Why have a Facebook Page for a Small Non-Profit?
To tell your story
Having a public Facebook page is an opportunity to share your non-profit’s story in a way that will boost support and increase awareness and engagement. Your non-profit website does this too, but a Facebook page has a more conversational tone and can feel more personal.
To Engage with a Wider Audience
A Facebook Page can reach a different audience than a website. Facebook also has the potential to facilitate networking between your non-profit and people who are connected with your existing supporters. About 90% of people trust their friends’ recommendations, so if you can mobilise your supporters to reach out to the friends by sharing your non-profits news or an event, you have found a powerful way to spread your message. Bear in mind that about 2.3 million Kiwis use Facebook every day, so not being on Facebook with a public page could mean you are missing out.
To Build Community
Posting quick, regular updates as well as creating an event which people can invite others to, are some of the ways you can use Facebook to engage with people, especially those who might be on the edges of your non-profit community.
To More Easily Reach those your Non-Profit is seeking to Serve
Not only is it great for reaching your supporters but it can also be great for connecting with those you want to serve in your community. For example, a Playgroup can run a public event which they invite their wider whanau. Having a public published event on Facebook makes it easy for organisers to invite the caregivers who can in term share the event with their families and friends.
To profile your Organisation to Funders and engage influencers
Having a public Facebook page can give an easy way for Funders and Influencers to see what you are doing.
How to set up your Facebook Page for a Small Non-Profit
You control the content
Facebook settings can enable you to disable all posting by visitors. Or you allow them to show in a separate visitor post section.
Visitors are people who do not have a page role. As you can see in the settings pictured above, you can select to review all visitor posts before they are published to the Page.
Visitor posts do not appear on the front page (Home) page but can be viewed when clicking on posts. See below.
{Yes I know, Cadbury isn’t a small non-profit! But most volunteers love chocolate !}
Keep in mind that you can’t disable all comments on your Page’s posts, but you can hide or delete individual comments. You can also proactively moderate comments and posts by visitors by blocking words and turning on the profanity filter for your Page. Source: https://www.facebook.com/help/356113237741414
User Roles
A public Facebook page has some different users roles enabling an organisation to keep good control of who can add content on behalf of the organisation. Having different roles for different people can allow multiple people to maintain and update the Page regularly.
Admins have the most control and accessibility.
- Edit the page and add applications
- Create and delete posts
- Send messages via the Page
- Respond to and delete comments and posts to the Page
- Remove and ban people from the Page
- Create Ads
- View Page Analytics
An Editor is a good role for employees or volunteers of a non-profit
- create content
- manage day-to-day activities
They cannot add other users, nor change another person’s role and they cannot change the Facebook Page settings.
Moderator
- can answer questions and respond to comments,
- but cannot create content for the Page.
A moderator can also remove and ban people from the page
Advertiser and Analyst
The Advertiser role is set up for anyone who creates Ads for the Page. They can also view the Page Analytics. The Analyst role can only view Facebook Page Analytics.
Adding Content
Facebook page does need new content regularly otherwise it can make you look out of date and ineffective.
Privacy Issues
Do bear in mind the rules around taking photos. You can take and publish photos or film of people where there is no expectation of privacy, for more details see: https://www.police.govt.nz/faq/what-are-the-rules-around-taking-photos-or-filming-in-a-public-place. However, if your non-profit does run community events, especially involving children, I recommend that you go beyond this. Do let the particular parent or guardian know before photographing or filming children. It is particularly important to make sure that they know if the images might be used on a website or public Facebook page. In most situations, it might be better to get consent from one of your existing supporters’ children and photograph them as representing what went on.
FAQ
What would happen if a person thought they were posting to a non-profit’s Private Group Page and accidentally added it to the Public Page?
If the Facebook Page allowed visitor posting, the post would appear in the visitor post section, not on the front page. When the person realised their error, they would message the Facebook Page admins and ask to have it deleted.
If the Facebook Page allowed visitor posting, but with moderation, perhaps the moderator would realise the error and message the person to confirm the content was to go on the public page.
Who can comment on it?
It is not possible to block all commenting on a public Facebook Page. However, you can hide or delete individual comments. You can also proactively moderate comments and posts by visitors by blocking words and turning on the profanity filter for your Page. In general, another visitor or supporter of your Page will quickly alert an admin or a moderator if something offensive is added and it can be taken down and the particular person warned or banned from commenting on your Page.
If you do not want any visitor posting and you do not want any visitor comments, then a blog is probably a better forum for sharing your regular news.
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