackle your query. Here's his splendid, thoughtful answer... ] Facebook Groups and Fan Pages are a sort of repackaging or continuation of something we've already been doing in other online community spaces. So, when thinking about this question, it can be helpful to consider how you might keep an online forum or chat room active. After all, the Wall on your group is similar to what some would call a shoutbox and your Discussions tab is, more or less, a forum. When it comes to keeping them interesting, there are a lot of different directions you can go in, limited by your own creativity. With that said, here are some ideas that came to mind when pondering your question: Participate and Make it Routine Your participation in your group has a direct impact on how interesting it is. You can't expect to set a group up and then just let people talk amongst themselves indefinitely. That creates a host of issues. For one, there is less overall activity. If your group is based around your company, product, brand, personality or something along those lines, having no interaction with you can lead to participants feeling unappreciated. Plus, there is always the danger of something inappropriate being posted that you won't have removed because you weren't there. Instead, you should be a constant presence on the page, posting messages, responding to others and encouraging and monitoring discussion. Make it a regular thing, a routine; like checking your e-mail or reading your favorite blog. Ask Questions A simple way of generating interest is to ask questions. Put a call to action in your messages and the things that you share, asking for the reader to do something, even if it is as simple as asking them for their thoughts. Provide a prompt. When people answer, thank them for their replies. Host Events on Your Page Due to the live, fresh nature of Facebook, it can be used as a platform for scheduled events, aimed at drawing a bunch of people to your page at a given time. Here are some examples: If you're a company that creates a product with constant technical support requests, you could host a question-a-thon. Encourage people to ask questions of your product or company at a specific time with the promise that company executives, technicians, etc. are on hand to answer them as soon as they're posted. You can invite an expert or special guest of interest in the subject of your group and have them answer questions on your page for a set period of time. If you're a sports group, you could have a writer from ESPN or an athlete. If you're group is about growing your business online, you could invite Dave Taylor. If it's about architecture, you could host a noted architect. Continue reading this article. About the Author: Dave Taylor is known as an expert on both business and technology issues. Holder of an MSEd and MBA, author of twenty books and founder of four startups, he also runs a marketing company and consults with firms seeking the best approach to working with weblogs and social networks. Dave is an award-winning speaker and frequent guest on radio and podcast programs. AskDaveTaylor.comhttp://www.intuitive.com/blog/ |
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