Ever since Mark Zukerberg commercially launched his Harvard university project on the world back in 2004, businesses have been struggling with how they should handle the phenomenon formerly known as ‘The’ Facebook.
With more than 600 million users as of January 2011 – which, if Facebook was a country, would make it the third most populous on earth – means organisations can no longer afford to ignore it.
As many corporate communication personnel around the globe can attest to; managing wall posts on an organisation’s Facebook page can be a troubling and frustrating job. Just ask the communications people at Nestlé, when Facebook users blasted the company for “censorship” after it planned to review its commenting policy.
The way companies engage with the outside world on their Facebook page has become a crucial component of the PR professional’s job. An organisation’s response—or lack thereof—to wall posts can be downright detrimental to its brand.
A good guide on how to manage an organisation’s Facebook presence can e gleaned from a paper titled “Strategies for Effective Facebook Wall Posts: A Statistical Review” – by a US outfit called Buddy Media. This includes tips and tactics on the best days and times to post, the ideal length, keywords to use, questions to ask, and in-depth advice by industry. Its advice includes:
Complaints: Don’t make the mistake of replying to complaints selectively – many administrators and brand managers try to avoid the more controversial posts thinking it will be more diplomatic.
Spreading positivity: Try to engage the happy posters so they reply in kind with more positivity, further populating people’s news feeds with goodness.
Requests for Information: Think of these requests and your answers as a bonding exercise, a way to make the fan feel like he or she is a part of things upon receiving the answers.
Guidance and advice: Be mindful of potential legal issues here. Make sure any answers to these questions protect your organisation from potential litigation.
Diffusing frustration with technology: Anticipate likely technology challenges and prepare answers to questions ahead of time.
Managing conversation threads: Don’t move too quickly that you make mistakes – especially when you will face a mix of positive and negative posts.
Keeping a watch on negativity and swearing: Have a firm policy about what types of posts you don’t want to receive, place it prominently on your wall or page and implement it. If the conversation starts getting too heated, abusive or out of control disable the comments link. It will give people time to cool off and/or move on.
Facebook is the fastest growing social platform in the world. Which means, even if your organisation decides not to use it for business purposes, it should at least have a good grasp of what it’s all about.