Guest poster Karaitiana Taiuru with an introduction to one of the most influential tools on the Internet.

Why use FaceBook
Many organisations believe that FaceBook and other social media is not worth investing time into as their stakeholders will not be a part of Social Networks.

At the time of writing (May 2009) FaceBook has over 200 Million users worldwide. Its demographic audience is continually changing to. No longer is FaceBook the sole domain for students. Recently it was announced that the 60 Plus generation were adapting to FaceBook with the current highest demographic being people aged 35 plus. This following the recent highest demographics being the 20-35 bracket.

FaceBook is also the worlds 3^rd most visited web site and is usually ranked between 3^rd and 5^th most visited site in New Zealand.

If the above is not enough to convince you that you should at least consider a social media strategy then consider the fact that there are tens of thousands of professional, education and NFP networks that make up FaceBook. It is a cheap alternative to traditional marketing and allows people to passively learn about your organisation and support you.
Promoting and interacting with Facebookers
One of the first questions organisations face when setting up on facebook is, "should I create a Fan Page or Group ?"

The answer is that it depends on your organisational needs and what you want to gain from using Social Media. Pages and Groups have overlapping features and recently FaceBook modified the functions of Fan Pages which may make the choice easier for organisations to decide which is more suitable for your organisation.

In fact, FaceBook are continually adding new features almost on a weekly basis so it is advisable to at least follow via Blogs and Twitter etc Social Media consultants so your organisation can be kept informed.

Fan Pages
A Fan Page is similar to a personal Profile Page but for a Brand, product or organisation. People can add themselves to your page to become a Fan. Fans can then leave comments, their picture appears in the Fan list and updates can appear on their Personal Profile Pages. As the owner of a Fan Page you can email all Fans or just individual Fans.

A Fan Page also allows you to advertise your web site and contact details, pictures and updates which will appear on your Fans Pages. Fans can now join your Fan Page directly via online adverts thus giving you the opportunity to see how effective your social media adverts are.

On your Fan Page you can and should integrate feeds from your Blogs, Tweets, YouTube and an increasing number of other Social Media service updates.

I am inclined to trust an organisation or Brand that has a Fan Page as it allows consumers and stake holders to ask questions in public and to hear any complaints and compliments. For the organisation or Brand owner it offers you a personal touch between your organisation/brand and the people who support you. This human interaction makes people think of the personality and the responses to questions as opposed to a faceless organisaiton. It is human nature to give loyalty to a person other than to a faceless organisation.

Facebook Groups
FaceBook Groups can be created for a membership based organisation such as a University or a common interest group such as Red Cross supporters. One current Group is one focused on trying to get a referendum on the Auckland Super City reorganisation.

If you are familiar with Email List serves then a FaceBook Group is similar but has a restriction of 5000 members that you can group email.

There are a number of settings that you can apply when creating a Group such as new members require approval or moderation. People can be appointed as administrators and people can be banned from the group.

Group owners and administrators can invite people to join their group.

Karaitiana Taiuru is a NFP and Maori ICT advocate who resides on several governance boards including .ORG . He is the CEO of a New Zealand Social Media company Net Mania, he will respond to any feedback in the comments which are now open.

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