Darim Online has a Facebook Page and You Can Too

Facebook is growing up.

While you might have thought Facebook users are mostly 18 and 22 years old, the fastest growing population segment on Facebook is women 55 and older!Furthermore according to www.insidefacebook.com, nearly a quarter of all users on Facebook are 35 years old and up.

These facts may be surprising at first, but it what it tells us is important: Facebook users are of all ages and include the people that you want to engage with your organization.

To tap into this demographic shift, many nonprofit organizations have created Fan Pages, or popularly referred to as just “Pages,” to interact with their constituents on Facebook.

While individuals on Facebook create personal profiles, the analogous feature on Facebook for organizations is a Page. Organizational pages provide many of the same features as a profile page such as:
  • A name
  • A Picture
  • Basic Information
  • A Wall where you or others (if you allow them) can post notes, photos, links, comments and more
  • Applications to your page including the Causes App, which directs fans to make a donation directly to your charity, and
  • A News Feed

The news feed is really important because it allows the followers of your page to keep up with you without having to come to your page over and over. This is one of the key differences between pages and Facebook groups. In other words, the information in a page’s news feed goes directly to your fans rather than waits for your fans to come to it.

Example of a Temple Emanu-El’s news feed from its page:


Notice how Darim’s most recent post shows up on the home page of a follower mixed in with updates from other friends:

Because on a user’s homepage your organization is appearing among friends and other pages, it’s important your posts stand out with compelling and valuable content. For example, your organization can use its news feed to post interesting articles on the web, events that are happening in the community, etc., in addition to promoting yourself.

Before you create your page, it may be helpful to explore other nonprofit Pages on Facebook. If you have a favorite nonprofit page on Facebook, please leave a link to it in the comments section with why you like it.

While you are looking at the pages consider:

  • Who the organization is trying to reach out to?
  • What are the messages the organization is communicating?
  • How does the Page amplify and support the organizations other media or web presences?
  • How often is the Page updated?

Over the next series of posts on JewPoint0, we will lead you through some of the main opportunities you have in creating a Page. In the meantime you may want to check out Facebooks short tutorial and step-by-step guide on creating a page at www.facebook.com/pages. Also, if you have any questions or comments feel free to post in the comments section by clicking in the link above. You could also tweet a question to @DarimOnline.

Strut your Stuff

  • Do you have a Fan Page? Feel free to post a link to it in the discussion section so we can all learn from your example!
  • There are many resources on the web about Facebook pages. Here are a few links to get you started. Try visiting Rachel Levy’s blog, Beth Kanter’s or Jeremy Owyang’s for more information about Fan Pages.
  • Stay tuned to JewPoint0, as we post tips on picking a name for your page, choosing a picture, what information to include and how to generate compelling content.

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