Use Facebook for your nonprofit? Then you’d better listen up! Facebook has finally pushed the new changes to Facebook Pages – users now may “like” your page in place of “becoming a fan”. Facebook’s hopes are that the action is more light-hearted, and gets more people to join your page.
Here are my predictions for how these changes will benefit your nonprofit:
- The Connection to the Cause Is More Personal. Since there is now a separation of how many people in total “like this” page and how many of your Facebook friends “like this” page – it’s more personal to the individual user. Haven’t you ever heard that people are most likely to give to a cause when their friends tell them to? This seems like an easy way for people to show the world which charity they’re into, and a great step forward in connecting the dots in social media.
- It’s All About Me, Me, Me! Another feature rolling out lets users link their favorite pages to their profile, which will give you the opportunity to become more visible. Since that favorite page info basically becomes a part of their profile information, you’ll definitely want to encourage your supporters to show their support that way.
- Change Can Be a Good Thing. There’s no doubt that having the “like” button will change the way people interact with pages on Facebook. Even though the functionality is exactly the same, it could an easier hurdle for people to jump over when they don’t have to go declare full-fledged “fanship”. Once they like your page, it’s your job to turn them into diehard supporters – using all the tools in your Facebook belt buckle to get them to support, donate, or volunteer for your cause.
Do you have any predictions to add to my list? What do you think of the changes? Please feel free to add your thoughts to the comments below.
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Tags: Facebook, social media
For now im not a “Fan” of the like rather than the Fan….pun intended
But, you do make some good points so I will try to keep an open mind
I’m interested to see if Facebook implements any changes to their policy of posts on pages showing up in the news feed activity. Hopefully, they won’t dial down the frequency since the “like” connection does feel less committed than being a fan.
Meghan, I know change is hard to deal with!! Especially because it seems like Facebook is constantly doing this kind of stuff. But, it’s usually for the best. As always, you will make the best of it!
Mark, I totally agree with you. I’ll definitely keep a look out for any news-feed related changes, since we know that that’s where the bulk of your fan interaction occurs. I really hope they don’t change anything there too! Thanks for the comment.