1. Using Your IREM® Chapter Facebook Page Best Practices (use them!) and Common Pitfalls (avoid them!)
2. Facebook Pages for IREM® Chapters Download at http://www.irem.org/pdfs/chapterservices/FacebookforIREMChapters.pdf Seven quick steps to getting your Facebook page up and running
3. Keep your goals in mind Chapter growth Build community Promote events Provide visibility to industry partners Recognize member accomplishments
4. Finding sources of content Content is king Main sources of content Industry/local news Chapter events or promotions IREM®
5. Content: Industry/local news Local and national newspaper websites Local and national business journals (Crains, etc.) National industry magazines/websites JPM® Multi-housing News Units GlobeSt.com
6. Content: Chapter promos Events Create as RSVP-able event Newsletter articles Charity drives New member welcome Photos
7. Content: IREM Headquarters JPM® Digital magazine makes sharing content easy IREMFIRST content What’s Happening articles Press releases IREM HQ Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn
8. Content: How? Finding and managing all that content without letting it take over your life The magic of RSS Really Simple Syndication New stuff posted to web Google Reader Specific websites/blogs Search terms
9. Engagement New ‘Questions’ feature Solicit feedback Events – RSVP Post photos, ask people to tag themselves
10. Market your page Create a custom URL Add to email signature, newsletter contact info, and website Chapter website template Use Facebook as page “Like” other pages or add as favorite Tag your page in photos Interact with other pages
11. Manage your time Delegate Routine Third-party tools – schedule posts in advance Tweetdeck Hootsuite Email notifications
12. Monitor results Facebook Insights Impressions and post analytics – what does this mean? Engagement is important Third-party tools Twentyfeet.com
13. Common Facebook Pitfalls Violating Facebook terms of use Profiles instead of business page Contests (http://www.facebook.com/promotions_guidelines.php) Tagging people without permission Turning off wall posts Being afraid of what customers will say Not updating Buy now! Register today! Join now! $$$ Being boring
Available on the Chapter Services section of the websiteGuide is combination of Step by step how-to with screenshotsIncluding how to set up a page without using your personal FB accountAnd best practices for using your page once it is up and running
By far the most important tip is to know why you are doing this.Not just because everyone else isWhat do you want to get out of itTypical goals might beChapter growth – membership, course enrollments, event attendance, sponsorsCommunity – provide space online for your chapter members to gather and interactPromote events – allow people to RSVP, share photosGive visibility to industry partners/Friends of IREMRecognize members for their achievements
Content is the most important thing to get right on social media….But is also the hardest!Going to talk about three main sources of content for your Facebook page-news-chapter-IREM HQ
You don’t have to be the one *creating* the content.Borrow liberally from established sources
Obviously, it is important to post things about your chapter.Facebook is a great use for -events (even have heard of one chapter that does all their event RSVPs via Facebook. Don’t have to do that, but creating events for people to RSVP to is very helpful. Their friends see that they are attending your event and it spreads the word)-if you send out an e-newsletter or write a blog, link to those articles-I’ve noticed a lot of chapters doing charity drives and other charitable events lately – these are great PR!-welcome new members when they are installed-thank your Friends of IREM and Industry Partners – it’s great visibility for them-post photos of your events
Digital JPM allows you to link to individual articles within an issueFor now, it is available to everyone (will likely become members-only in the future)IREMFIRST has lots of great content. If you have an event coming on on a certain topic, consider building interest in that topic by linking to related IREMFIRST resources before or after your event!What’s Happening is the news section of IREMFIRST, where a few times a week a recap and link to an industry article or news item is postedPress releasesFeel free to borrow liberally from the IREM HQ Facebook and Twitter updates!
So you’re probably thinking, how can I find and manage all those sources of content without letting it take over my life! I don’t even have time to read the local paper front page, let alone scour the web for articles about real estate managementThrow out a suggestion – what I use to keep sane. That’s RSSMost websites with regularly updating content – news sites, blogs, etc – publish what are called RSS feeds.You can use special apps called RSS Readers to search the web for these feeds and automatically bring them to you. I use Google Reader, which is a web-based app that you can use for free with a google log inSimply add the URL of a website you want to follow and it will find the RSS feed for you, if it exists.You can also do a google search of a specific term and then add those search results to your RSS readerI do this for terms like “property management” “commercial real estate” and “green building”Use it like an email inbox.
I only have 1 slide for this, but it’s probably the most importantThis is the wishy washy touchy feely stuff that makes social media SOCIALContent will attract people, but engagement is what keeps them coming backMost people will not engage without being asked. (90/10 or 80/20 lurker rule)So…. Ask themUse new questions feature, which is super easy Solicit feedback. Say “what do you think?” or the equivalent at the end of your status updatesAsk people to RSVP to your eventsPost photos, and ask people to tag themselves in them!
It’s much easier to market your page when you have a custom URL! For example, IREM’s is facebook.com/instituteofrealestatemanagement.All you need is 25 “fans” and you can get one. Log in, go to facebook.com/username and it will walk you through selecting your URLAdd your new URL to your email signature, newsletter, website, etc just to let you know, the chapter website template next update will have a place for links to fb, twitter, and linked in (later this year)Use Facebook as page Go to Account in right hand corner, and select “Use Facebook as Page” can now “like” other pages, comment on status updates, tag your page as if it is a person in photos
Delegate – find the right person and add him/her as administrators to the page. (Either by email address or by being friends with their account)Make it part of your routineDon’t have to have it open all day. Maybe check once in the morning and once after lunch. Or Tuesdays and Thursdays. Whatever works for your schedule.Use third-party tools that allow you to schedule postsHootsuiteTweetdeckUse built-in admin toolsTurn on email notifications so you know when someone has responded to a post or posted on your wall.
Facebook Insights are the stats that facebook provides to you as a page administratorShows you stats like “likes”, active users, and data about interactions with specific postsThese post analytics show up at the bottom of anything you post (and are only viewable by you the administrator) will say something like “1,463 impressions | 0.14% feedback” what this means is the post was rendered to a user 1463 times. It is not unique users, so it could be one person refreshing 1463 times or could be 1463 different people, or likely somewhere in between. % feedback measures comments and likes, and is based on the # of impressions, not total fans.What this means is that engagement is important! What many Facebook users don’t know is that depending on their account settings, they may be getting a news feed that is filtered by facebook. People or pages that they don’t interact with and that their friends don’t interact with will slowly start filtering out of their news feed. It is important to keep that engagement up because the more people that engage, the more likely it is that your post will actually be seen by your fans.There are some third party tools out there as well. I’ve just started using twentyfeet.com which does analytics for facebook and twitter (and a variety of other services, you can even incorporate your google analytics for your website if you are using it._)
Facebook Terms of Use Violations You may think, facebook is so big they will never catch me. But what if they do catch you? They WILL delete your account.Profiles instead of business page – not only does this violate the terms of use, but as we discussed today, business pages have lots of features that profiles don’tContests Guidelines like “You cannot: Condition entry in the promotion upon a user providing content on Facebook, such as posting on a Wall of a Page, uploading a photo, or posting a status update.” But you if you have a third-party application that handles promotion entry, entrants can be asked to do things within that third party app. Confusing!Tagging people in photos without their permission is just a bad idea. Go ahead and ask them to tag themselves, though!Don’t turn off the ability for other people to post on your page wall. You may be afraid someone will post spam – as an administrator it is easy to remove and block any spam activity. Even with over 2000 fans of the headquarters page, we get maybe one spam post every couple week. People also worry about someone saying something negative, but this is basic reputation management – let them comment, respond and ask if you can call or email them to resolve their issue. Or just thank them for their feedback.Not updating – this is an obvious one.Being too promotional. If all you ever do is ask people to spend money, and never respond to them or engage with them or provide them with other kinds of content, will be turned off.Being boring. Embrace the “fun” less formal side of social media! Sources:Top 5 Things Not to do on Facebook http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/9134/Top-5-Things-Not-to-Do-on-Facebook.aspxFacebook Mistakes: Four Common Mistakes Every Business Should Avoid http://avelient.co/blog/facebook-mistakes-4-common-mistakes-every-business-should-avoid/Top 5 Facebook Marketing Mistakes Small Businesses Make http://mashable.com/2011/04/02/5-facebook-marketing-mistakes-small-businesses-make/
