Using Facebook to Promote a Tool or Organization


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Submitted by Rebecca Beck on Mon, 06/11/2012 - 4:06pm.

Today a large group of us all ate lunch at the same time in the red booths. We started to have a big discussion about Facebook as it is a popular topic all across the nation these days, especially with the struggle of Facebook's stock and the recent marriage of Mark Zuckerberg .

But our talk was more personal and everyone shared what they like and dislike about Facebook and how users share information on Facebook. Everyone has a different opinion, some people like when their friends post pictures of their meals, others hate it. Some people think it's cute when their parents join Facebook, while other people refuse to accept friend requests from their mother. Our conversation then evolved into a list of ideas for how Facebook could be improved.

Although the conversation today was largely focused around personal Facebook experiences, a question that often arises at the EdLab is how to best market our tools on Facebook. David Lee King posted about a session on Facebook Marketing that he attended at Blogworld. I found the hints he shares useful and relevant since many of his tips include how to utilize the new Facebook presentation, time line. Do you follow any organizations or products on Facebook? What makes an organization successful on Facebook? Have you ever had a negative experience after becoming a fan of an organization on Facebook?

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Hui Soo Chae Says:
Mon, 06/11/2012 - 10:51pm

All I know about FB is that Ford thinks GM is using it all wrong.

Scott Streiner Says:
Mon, 06/11/2012 - 4:56pm

I generally follow products or organizations on Facebook if they regularly update their page with interesting things, good offers, or are hard to follow otherwise (whether its a different social network). But on the same token, I avoid following those same type of companies if they blow up my news feed with what I consider "boring" or "irrelevant" information. So it's a tough balance between posting interesting things that it's worth following, and not posting so much that people start to resent the reason they followed you in the first place.

Do you think EdLab can benefit from a good Facebook page with many followers? Or does the success of using Facebook inherently dependent on the type of business you are in?

Laura Costello Says:
Mon, 06/11/2012 - 5:23pm

For our Archival Revival model, I'd like to present Humans of New York as a use case. I think they're generally spot on with post frequency so there's always something in my feed, but it doesn't detract from all the important stalking and critical life-comparing I have to do on the site. They also bring the wow factor pretty regularly.

Rebecca Beck Says:
Mon, 06/11/2012 - 5:07pm

Great question! Laura and I have tossed around the idea of using Facebook to promote some of our archival collections. We already post on twitter and Pressible.
But, we aren't sure if Facebook would be the appropriate next step. I definitely agree that you need to strike a balance between staying up to date on your organization's Facebook page and not bombarding people with irrelevant information. Thanks for the great feedback!

Rebecca Hyams Says:
Mon, 06/11/2012 - 4:32pm

I think this is an important thing to consider, especially when you're on the promoting-end of the equation. Every user has their own style (I for one only like pages for organizations or products that I want regular updates on, like NYPL, and not just things I like in the real world just for the sake of letting everyone know my favorite type of breakfast food) and it seems that a successful social media presence relies on being able to balance the desires of many types of users. You need to offer content/information to engage your desired users while at the same time not overburdening your connections with so much information that they hide you/gloss over you/unlike you.