INSIGHTS

One of the constants you’ll come across in dealing with Facebook, from a business perspective at least, is that it’s always changing. And perhaps that’s a good thing. It keeps you from becoming complacent and on top of your social environment. The downside? You spend a lot of time trying to keep up with the tech side of things instead of simply dealing with your customer base.

One of our clients, a not-for-profit organization, has made very good use of Facebook since it’s inception in 2007. The number of members in its Facebook group has steadily grown although that number has settled at the 1,500 mark in the past year. But since then, Facebook has introduce the Fan Page, offering businesses more ways to track and interact with their “fans.” And so the idea of switching from a Group to a Page has been lingering for quite some time. But at what cost? You can’t simply switch from one to the other and bring all your members along; you need to start from scratch. Back at zero.

Of course, we’re don’t expect all 1,500 Group members to migrate to the Page. So how do you make the transition and bring along as many as possible? You start by talking with them honestly and point out what’s in it for them; more info, better interaction, contests and whatever other benefit you offer. Then you look at the other ways in which to reach them, and others; we’ve made tremendous use of this client’s Twitter account, weekly e-newsletter and website. And finally, consider an incentive, something worthwhile to compensate your members for making the effort to switch over and keep in touch with your brand. After all, would you expect any less?