Let’s be honest, with social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat on the rise, it’s easy to forget about Facebook. Nevertheless, Facebook is still number one on the charts for top users on a social media website with 2.2 billion active monthly users worldwide. You don’t want to let this lively social media site go to waste when it can be used to your association’s advantage.
Facebook is constantly adding and renovating its features for maximum social outreach. So, is your association up to date with all that Facebook has to offer? You can find out by checking out the “explore feed” feature. If you poke around under your news feed, you’ll find a resource on the sidebar called the explore feed.
With the explore feed, there are many tools on Facebook that your association can use in order to increase member engagement, membership and member benefits. We’ve put together a list of key Facebook features that could help your association best reach your target audience. If your association is looking to increase its Facebook engagement, here are some tools to make that process easier.
Facebook Live
Did you know that Facebook Live videos are watched 3 times longer than videos that are pre-recorded? It’s true, and it’s why your association should know about this tool. By utilizing this twist on a webinar, you can instantly connect with your members. It’s easier than you think. You can either record from your computer or smartphone for up to four hours. In addition, Facebook Live allows you to see how many viewers are tuning in. It also lets users comment and like on your video will you are recording. This allows members to ask questions and give their feedback while you’re recording. You can respond through live video, engaging with members right on the spot. This type of engagement allows members to get feedback from your association right on the spot.
Facebook Live videos are both an amazing engagement tool and a valuable resource for members. Members who have liked your Facebook page receive notifications whenever you go live, so they can be sure to tune in. However, if members do miss out on your video, don’t worry! Facebook publishes your entire video stream to your page once it ends. Users can check out your association’s video content even when you aren’t recording anymore.
Insights
Looking for a better way to track your Facebook traffic? Facebook Insights makes it easy. The insights section of the explore feed will show you all the analytics of your Facebook page. This tells you exactly how many people are clicking on your page. It also gives insight on the demographics of your audience. This way, you can get a sense of what type of audience your association is attracting on Facebook.. You can also view how many page likes your association has generated, your post reach and your engagement. This allows you to measure your association’s Facebook growth over a specific period of time. On top of that, Facebook insights even shows how and where users found and clicked on your page.
If you’re using Facebook ads to promote your association’s page, you’ll be able to see how many likes your page or posts generated after a user viewed your advertisement, as opposed to if it was viewed organically. The posts tab of Insights is especially helpful for driving up engagement.. The posts tab divided into three sections: Members currently online, post types and top posts from pages you watch. The first two sections are what help boost likes and interaction on your posts. Your association can view when the people who like your Page are actively on Facebook.
You can also view the success of different posts based on average reach and engagement. With this tool, you can determine the best time to post and what content your followers enjoy best. Facebook Business says, “You can also review your post types to see what resonates most with your audience, like link posts or photo posts.” Facebook also recommends scheduling your posts to appear when your audience is most often online.
Private and Public Pages
There are more than 40 million active small business pages on Facebook. With that amount of competition, you want to make sure your page stands out. Having both a private and public Facebook page is what will help drive your member engagement and recruit new members to your association. You can reap benefits from both types of pages to keep growing your association.
A public page is the main factor in helping your association’s engagement grow. When someone types the name of your association in a Google search, this is the page that will show up. Your public page is what entices potential new members to join your association. A great feature Facebook now offers is a highlighted post. What does this mean? Well, your association can highlight a post to let it stick to the top of your page. This way, audiences will see this post first before any other content on your Facebook page.
On the other hand, a private page should be for members only. You can make your association’s private page “secret”, which makes the page unsearchable to those who aren’t already invited to join. Your Facebook page administrator can invite members to the group and accept or decline members to the page. With this private group option, you can inform current members about events coming up. You can also post member benefits and exclusives, which helps members up to date on association news, discounts, and other important information.
Facebook Events
Rather just sending out an email or a paper invitation, Facebook can help you promote your next event in an innovative and resourceful way. With the event creator on Facebook, you don’t have to deal with making sure your invitation gets to your members directly. We all know how easy it is to lose mail. This way, there’s no confusion on either end. According to Facebook Events, 35 million people view a public event every day and 41 percent of Facebook users in the U.S. engage with public events each month. Creating an event on Facebook can help attract new members, especially if you share and highlight it on your public page. Additionally, you can engage with your members on the page, promote and give them insight on what will be happening at your event.
With a Facebook invite, you can upload a photo, type in the name of your event, location, date, time and a description. Then, invite members or any other Facebook user to your event to increase engagement and event attendance. You can also view analytics on how the specific event invitation is performing organically versus with advertising, if you choose to go the advertising route. Facebook also helps you target an audience for you future events based on users who have attended past events. The Ads Manager tool targets members and their friends who have responded to your event or any event from your page. You can also upload an email list of people who have purchased tickets to your events in the past. Facebook will then target similar people based on their Facebook data and browsing history. Facebook invitations offer an RSVP option, which helps your association predict the attendance outcome ahead of time. If you are selling tickets to your event, be sure to insert the link in the description so members don’t miss out on that.
There are a variety of Facebook tools your association can use to increase your member engagement. Try using Facebook’s tools to increase your membership and further build a better relationship with your current members.