Facebook pages are ubiquitous among businesses and nonprofits these days. Encouraging someone to like your page is an easy ask. The problem, which we discuss in more detail here, is that the value of a "like" is unclear and the resulting engagement is often subpar. There's no guarantee that the people who like your page will even keep your updates in their news feed.
Facebook can be an effective way to find new people who may be interested in your organization or product. But getting someone to like a post or your page is just the first step to moving them up the ladder of engagement. This Socialbrite article by John Haydon, author of Facebook Marketing for Dummies, shows what the Facebook ladder of engagement might look like for a nonprofit.
To get people interested in your page - which is the first step on the ladder - you have to produce content that people will want to interact with. The best way to do that is by telling your story through pictures and videos. Once you have individuals engaging with your page, NationBuilder is key to turning those associations on Facebook's third party platform into real contacts that you can build more meaningful relationships with outside of Facebook.
Unlike Facebook, which owns and controls all the data about its users, you own all your data in NationBuilder as well as your relationships with the contacts in your database. When someone likes one of your posts on Facebook, they automatically become part of your nation.
Once they are in your nation you have to fill in the missing blanks; address, phone number, email, append tags, etc. This is not just an exercise in futility; information about who is connecting with your organization is extremely valuable. As you build the information base of people in your nation, you can use NationBuilder’s advanced search and mapping tools to really understand who your target market is and where they live.
There are two ways you can begin collecting information, either by getting that individual to authorize their account on your nation’s website or doing direct outreach to that person via Facebook message and logging the interactions in their profile. Once you’ve followed up with an individual who’s interacted with your Facebook page, they are no longer just a name on Facebook but a valuable member of your community.
