Stand out and be seen!
I recently read, source respectfully unnamed, “If the purpose is to have a space to talk to your customers and anyone can say anything- is the Facebook fan page the right space? I LOVE removing things and controlling the message.“
Is the purpose of a Facebook page to “talk to your residents”?
Or can a Facebook page be created for residents and employees as a place to socialize and talk with one another? Communication is a 2-way street. Simply broadcasting to your residents will not result in building an online community. There are many examples of how building an online community for your residents can be beneficial, including the Urbane blog, Surfing Nosara, Babcock and Brown Residential, and Studio Green.
There is a popular saying “People connect with people, not brands.” This is a fairly accurate statement, with some exceptions like Coke, Pepsi, The Gap, and Target.
“I LOVE removing things and controlling the message?”
If you follow this advice, your community will not be successful in the use of social media tools. Please see my advice on fan posting guidelines for your community page. By creating guidelines, you are setting the standard of communication as well as protecting your page from discriminatory or inappropriate posts by fans. With that said, please do not remove posts from your page unless it is absolutely necessary. Social media is about community and openly sharing. Removing comments, links, and photos that are relatively harmless will indicate to your fans that you are attempting to control the community and their message.
Control = anti-community.
The need for control is so deeply ingrained in the marketing and PR industries that it is standing between companies and their customers. Control is a WALL between online communities and residents. People will avoid fan pages that remove their messages. It’s like going out to dinner with your friends and not being allowed to talk. Allow your fans to post links, photos, and comments freely if you want your Facebook page to succeed. Social media is about socializing. Don’t feel threatened by the messages your fans leave on your wall, be flattered they showed up for the conversation!
Please feel free to comment, leave links to other posts, or disagree with me!
