Facebook is the platform that gives your organization a voice and an identity in a community of more than a billion active users. Whether you’re a local agency striving to make positive behavior change with residents or a for-profit marketer selling an idea, Facebook provides a concrete space to communicate with your target audience.
SGA helps a large number of local agencies operate Facebook pages and we’ve found a few key trends that have proven successful. We call them the 3-I’s:
- Identity. Facebook is hugely visual and this visibility enables you to transform your mission into a brand perception. SGA has successfully integrated the Facebook page of the City of Los Angeles Stormwater Program to support and promote their community events, website, and eNewsletter efforts. By forming a steady image online, your organization forms a stronger presence offline and a community around your brand.
- Interaction. Facebook provides an arena for your organization to be a part of a meaningful conversation in a targeted way. You can communicate your organization’s perspective and share your values on trending issues that matter most. Communication can also be narrowly targeted and tailored to provide an authentic voice for your audience. For example, SGA’s work on the San Bernardino County Stormwater Facebook page interacted with fans at the local level and found that audiences reacted best when content was localized to their specific city or community.
- Insight. Facebook is a multi-tool that enhances communication by giving you insight into your fans and their interests. Facebook makes its money by selling ads, therefore, they need to empower the ad buyer. That means giving you data on your target audience. An effectively built Facebook campaign will incorporate data that is every bit as analytical as a countywide survey but at virtually no cost. Every Facebook post becomes a survey question with real-time analysis that can inform the next campaign. Using Facebook Insights gives you an opportunity to further enhance your reach and cultivate a loyal fan base.
The ultimate goal of any strong Facebook profile is to form a tangible identity which your audience can resonate with, interact with, and, ultimately, support. Facebook is not just another tactic in your arsenal. Rather, Facebook provides a platform where you can brand yourself and your vision as an organization to a diverse target audience at a low cost and an abundance of data.