Updates from Fan Pages on Facebook Are Ineffective

Facebook fan updates are dead.

In the past couple weeks we have pointed out that turning email into an organizational newsletter is ineffective. The same is true for trying to execute a Facebook outreach campaign using email style and tactics.

Just as writing a dissertation in couplets is a bad idea (or writing an email in the style of direct mail is a bad idea), so too is using a style of writing for one online medium that is designed for another.

Now that some time has passed since Facebook updated its fan pages to make them act and look more like profile pages, it is clear that Facebook recognized how people were using social networking websites and changes quickly followed.

Yes, some people have complained that Facebook is trying too hard to emulate Twitter. However, the "new Facebook" represents the way that people want to consume information in a social network: they want small chunks of information about as many of the people and groups they are following in one sitting.

Now organizations need to adapt their Facebook strategy accordingly.

Before the change, politicians, advocacy organizations and corporations used Facebook updates to message their fans, much like they would send emails to their list (and in some cases would use the exact same language). In turn, fans of an organization would get a notification of the update whenever they logged into Facebook.

In new Facebook, the only way for users to see an update is for them to go to their inbox and then click on the updates tab. A general rule of the Internet is the more times someone has to click their mouse and load a new page, the fewer people will actually complete an action.

The end result: Facebook updates aren't meaningfully reaching their audience.

This doesn't mean that organizational outreach via Facebook is a waste of time. It just means that campaigns, advocacy organizations and corporations need to treat Facebook outreach as if it was a microblogging platform instead of an email program.

Instead of one long message every day, week or month, administrators of Facebook Pages should aim to send out status updates much more frequently. Ideally, statuses should be updated every day, and if possible multiple times a day, as they are now being fed into people's dynamic news feeds.

It is important not to spam people's news feeds, for they can opt out - however, if you have something that is worthwhile to send out, then sending multiple status updates per day can only be beneficial to your cause. Because of the sheer volume of updates from friends and other organizations in people's news feeds, inactivity is a much greater risk than over-activity. If you aren't posting - or posting infrequently - no one will see your message.

Whether it is highlighting a press clip, pushing out a blog post or asking people to sign a petition, creating a presence in your followers' news feed needs to be the end goal. Similarly, responding when followers comment - as long as they aren't just saying "first" - is imperative for a successful Facebook (or Twitter) outreach campaign.

Ultimately, now that Facebook has changed its Pages, the number one thing an organization needs to understand about social networking outreach is that it should be used primarily for relationship building.

This is why users are on Twitter, Facebook etc.: to build and maintain relationships with friends, acquaintances and work contacts. Organizations have to fit into that model, not the other way around.

Ideally, the organization's representative will be allowed to show some personality while they manage the group's presence on a social networking site. People respond to people far more openly than they do to a corporation, advocacy or political campaign.

This doesn't mean that the organization's representative shouldn't display the values and mission of the organization while sending Facebook status updates or tweets. Rather, putting a human face and a human presence online that posts interesting and worthwhile content will be far more effective than a robot constantly asking its organization's constituents to complete an action.

Updates may be dead, but social networking outreach is stronger than ever - the key is just to adapt and avoid treating one medium like another.