Making a Group on Facebook
A Facebook group is way to connect people on Facebook with some common interest or affiliation. A group is like a profile’s wall, just for anyone who joins and posts to the group. A member of the group can post to the group, and then that post will show up in the feeds of the other members of the group.
To make a group:
1. Click the downward arrow in the upper left corner, next to the lock icon to access your options.
2. Then click on “Create Group.”
3. The “Create new Group” window will pop up in the middle of the screen, asking for some key information. To create the group, you would enter the desired name of the group, give a list of at least one person you would like to invite, and set the privacy settings of the group.
A public group means that the group is publically visible from a search, and that anyone can join it just by finding it and clicking a button. A closed group (the default) is publically visible, but Facebook users can only join it by applying to join, and being approved by an administrator. As the group’s creator you would typically be the administrator, though you can assign that role to others. Finally, a secret group would be invisible to anyone who has not been directly invited to the group by its administrator.
Once the needed information has been entered, you would click the Create button to create your group.
Editing your Group:
Along the top, there are a list of options. By default, when you create group, you will be both a member and administrator of the group. If, for any reason, you want to leave the group, your membership can be changed by the button titled “Joined” (1). “Share” allows you to post your group elsewhere, posting it to your profile’s wall so that your friends can find your group. “Notifications” allows you to set whether or not posts to the group will show up in your notifications. Note that any user who is a member of the group should see these options. The final option, titled “…” (2) will open a dropdown of options, allowing you to add members, and as an administrator of the group, manage the group, invite people, change the group’s settings, and so on.
As the administrator of the group, you can also upload a photo (3) to be the “background” of the group’s banner at the top. In the posts section (4), you can leave posts, just like you could on a friend’s timeline, but you can also create polls, upload documents, and create events; anything that you might need to share with the group can be created just like a post by using the options next to “Write Post.” Finally, a shortcut to add members exists on the right (5).
Making a page
A Facebook page is like a ‘profile’ for a business or organization. Pages are excellent ways of creating a social media presence for your organization, as they can be liked and subscribed to by customers or members. This creates an easy way of updating people who might be interested in your organization or business, as they will receive notifications whenever you post to the page.
To create a page:
1. Click on the downward facing arrow next to the lock icon. From the drop down menu that appears, click on “Create Page.”
2. On the next page, you will have the option to create one of several different types of pages. Click on the option that best fits what your page is going to be about. Depending on which one you pick, you will be asked for some information. For example, if you select “Local Business or Place,” you will be asked for the name of your Business, along with its address and contact information. “Brand or Products” will ask the name of the product and its category, “Cause or Community” will just ask a name, and so on.
Once this step is completed, you will be taken to the Set Up menus for your page. There are four steps to this process.
3a. First, you will be asked to give some information about your group. This is your opportunity to tell your users what your page is about, to provide links to other websites or social media accounts that might be related to your page’s organization, and even to create a URL so people can find your page directly.
3b. Second, you will have the option to upload a picture for your page. This is just like the profile picture of a private account, but will serve instead as the thumbnail image and profile image when you post.
3c. On the third step, you will have the option to add your new page to your own favorites, which appears on the left side of your home page. This is optional, but will make it easier to navigate to your page if you plan to update it on a day to day basis.
3d. Finally, on the fourth step you will have the option to give some details of your target audience. This is very useful, as this will make your group easier to find in searches and when Facebook recommends groups to your target audience.
Once you complete these four steps, you will have a completed page!
Note: If you have created a typical Facebook account for your business or organization and
you want to convert it into a page instead, it IS possible.
To do so, go to https://www.facebook.com/pages/create/migrate and click “Get Started.” It will lead you through the steps of converting your “business profile” into a page, which can then be accessed from your personal Facebook account.
Managing Your Page
Facebook pages have almost all of the same capabilities of a full Facebook profile: They can post, upload pictures and videos, make events, receive notifications, and so on. That said, they are a little easier to maintain than a full Facebook account, as most of the features are available from one page.
To edit your page:
1. Go to your home screen. There should be a “your pages” option in the upper right, which you can click on to manage your page. Alternatively, clicking on “Pages” under “Explore” on the bar along the left side will take you to a list of Facebook pages. From there you can click on “My Pages,” then the name of your page to edit your page.
From here, you can edit and control every aspect of your page.
(Top half of the Page Management Screen)
When first navigating to your page, you will be on the default “Page” view. To navigate to other menus on your page, you can use the options at the top to view the messages users have sent to this page, check notifications on activity relating to the page, and so on (1).
By clicking on your profile picture and cover photo buttons, you can change your page’s thumbnail and ‘background’ style cover image (2, 3). Clicking any of the options below Home allows you to view and manage any of the content that you have posted to the page, such as posts, videos, photos, and so on (4). Like any user visiting the page, you will be able to Like, Follow, Pin, and otherwise manage your profile’s relationship to the page (5).
Adding content can be done from the status box (6), which operates much like a profile’s status update box, with the exception that you can also add videos, photos, offers, events, and so on simply by clicking on the options above where it says “Write something...” The ‘This Week’ (7) section contains analytics tools to track who has viewed your page and seen that content. You can also add functions (ordering products, contacting you, etc.) directly to your page using ‘Add Button (8).’ Finally, to access more advanced options, click ‘Settings’ in the upper right (9).
(Bottom half of page management screen)
Recall that the tabs at the top of the page’s main screen (1). Since this page is an entity on Facebook, it can receive messages and be tagged directly in posts. To manage incoming message to the Page, click the messages tab. To read (and follow up on) notifications like Likes, Comments, etc., use the Notifications tab. Note, when you write a message or follow a notification from the page, it will appear to other Facebook users that the page, not you, are taking these actions. This allows you to use a page as a ‘company Facebook account.’ Rather than creating a new account, you can market your business or organization through the page.
Insights provides a dashboard for how your page is doing. It includes both a general dashboard, as well as specific analytics on page interactions like likes, views, messages, posts, and so on. Finally, when managing your page, you don’t have to immediately post content that you may be writing. Using the Publishing Tools, you can check existing posts, schedule new posts, work on drafts, store video content before release, and so on.
When you are ready, your page will have a publish button at the top. Clicking this finalizes your page and makes it publicly visible and searchable.
Making an event
A Facebook event is like a group or page, but simplified, and for a meeting or real-world event at a specific time and place. To coordinate an event on Facebook, one would create the event, list the time, location, and other details, and use the built-in invite system to invite people to attend.
To create an event, go to the home screen. In the lower left corner there will be a section called ‘Create.’ Click the link to ‘Event’ to create an event. Events can also be created from the home screen by going to Explore -> Events, and from the events page, click “+ Create Event” at the top.
1. In the upper left corner, select whether you would like the event to be public (anyone can announce that they would like to attend) or private (only people that you and your guests invite will be able to attend).
2. Select a photo to be the event’s background photo. This is like the background image on an individual’s wall.
3. Name of the event.
4. The location the event will be held at. Facebook will help you look up the extract address.
5. The start time. To add an end time, click the +End Time link.
6. A basic description of the event. One or two sentences is usually fine.
7. Once you are done, click Create (Public or Private) Event in the lower right corner to create your event.
Once the event has been created, Facebook friends and others can be invited using the Invite button. Clicking Invite will open a menu that will allow you to search friends, email contacts, and phone numbers, along with a list of suggested contacts. Click the contacts that you want to invite, and they will be added to a list on the right. Then click ‘send invites’ at the bottom to send your invites. The date and time will be available right underneath the event header and background image, along with a built-in link to get directions to the event. At the bottom, there will be a comment wall, allowing you and your guests to post questions and discuss the upcoming event.
Social Media Marketing Tips
· Your page is a mini-website/blog:
o Post consistently, but prioritize quality over quantity.
o Post formatted images, edited video, remove URL’s from posts. Use a consistent tone.
· Social media marketing is social and interconnected:
o Respond to messages and wall posts.
o Share across platforms! Your page url is www.facebook.com/(yourPageName)/
· Take advantage of Facebook’s utilities:
o Create events at your business or involving your organization
o Check and use analytics tools. Post content when your viewers are visiting.
Advertising through Facebook
If interested, Facebook also allows users to purchase and run ad campaigns through Facebook. These ads will show up to users as side banners, feed content, and more.
For more information, go to the options dropdown from your home page, and select ‘Create Ads’ to access Facebook’s ad campaign tools, or click ‘Advertising on Facebook’ for more information.
Self-Evaluation: Advanced Features of Facebook
Evaluate your understanding of the following topics. Be sure to ask your instructor to clarify any concepts you find confusing.
Topic / very clear / clear / a little confused / very confusedGroups
Pages
Events
Social Media Marketing/Advertising
4 Last Edited: 3/21/2017