Guide to facebook
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Guide to Facebook
Contents
Contents ntroduction 4 About Facebook 1.1 What can you do with it? 1.2 Facts and figures
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6 7 8
Important terms 2.1 Profile or personal account 2.2 Fan pages 2.3 Friends or fans 2.4 Functions 2.5 Groups 2.6 Communities 2.7 Places 2.8 Privacy
10 11 12 15 15 24 27 28 30
Working with fan pages 3.1 Creating and publishing a fan page 3.2 Adding administrators 3.3 Posting content 3.4 Milestones, highlights, and top stories 3.5 Managing the fan page: using the admin panel 3.6 Sending and receiving messages on fan pages
32 33 40 41 41 45 45
Do’s and don’ts 4.1 EdgeRank 4.2. Provide exclusive content 4.3 Interaction 4.4 Moderate 4.5 Be personal 4.6 Update in line with policy 4.7 Draw attention to your fan page 4.8 Use photos 4.9 Add Favourites 4.10 Periodic evaluations 4.11 Don’t remove messages 4.12 Don’t fill your timeline with Tweets
48 49 50 51 53 53 53 53 54 54 55 55 55
Guide to Facebook
Working with apps 5.1 Why use apps? 5.2 Creating, linking, and managing apps
56 57 58
Measuring results 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Fans 6.3 Reach 6.4 Messages
62 63 65 66 68
Promoting fan pages 7.1 Free methods 7.2 Paid-for methods
70 71 72
Support 74
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Introduction
Guide to Facebook
Social media are becoming increasingly important in communications between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its target groups. They provide an opportunity for interaction and direct contact, making it easy to send information, talk and listen, and establish relationships. For the Ministry, social media represent a new challenge, offering new opportunities and knowledge. In May 2012, the Senior Management Board issued guidelines for the Ministry’s use of internet technology. The guidelines are intended for Ministry staff and units keen to leverage the power of online applications, especially social media. They can help you decide how to present yourself and the Ministry to the online world. But this is not enough. To get started, you also need inspiration, good examples, and practical instructions. You will find them all in the online toolkit on the Rijksportaal (central government web portal). This Guide, too, provides you with practical instructions – on how to set up a Facebook fan page representing the Ministry. Facebook is the most frequently used social networking site worldwide, with up to one billion users. The Ministry also maintains an active presence on Facebook, with fan pages being increasingly used by embassies, consulates-general, permanent missions, and Ministry departments and projects. The Communications Department (COM) published the first edition of its Guide to Facebook in 2011. Given the radical changes that Facebook has undergone since then, an update to the Guide was sorely needed. This update thus replaces the 2011 edition. The Guide is primarily intended to help you get to know Facebook’s terminology and structure. It explains what Facebook is, how to create a fan page, and how to use Facebook at your mission or department. It also points out the Ministry-specific elements that must be included on fan pages belonging to the Ministry: elements that affect the page title, the URL, the use of tabs, the disclaimer, and the Rijkshuisstijl (central government visual identity). Anyone who comes up with an idea for a new Facebook fan page should first contact the Communications Department (COM). He/she will then be asked to submit an action plan. You will find a template for this purpose and various practical tips in the online toolkit on the Rijksportaal. The use of Facebook and other social media requires a planned approach, even for small-scale projects with a limited reach or time frame. So think about it carefully. Be aware that setting up and maintaining a fan page on Facebook requires a variety of skills. The Communications Department has developed a ten-step plan, which you can find in the online toolkit. The steps address essential questions like: • What do I have to say? To whom? For what purpose? What result am I aiming for? • Do I already have an online presence where I can get my message across or achieve my goal? • What do I know (and what don’t I know) about my target group, my competition, and my organisation? • Do I know enough about the social medium I want to use? • Can I achieve my goal? What or whom do I need in order to do so? • Do I know all the rules and procedures? Have I cleared my message with the right people? We hope that the online toolkit and this Guide to Facebook will inspire Ministry staff to start using social media. For further advice on Facebook and other online social media, please contact Paul Frank (online strategist) or Mirjam Suurmeijer (online adviser) at the Communications Department.
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Chapter 1 About Facebook
Guide to Facebook
1.1 What can you do with it? Facebook is a unique social networking site. With almost one billion users, it is the world’s biggest online meeting place. People use it to find old friends and make new friends they’d never meet day to day. They exchange experiences and opinions. They share photos, videos, and music. They can keep in touch night and day. Using Facebook to keep in touch with friends and colleagues is hugely popular: a hive of social activity that businesses and other organisations are keen to tap into.
Who is it for? Anyone aged 13 or over may create a Facebook profile and allow others access to their personal data, including photos, videos, and messages. You can choose whether your information is to be publicly available or accessible only to your friends (or friends of friends). Although Facebook was originally a network for private individuals, it is increasingly being used by organisations, businesses, and brands for profiling, customer loyalty, and marketing purposes. On Facebook, you will find fan pages belonging to most of the big brands and organisations. Many online activities are shifting from websites to Facebook because it provides an ideal opportunity to communicate with and mobilise staff, customers, and fans.
What is it for? What can the Ministry do with Facebook? With Facebook, you can: • network with both personal and professional contacts; • find and share news and information; • offer a glimpse behind the scenes of your organisation; • initiate conversations and discussions; • survey opinions; • solicit feedback; • communicate with your target group via a fan page; • publicise events and projects. And you can do so any time and anywhere – at the office, on the road, or at home – thanks to the rapid advances in wireless technology that let you use Facebook on your smartphone or tablet.
In brief With most websites, communication is one-sided: they only send information to the consumer or fan. The target group has to seek out the information itself – or hope that the website provides an RSS service. But online communication is becoming increasingly interactive. And interactivity is where social media like Facebook excel. So Facebook can be a useful supplement to your website, as long as you use it properly.
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About Facebook
1.2 Facts and figures
acts & figures Facebook was set up in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg
(who was 20 at the time)
Facebook is the world’s most popular social networking site As of late
June 2012 , the now publicity traded company had:
3,976
955 million active users
employees
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May 2012
8,7mln active users in the Netherlands
45%
use it on mobile phones
66%
log in every day
43%
are between 40 and 64
Wordwide, every day an average of:
552 million users visit Facebook
250 million photos are uploaded
43%
57%
of users are female
2.7 billion ‘likes’ are posted
Guide to Facebook
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Chapter 2 Important terms
Guide to Facebook
2.1 Profile or personal account To post information on Facebook or to respond to messages from other users, you must first create a profile. As soon as you’ve done so, you can set up a fan page for your project, mission, or department. From your profile, you can manage several fan pages. A profile on Facebook can belong only to an individual person. You can use it to keep in touch with friends, share information, and follow interesting brands and businesses. But Facebook prohibits organisations from creating profiles, and if notified, it will remove them. If you don’t have a profile, you can still use Facebook, but only to a limited extent. You can read public messages and view fan pages. But you cannot ‘like’ status updates, leave comments, or make friends.
Example of a personal profile
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Important terms
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1. Notifications of friend requests 2. Notifications of personal messages and chats 3. Notifications of personal messages 4. Search (for fan pages, friends, places, groups, and communities) 5. Personal profile (timeline) 6. Find friends 7. Homepage 8. Account and privacy settings, create and manage ads, and a help function 9. Status updates, photos, videos, questions, and milestones; decide who can see them (friends or everyone) 10. Sort messages by popularity (top stories first) or chronology (most recent first) 11. Hide messages, flag spam, specify which messages you want to see (by person or fan page) 12. People you may know 13. Ads and sponsored messages 14. Chat with friends 15. Back to news feed 16. Personal messages 17. Events: invitations, birthdays, calendar, etc. 18. Find friends 19. List of all apps. Search and manage apps that you have given access to your profile. 20 List of photos (linked to your news feed) 21. List of music (linked to your news feed) 22. List of notes (linked to your news feed) 23. List of links (linked to your news feed) 24. Poke someone (i.e. get their attention) 25. Create and manage fan pages 26. List of your friends sorted in groups
2.2 Fan pages Fan pages (sometimes called ‘business pages’ or just ‘pages’) are used by organisations, businesses, brands, and public figures. They can be created solely to represent an existing public figure, business, brand, or organisation. Only an official representative may do so. Facebook users can follow fan pages by clicking on the Like button, located below the cover photo. The Like button remains after you’re liked the fan page. The thumb then changes into a check mark. You don’t (yet) like this page.
You like this page.
Guide to Facebook
Facebook users who like your page are known as ‘fans’. They can follow the content on your fan page in the news feed on their own timeline (on their homepage). There is no limit to the number of fans on a fan page. Several users can manage a fan page as long as they all have a Facebook profile. You can manage fan pages from your own profile. For more on this topic, see section 4 (‘Creating a fan page’). Example of a fan page
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Important terms
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
9.
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10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28.
Notifications of new likes on your fan page Notifications of private messages received from fans Notifications of new messages (comments and likes) Search for people, places, and things Back to the fan page’s news feed To the news feed. Shows messages from pages you like on your own page. (See the news feed on your profile.) Back to your own profile or other pages that you manage from your profile Edit the fan page: update information, manage permissions, allocate administrator rights, manage notifications, and use the activities logbook. Here, too, you can ‘use Facebook as a page’. Change from personal use to fan page use when you post information on your fan page (see 7). Build an audience. Send an email message to contacts, invite friends, share the fan page, or create an ad. Get help with your fan page Hide the admin panel List of notifications concerning your fan page (see 3) All private messages (see 2) All your fan page’s new likes (see 1) All the statistics concerning your fan page Promote your fan page, invite friends, etc. (see 9) Create a new fan page. NB: Use your personal profile to do so. Your fan page’s timeline, which lets you navigate through the history of your fan page The fan page’s cover photo The fan page’s profile photo The fan page’s name, which you can change at 8 Fan page management. Add fan pages, create a fan page, create an ad, share information, statistics, privacy, conditions, etc. Information about your fan page. Here you can explain your fan page’s purpose in a single sentence. You can change it at 8 Your fan page’s tabs. Standard tabs like Photos, Likes, and the Map. You can also add apps. You can organise tabs using a drop-down menu. Update your fan page’s status. Add a photo, video, event, milestone, etc., or ask a question. Define which messages you want to see: ‘Most important messages’, ‘Activities of friends’, ‘Messages by page’ or ‘Messages from others’. All messages from others about your fan page (messages posted on your fan page or messages in which your fan page is tagged) A brief description of the most recent activity on your fan page
Fan pages are indexed by search engines like Google and appear in their search results. What is more, they are accessible to everyone, even to people who are not yet fans of your page. In brief, they are an ideal way of generating interest in your organisation or project.
Converting a profile (personal account) into a fan page Have you mistakenly created a profile for your mission, department, or project? You can convert it into a fan page. Facebook removes profiles not belonging to individuals. To convert your profile into a fan page without losing any important content, follow the steps below. Download your timeline information. You can download a file with the messages you have sent and received – plus all the photos and videos you have posted on Facebook. Do the following: • Click on the ‘Account’ menu at the top right of your fan page; • Select ‘Account settings’;
Guide to Facebook
• Click on ‘Download a copy of your Facebook data’; • Click on ‘Start my archive’. This download contains all the information on your timeline. Save it to a secure location, and be cautious about saving, sending or uploading it for other purposes. In addition, appoint a new group administrator for fan pages you manage. The account you convert will lose administrator rights during the conversion. See section 3.2 for how to appoint a new group administrator. NB: If you convert your personal account into a fan page, your friends and fans will be added automatically as persons who like your fan page. Your current profile photo will also be included. In addition, Facebook will create a URL for your fan page based on the user name of your personal account. Other content (photos, videos, messages, etc.) will not be included. Save them locally, so that you can add them later to your new fan page.
2.3 Friends or fans On your profile page, Facebook contacts are called ‘friends’; on a fan page, they are called ‘fans’. Here’s a short explanation of the differences between the two terms and how you can communicate with both fans and friends.
Friends The people you add to your personal profile are called friends. You will find them under the ‘Friends’ tab – below your cover photo. Use the search bar at the top of your screen to search for a friend’s profile. When you have found your friend, click on the ‘Add Friend’ button to the right of your friend’s profile name. Facebook will send that person a friend request. If they confirm that they want to be a friend, they will then appear in your Friends list. A personal profile can hold a maximum of 5,000 friends. If you exceed this number, Facebook will automatically convert your profile into a fan page.
Fans Fans are the people who like your fan page. You cannot send them a direct request via Facebook to become a fan of your fan page, but you can tell them in various ways about your fan page’s existence. For instance, via email or ads. Nor can you contact your fans directly, unlike friends, whom you can invite to become fans of your fan page. For more on this topic, see section 7.
2.4 Functions Facebook has six optional functions that can be used on either a profile or a fan page: ‘Questions’, ‘Events’, ‘Notes’, ‘Photos’, ‘Lists’ and ‘Subscribe’. Below, you will find a short explanation of each one.
Questions With the ‘Questions’ option, you can ask your Facebook network random questions. The advantage is that anyone on Facebook can help you find the right answer. If you ask a question, it will be appear in your friends’ news feeds. If they answer (or follow) this question, their answers will be shared by their friends. In this way, your question may find its way into the networks of other users.
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Deelidentiteit rijksbrede huisstijl - BZ | OS | KN - versie 1.0 | 03 2010
If you ask your question in the form of a poll, you can add options yourself (‘Add poll options’). If you want other users to be able to add options, check ‘Anyone can add options’. If not, turn this option off. Fan page administrators can also ask their fans questions. Here too, if fans answer them, their answers will be shared with their friends. Even Facebook users who are not fans of a fan page can answer such questions. This is a good way of publicising your fan page. Select the ‘Question’ option.
Formulate your question here, and click on ‘Add poll options’.
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Add the poll options.
Example of a question
Guide to Facebook
Events You can use Facebook to communicate about trade fairs, seminars, concerts, and other meetings. To link an event to a fan page that you manage from your personal profile, you first have to add the ‘Events’ tab. To do so, click on the down arrow next to the visible tabs (usually four rectangular boxes; see screenshot) below your cover or profile photo. You will then see several empty tabs, each with a plus sign. If you click on a plus sign, you can select ‘Events’ to ‘add to your favourites’. Facebook calls this an app. If you then click on the tab, you can ‘create an event’ via the button at the top right. Click on the arrow (drop-down menu).
Click on the plus sign and select the ‘Events’ option.
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Click on ‘Create event’
Enter the details of the event.
Important terms
You will then see a small form, in which you can enter the details of your event. You can always change and update this information later. After you have added your name, a time and a place, the event will be created.
Example of an event
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On a fan page, an event is always public, though you can specify whether you want to display the guest list or not. On your fan page, you can also specify who may add a comment on your ‘Events page’. You can, for instance, restrict commenting rights to administrators of the fan page on which the event has been announced. As the organiser, in addition to announcing the location of an event, you can display a map containing directions. This location must be the same as the location specified on Facebook.
Notes The Notes function enables you to share longer texts. The advantage is that they can always be read again, under the ‘Notes’ tab – unlike messages on a timeline, which move down the list whenever new ones are posted. To edit your note’s style and structure, you should use the accompanying text layout editor, which lets you change the style of your text to bold, italic, or underline. You can also add bullets, numbers, and indented quotes. To link a note to a fan page that you manage from your personal profile, you first have to add the ‘Notes’ tab. To do so, click on the down arrow next to the visible tabs (usually four rectangular boxes; see screenshot) below your cover or profile photo. You will then see several empty tabs, each with a plus sign. If you click on a plus sign, you can select ‘Notes’ under ‘Add to your favourites’. Facebook calls this an app. If you then open the tab, you can write a note via the button at the top right.
Guide to Facebook
Select the ‘Notes’ option.
Click on ‘Write a note’.
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Important terms
Example of a note
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Photos You can upload photos to your timeline, one at a time or grouped in albums. Loose photos that have been included in messages or just posted on their own appear automatically in the ‘Wall photos’ album. You can also create your own albums, if you want to show your photos grouped under an event, a meeting, or a specific topic. In addition, you can caption your photos and specify who can see them. Fans can share your photos or albums. You can also add where the photo was taken.
Guide to Facebook
An overview of albums
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A well-known feature of Facebook is tagging. If you have a personal profile, you can identify your friends in photos in which they appear. The tag is a link to the timeline of the friend in question. The photo will appear in the ‘Photos’ section of the friend’s profile, in a separate album. If you manage a fan page, you can allow your fans to tag themselves and others in the photos on your fan page. You can define this setting via ‘Edit page’ > ‘Edit data’ > ‘Manage permissions’ > ‘Tagging ability’. It is also possible to tag fan pages of brands or organisations in photos. You need not be a fan of the page. As the administrator, however, you cannot tag fans in the photos on your fan page. Only the fans themselves can do that.
Important terms
Define settings for tagging ability
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Lists You can use lists to organise interests and friends on Facebook. To help you on your way, Facebook has already created a number of lists, like ‘Close friends’, ‘Acquaintances’, and ‘Restricted’. If you add friends to one these lists, they will not be notified. There are also ‘smart lists’ and custom lists. Smart lists are automatically updated when your information matches that of your friends, such as place of residence, school attended, etc. You can update the criteria yourself and manually add or remove friends. With a custom list, you can organise friends as you wish. You can choose for yourself who may appear on the list and what privacy settings will apply. Your friends will not receive a message if you add them to a custom list. You can manage and create lists via ‘Homepage’ > ‘Friends’ (left-hand column) > ‘More’. Interest lists are ideal for organising content you like. You can create lists of your own interests, or you can subscribe to the lists of other users. If you create or subscribe to a list (see below), you will see the best messages on that list in your news feed. Lists appear in the ‘Interests’ section of your bookmarks. Click on the name of the list to see all recent messages and activities associated with the fan pages and people on that list. NB: Lists are available only for personal profiles and not for fan pages.
Guide to Facebook
Example of a list
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Subscribing If you want to stay informed about people who interest you (even if you are not friends with them), you can use the ‘Subscribe’ option. Do you want to stay informed about journalists, celebrities, politicians, or other people? Go to their timeline and click on the ‘Subscribe’ button. You will see their public messages in your news feed. (Just so you know, you are automatically subscribed to your friends.) You can use the ‘Subscribed’ or ‘Friends’ button above a friend’s timeline to select the type of updates from that friend that you want to see in your news feed. NB: You can subscribe only to personal profiles – and only to those belonging to people who allow subscribers.
Important terms
Example of a profile you can subscribe to
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2.5 Groups A group can be created by anyone on any subject. It is a space where people can share views and interests. Groups can be open, closed or secret. In this respect, they differ from fan pages, which are used by organisations and brands to achieve as wide a reach as possible in order to market or promote products. When you create a group, you can specify the users who can see the group and its content. There are three types of group: open, closed, and secret. Anyone on Facebook can view open groups and become members of them. Open groups appear in search engine results, and their content is entirely visible to anyone who views them. If you join a group, your friends will be notified in their news feeds.
Guide to Facebook
Example of an open group
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In a closed group, only members can view messages. To become a member of a closed group, a friend must add you. You can also ask whether you may become a member. Your friends can see in their news feeds that you have joined a closed group. Finally, there are secret groups, which do not appear in search engine results and cannot be viewed by non-members. To become a member of a secret group, you have to be added by an existing member.
Important terms
Example of a closed group (without access)
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Example of a closed group (with access)
Guide to Facebook
Example of a group Most groups are intended for small networks people who know each other personally, like student clubs and sports associations. Fan pages are intended as spaces where organisations, businesses, celebrities, and bands can communicate with their fans. When the group’s membership grows into thousands, it is difficult to follow all the comments posted in the group, since messages on the group’s timeline do not appear in your news feed. You will receive a notification from a small pop-up located at the bottom left of your screen, and a number will appear to the right of the group’s name in the left-hand column. If you define the settings accordingly under ‘Notifications’ on the group page concerned, you will also receive an email message to let you know when a message has been posted. If you’d like to create a group, you can do so on your profile’s homepage (in the left-hand column, under ‘Groups’) by clicking on ‘Create group…’. Creating a group
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2.6 Communities A community is a space that is created automatically when a large number of Facebook users enter the same interest in their personal profile. Communities are not managed by a single author; nor do they generate messages in the news feeds of the Facebook users who have clicked on the Like button. A community will include a Wikipedia article on the community’s topic (or an excerpt from it), if such an article is available. Facebook also automatically posts relevant real-time comments from Facebook friends who are discussing the community’s topic on their timeline. It is not yet possible to add images to communities or to edit the information on them.
Important terms
Example of a community
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2.7 Places Facebook Places offers even more opportunities to keep in touch with friends. If you check into Facebook via the mobile app – at a restaurant, for instance, or a conference centre – you can tell your friends in ‘real time’ where you are. You can see immediately whether other friends are in your vicinity, or you can inform them about new places you’ve discovered. You can also, if necessary, create a new ‘place’. Facebook Places can be linked to fan pages. In addition, shops and restaurants can use the Places function to publicise special offers. They can, for instance, give away free cups of coffee to people who have checked in to a certain place three times. If you have a fan page belonging to an actual location, such as your mission, you can enter its address at ‘Edit Page’ > ‘Update information’ > ‘General Information’. Once you have done so, Facebook will display the place on a map, as below. If you want to view this map on the fan page, go to ‘Info’. Don’t forget to save your settings and click on ‘Save Changes’ at the bottom of the fan page.
Guide to Facebook
Enter your place’s address here.
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Important terms
2.8 Privacy Privacy is an important issue when you use Facebook, especially if you manage a Ministry fan page through your personal profile. Of the utmost importance is your password. Change it regularly, and ensure that it’s strong: combine uppercase and lowercase letters with numbers.
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When it comes to sharing information, it’s good to know what others actually see on their timelines. In the following bullets, we assume that your friends’ privacy settings are ‘open’. • Sharing content. Everything that appears on a fan page is normally open to all users. If a message from a fan page appears on your timeline, it will be private as long as your privacy settings are defined accordingly. Comments and likes on fan pages are public. • A comment by a friend about a fan page. If a fan likes or comments on a fan page message on his/her news feed, it will be seen by his/her friends. This is why comments and likes are so important: Facebook calls it the ‘viral effect’. You can see if one of your friends has commented on a fan page message. • Response from the administrator. If the administrator responds to a fan page message, the response will also be visible to friends. Remember: everything that happens on a fan page is public. Some comments will not be visible owing to EdgeRank (see section 4.1) or a highly active news feed. But otherwise, everything you do on a fan page is public. Privacy preferences cannot (yet) be defined for fan pages. They currently apply only to updates to your personal profile. • If an administrator removes one of his/her own messages. If you remove an original message, everything that comes with it will also be removed, including likes, comments, and shared messages. NB: The difference between a fan page and a profile page: everything you enter on a fan page is initially public. If you like or comment on a fan page message on your profile page, this too will be public. If you share a fan page on your own timeline, it will be visible only to your friends as long as you have defined your privacy settings accordingly. You will find the various privacy settings on the blue bar, under the down arrow. You can define your settings in order to determine who can see your status updates when you post them via your PC or smartphone. Check that this setting is correctly defined. It may turn out that you’re restricting access to your updates to a custom list (see section 2.4) while making them public on your smartphone.
Guide to Facebook
Define your privacy settings here.
| 31 | NB: If you really want to divulge personal information that you don’t want others to know, be sensible and share it in person – not on the internet. Tip: Check all your privacy settings now and again – at least once every two months. Facebook occasionally changes them: keep an eye out! https://www.facebook.com/ settings/?tab=privacy Be cautious about permitting apps to use your information. Look carefully at what information they want to use and make sure you’re happy with that. Only if you really trust an app and know where it originates should you give permission. Always check all the options, and think critically about whether you really need that app. For more on apps, see 5.2. Look carefully at what information the app wants to use
If you want to know how much of your private information is in Facebook’s possession, ask Facebook to provide it – as it is obliged to do. But don’t think that Facebook will just hand it over. You’ll have to make a considerable effort. You will probably be surprised at what Facebook already knows about you.
Chapter 3 Working with fan pages
Guide to Facebook
3.1 Creating and publishing a fan page a) Creating a fan page b) Getting started c) Names d) URLs e) Profile photos f ) Cover photos g) Info tab
a) Creating a fan page • • • • •
To create a fan page, use the link http://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php: Missions fall into the ‘Government organisation’ category. Enter the name in accordance with Ministry guidelines. See (c) Names. Click on the check box to accept the conditions. Click on ‘Get Started’.
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Working with fan pages
Select ‘Government organisation’. Enter the correct name and accept the conditions.
b) Getting started
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To follow these instructions, use the fan page, not your personal account. In the blue bar at the top right of your screen, you will see the name of the Facebook account you are logged into. You can change it by clicking on the white down arrow and selecting the account you want. NB: Your profile information is not posted on the fan page. Neither the fans of the page nor your personal friends can see who the fan page’s administrators are. Select your personal profile or one of the fan pages you administer.
Guide to Facebook
To change your name, profile photo and URL, go to ‘Edit Page’ > ‘Update information’.
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c) Names When choosing a name for your fan page, you will need to take account of a number of factors. One is brevity: page titles are limited to seventy-five characters. In addition, the page title must be clear, logical, and recognisable. With this in mind, we use the naming guidelines described below. To the right of the Info tab, there is enough space to explain that the fan page belongs to a mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. NB: You can change the name of your fan page only one time. And you can no longer do so once you have more than 200 fans. So try to get the name right first time. NB: The language depends on the target group and/or fan page content.
Working with fan pages
Embassies: Embassy of the Netherlands in [country] For example: Embassy of the Netherlands in Zimbabwe or (if the language used is Dutch) Nederlandse ambassade in [country] For example: Nederlandse ambassade in Luxemburg or (if the language used is Spanish) Embajada de los Países Bajos en [country] For example: Embajada de los Países Bajos en Argentina or (if the language used is French) Ambassade des Pays-Bas au(/aux or en) [country] For example: Ambassade des Pays-Bas au Bénin Consulates-General: Consulate-General of the Netherlands in [location] For example: Consulate-General of the Netherlands in Miami or (if the language used is Dutch) Nederlands Consulaat-Generaal in [location] For example: Nederlands Consulaat-Generaal in Miami | 36 |
Joint pages: If the embassy and consulates-general in a country share a Facebook account, the page title will be: Kingdom of the Netherlands in [country] For example: Kingdom of the Netherlands in South Africa or (if the language used is Dutch) Koninkrijk der Nederlanden in [country] For example: Koninkrijk der Nederlanden in België NB: In this case, it won’t be necessary to specify the mission (embassy or consulate-general).
Permanent missions: Permanent Mission of the Netherlands to the [abbreviation of organisation’s name] in [location] For example: Permanent Mission of the Netherlands to UNESCO in Paris or (if the language used is Dutch) Nederlandse Permanente Vertegenwoordiging bij de [abbreviation of organisation’s name] in [location] For example: Nederlandse Permanente Vertegenwoordiging bij de UNESCO in Parijs
Other pages: If you’re using the Facebook fan page to focus on a specific topic, ensure you mention the Netherlands in the name. For example: ‘Dutch [culture] in’, followed by the name of the country where the mission is located.
Guide to Facebook
(d) URLs Once you have 25 fans, you can claim your own URL (web address that appears in the browser bar of your internet file management program). To claim an URL, go to www. facebook.com/username. NB: As with page titles, you can change your fan page’s URL only one time. The URLs of new fan pages will be as follows:
Embassies DutchEmbassy - followed by the name of the country concerned - for example: www.facebook.com/DutchEmbassyZimbabwe or (if the language used is Dutch): NLAmbassade - followed by the name of the country concerned - for example: www.facebook.com/NLAmbassadeZimbabwe or (if the language used is Spanish): EmbajadaHolanda - followed by the name of the country concerned - for example: www.facebook.com/EmbajadaHolandaArgentina or (if the language used is French) AmbassadePaysBas - followed by the name of the country concerned - for example: www.facebook.com/AmbassadePaysBasBenin
Permanent missions DutchMission - followed by the organisation’s abbreviation - for example: www.facebook.com/DutchMissionUNESCO or (if the language used is Dutch): PV. - followed by the organisation’s abbreviation - for example: www.facebook.com/PV.UNESCO NB: The URLs of permanent missions to the UN also contain the name of the location. English: www.facebook.com/DutchMissionUNNewYork Dutch: www.facebook.com/PV.VN.NewYork
e) Profile photos A profile photo with only the Rijkslogo
All Ministry fan pages must include the Rijkslogo (central government logo) in their profile photos. For the profile photos of Ministry fan pages, guidelines have been drawn up in line with the Rijkshuisstijl. The Facebook page administrator can choose from two options: (1) a profile photo containing only the Rijkslogo or (2) a profile photo with the Rijkslogo plus another distinctive image. 1. The administrators of Ministry fan pages need only upload the file containing the Rijkslogo: a quick and simple operation that any administrator can perform. The file contains the Rijkslogo in the correct size and colour.
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Working with fan pages
2. This option lets you distinguish between Ministry fan pages by adding an image to the Rijkslogo, either below or to the left of the ribbon. This entails a one-off edit of the image. COM can help you do so if you don’t have a photo editing program. The photo must be clear, high resolution and free of extraneous detail. Square or oblong images are not suitable. Profile photos containing the Rijkslogo plus distinctive images
In the online toolkit, you will find: 1. the Rijkslogo without an accompanying image; 2. a Photoshop file (if you want to add an image to the logo).
Uploading profile photos: • Go to ‘Edit page’ > ‘Update information’ (at the top right of the page, below the blue bar). • Click on ‘Profile photo’. • Click on ‘Browse’, and select the profile photo.
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Upload your profile photo.
f ) Cover photos The administrator is free to choose a cover photo, to which the Rijkslogo will not be added. The cover photo can always be changed to reflect current events. If they wish, administrators can use photos from the DVD Images of the Netherlands 2011. The cover photo should be 851 pixels wide and 315 pixels high. If you want to use an outside photo, remember that it could be subject to copyright.
Guide to Facebook
NB: Remember the Facebook rules, cover photos must be free of: - pricing or sales information, such as ‘40% off’ or ‘Download from socialmusic.com’; - contact details, such as web addresses, email addresses, postal addresses, or other information that should appear in your fan page’s Info section; - Facebook functions such as ‘Like’ and ‘Share’ or arrows pointing from the cover photo to such functions; - calls to action, such as ‘Act while supplies last’ and ‘Tell your friends!’. For the Facebook rules, see http://www.facebook.com/page_guidelines.php. Go to ‘Page functions’ > ‘Cover’.
Uploading cover photos: • Go to the timeline. • Click on ‘Add a cover’ if you don’t yet have a cover photo. • If you do, hover the mouse pointer over the existing cover photo, and click on ‘Change cover’. • Specify whether you want to upload a new photo or use one from an existing photo album. • If you wish, you can change the photo’s position. • Click on ‘Save’.
g) Info tab You can post general information below the cover photo on the timeline, where it can be easily found. The info tab includes: • About • Description • General information. Part of the ‘About’ text is visible on your fan page’s homepage (169 characters). The maximum size of ‘About’ is 256 characters. This text is very important for first-time visitors to the fan page because it identifies the page’s owner and explains the page’s goals. The sender’s identity is an important factor in considering whether or not to follow a fan page. Ensure that you present this text appropriately. Never leave the ‘About’ field empty, and use the maximum number of characters. The text must include a formal description of the sender. For a mission, this means, for instance, ‘The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Belgium’. If the fan page’s owner is a department, the department’s name must be written in full. Don’t use abbreviations; visitors won’t be familiar with them. You can use the remaining characters to present yourself or explain the fan page’s purpose. Space is limited, so you can include more information about your mission or department in the ‘Description’ field: what you stand for, what you do, who you are. The ‘General information’ field is suitable for explaining what the fan page will be used for, what sort of information you post, and what additional rules you apply over and above the Ministry disclaimer. Don’t include rules in the ‘About’ or ‘Description’ fields. It may discourage visitors. First say who and what you are – and then explain how you want to interact and communicate with your fans.
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Working with fan pages
Make these texts attractive and inviting. Don’t use too much jargon, and don’t be too formal. Your contact details will appear to the right of the Info tab. They should include the mission’s address, opening times, telephone number, email address, and website address.
Adding page information: • • • •
Go to the timeline. Click on the Info tab (under the left side of the cover photo). Go to ‘About’, ‘General information’ or ‘Contact details’, and click on ‘Edit’. Enter the information and click on ‘Save changes’.
Click on ‘Edit’ to add or change page information.
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3.2 Adding administrators It takes time and effort to manage a fan page. Having several administrators means that more people will be able to share the burden, coordinating management and support.
Adding an administrator to your fan page: - - - -
Go to ‘Admin’ (top right of the fan page, below the blue bar). Click on ‘Edit page’. Click on ‘Manage administrators’. Below, enter the new administrator’s name (if he/she is your friend) or his/her email address.
NB: The new administrator must have a Facebook profile and be a fan of the page. To become a fan, he/she can click on the ‘Like’ button.
Guide to Facebook
Facebook has five types of fan page administrator, each with its own set of rights. The administrator with the most rights is the Manager, who can see what rights all the other administrators have. Then come – in order of diminishing rights – the Content Maker, the Moderator, the Advertiser, and the Statistical Analyst. Their respective rights are as follows: • Content Maker: can edit the page, create and send messages in the page’s name, create ads, and view statistics; • Moderator: can respond to comments and remove them from the fan page, send messages in the page’s name, create ads, and view statistics; • Advertiser: can create ads and view statistics; • Statistical analyst: can analyse and view statistics. Tip: to manage your fan page, use the Facebook pages app for iPhone en iPad.
3.3 Posting content You can post content on your fan page’s timeline in the form of text, videos, photos, etc. You can also ask questions of your fans and create events and milestones. To make your content easier to find for search engines and suitable for your target group, you should ensure that it is original and exclusive. For more information on how you can do so most effectively, see section 4 (Do’s and don’ts). | 41 | Tip: Think about the search terms by which your content can be found via search engines. If you use these terms consistently in your texts, you will be optimising your visibility in Google.
3.4 Milestones, highlights, and top stories On your timeline, you can add status updates and other messages showing important moments in the life of your fan page or organisation. They can take three forms:
1. Milestones Milestones are important moments in your life that you want to share on your fan page. Facebook enlarges milestones automatically to widescreen. Anyone who visits your fan page can see your milestones. How do you add a milestone? At the top of your timeline, you will see an empty field with the options ‘Status’, ‘Photo/Video’ and ‘Event, milestone’. Click on ‘Event, milestone’ and add a heading, location, date, and other details. Select a photo. Click on ‘Save’. Select the ‘Milestone’ option.
Working with fan pages
Enter the milestone details.
You can also hover the mouse pointer over your timeline and click on the plus sign that then appears. Post the message of your choice on the appropriate date. The correct resolution for a milestone photo is 843x403 pixels (w x h). Example of a milestone
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2. Highlights With highlights, you can draw extra attention to messages you find especially important. To highlight a message and enlarge it to widescreen, assign it a star. To do so, hover the mouse pointer over the message on your fan page’s timeline, and click on the star. With the star, mark the message as a highlight
Guide to Facebook
Example of a highlight
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3. Top stories On your timeline, your messages soon disappear downwards. But some are more important than others. If your department has recently published an important report, for instance, you will want your visitors to see it immediately. The solution is to create a top story. Top stories are messages on fan pages that administrators place at the top. A top story always appears at the top left of the fan page’s timeline. You will recognise it by the orange ribbon in the top right corner. Top stories stay at the top for seven days, after which they return to the date on which they were posted on the timeline. If necessary, you can repeat the operation. You can create as many milestones and highlights as you want. To create a top story on your fan page: • click on the pencil icon in the top right corner of the message concerned; • select ‘Pin to top’.
Working with fan pages
Using the star, you can mark the message as a ‘top story’.
You can recognise a top story by the orange ribbon
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Guide to Facebook
3.5 Managing the fan page: using the admin panel You can use the admin panel to respond to personal messages and/or personal questions sent as messages. See the example of a fan page in section 2.2 (Overview) for the location of the admin panel and the various options. You can: • see notifications; • respond to messages; • view your page statistics; • manage your fan page content using your activity log; • change your fan page settings via the ‘Edit’ menu. To open the admin panel, click on the relevant button in the top right corner of your fan page. To close it again, click on the ‘Hide’ button. Visitors to your fan page who are not administrators cannot see the admin panel. It is accessible only to fan page administrators.
3.6 Sending and receiving messages on fan pages You can also communicate with your fans outside the timeline. They can send you private messages just as your friends send messages to your personal profile. What is more, you can also send private messages to them – as long as they have: • first sent you a private message, or; • left a message on your timeline. You can find the messages sent to your fan page in the admin panel. Only use the fan page for personal messages if you want to discuss private information with a fan. For your fan page’s visibility, it is better to communicate with fans on the timeline. Other users can also post messages on your timeline. You could disable this option, but the Ministry advises you not to do so. Select ‘open’ therefore as the default setting.
List of messages and search functions
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Working with fan pages
Example of a message and possible actions
| 46 |
Guide to Facebook
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Chapter 4 Do’s and don’ts
Guide to Facebook
Creating a fan page is one thing; ensuring that it reaches the right target group is another. It is difficult to present a golden formula for an effective fan page. The results will depend on many factors that vary from case to case. This chapter suggests a few tips and tricks for achieving the best fan page possible. But first an explanation of EdgeRank, a tool that Facebook uses to rate your fan page’s popularity.
4.1 EdgeRank Chances are that, as a Facebook user, you are inundated with content from pages of which you’re a fan. EdgeRank is an algorithm that Facebook uses to determine whether an update to your fan page is considered significant. By giving an EdgeRank score to content shared by fan pages, Facebook protects its users from information overload. EdgeRank identifies the content (on fan pages or profiles) that has attracted the most response (comments, likes, tags, etc.) and displays it most rapidly in the news feed. The updates of pages with the highest EdgeRank are displayed by default as top stories. Not all Facebook users are aware of these default settings. On your news feed – whether on your personal profile or on a fan page you manage – you can specify whether incoming information is sorted by ‘top stories’ or ‘most recent’. At the Top right of the news feed, click on the Sort menu to change the sorting method.
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Sort your news feed based on either top stories or most recent messages.
Top stories are listed by relevance, which is determined by various factors: the duration of your last visit to Facebook, your relationship with the person who posted the message, the number of likes or comments the message has attracted, etc. ‘Most recent’ lists messages in chronological order.
What raises your EdgeRank? • • • •
likes comments links in your message photos in your message.
‘Likes’ and comments especially raise your EdgeRank. They show that the content is relevant: precisely what Facebook finds important. It helps to use links and photos, because people like them. Look at the fan pages belonging to stores like Albert Heijn or Hema: they hardly ever post messages without photos, let alone without a link! NB: EdgeRank measures more than the likes and comments sent in response to a specific message. It also examines the regularity of interaction with a fan page – by you, your friends, and Facebook users in general. EdgeRank also remembers how fans responded to previous messages. If, for instance, you often like messages on a Ministry fan page, you will see them. If you never like them, you will soon stop seeing them.
Do’s and don’ts
What lowers your EdgeRank? Posting messages via other social media: don’t post anything via Twitter, Hootsuite, Sproutsocial, etc. Post them directly via Facebook. The same applies to messages waiting in the Ministry’s Shared Content System Hippo. If your capacity to manage your Facebook fan page is limited, you may have to use other social media and the content management system. But it is preferable to post messages directly via Facebook. Tip: plan your updates in advance using the clock located at the bottom left of the screen.
Click on the clock to plan your message.
Type your message, and enter the date and time you want.
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Posting messages that no one likes: if you do so repeatedly, your messages will eventually disappear from all news feeds. NB: If fans stop responding to messages on your fan page, they will see fewer of your messages. Posting too few messages: post messages two or three times a week, so that you will continue to be relevant.
Do’s 4.2. Provide exclusive content Content is paramount! Draw up a content plan, and list all the topics you want to talk about during the next few months. Analyse your content using Facebook Insights (which produces statistics). Look carefully at what is appreciated – which messages are liked and which attract comments. Try to tell a story. Preferably use only one language on your fan page. Fans like to see exclusive content, which Facebook rewards via EdgeRank (see 4.1). You can post press releases and press photos that also appear on the website, but try also to post original, exclusive content: • Make sure your fans are the first to know: share news and photos on your fan page before they appear elsewhere. • Now and then, post photos you’ve taken with your mobile phone in special or unexpected surroundings.
Guide to Facebook
• Show what’s happening behind the scenes at your mission or on your project. • Start a regular section like ‘A Day in the Life of an Ambassador’. • Vary the types of messages (text, photos, video, polls, milestones, external links, and events) on your fan page. • Plan your messages ahead of time, so that you can be active at weekends. A glimpse behind the scenes during the Dutch elections
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4.3 Interaction On Facebook, you don’t only send messages; you also show you’re open for interaction. This means starting discussions, responding to messages, and answering questions from your fans. Seek answers to these questions, and return to them later. Or refer users with complex questions to an email address (your mission’s or the relevant Ministry’s), the central government helpline 1400, or the website Rijksoverheid.nl. Interaction arises when you show interest and augment your messages with a call to action. You can do so in various ways: • Ask directly for feedback on policy or Facebook activities - This is the new policy. What do you think of it? - We’ve been on Facebook for a month. What do you think of our fan page? Is anything missing? • Suggest to your fans that they ‘like’ a status update if they agree with it. - Like this message if you also think that ...! • Share an uncontroversial statement and ask who agrees/disagrees. - [Statement] Agree? Or disagree? • Ask your fans to finish a sentence: - I think/don’t think ... is important because ...
Do’s and don’ts
Example of a call to action
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The comments are merged into an image
Guide to Facebook
4.4 Moderate When you start sharing content on your fan page, you should also start moderating your timeline. If you only post content and don’t respond to messages from fans, you will be missing the point of Facebook. You may as well just manage a website. Your fans want interaction and conversation! As a fan page administrator, you need to act transparently and be open to ideas and comments. Only then will you build a relationship with your fans. This is why fans must be able to post messages on your timeline (‘Edit Page’ > ‘Manage Permissions’). If access to your timeline is open, it provides a space for ideas and comments. You can also define the settings so that you’ll receive an email notification every time someone comments on a fan page message. Tip: create a separate email address for these notifications to keep them separate from your other email messages. This will give you a constant overview and encourage you to respond quickly.
4.5 Be personal Try to strike the right level of formality on Facebook. Look carefully at your target group. You can be fairly familiar on fan pages aimed mainly at young people. Discuss the issue with your team. When responding to a comment from a fan, you should mention the fan’s name. For instance: ‘Hi Nicole’, ... or ‘@Nicole:’ .... Always post an answer as a comment to the post in question, so that other fans will know what message you are referring to. In addition, new messages are posted as new updates in all the fans’ news feeds. A reply to a question from a single fan may not be relevant to all fans. So it helps if the comments are visible only under the original update. You can also respond using your own name or initials – so that the fans will know which administrator they are talking with. Before using your own name, consider whether it would compromise your privacy. With this in mind, and with your department’s agreement, you could use a pseudonym.
4.6 Update in line with policy Update your fan page regularly, but make sure you don’t share content too often. If a Facebook user’s news feed is full of your content, it may cause irritation. In the worst case, fans will stop liking your fan page or hide your comments in their news feeds. It’s better to post three messages a week that everyone likes than ten messages a week that no one likes. Quality and relevance are key.
4.7 Draw attention to your fan page Write short texts. Long texts in the news feed discourage reading. A status update may have up to 399 characters, including spaces. If you exceed that number, Facebook will automatically insert a ‘read more’ link. Try as far as possible to post images, links, or video with your text. It will attract attention: updates with photos stand out.
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Do’s and don’ts
Examples of photo albums
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4.8 Use photos A picture is worth a thousand words. Use photos for your status updates, but use photo albums, too. Albums add more, because fans can actively browse through them. Create photo albums for events or policy areas. Update your fan page by changing the cover photo, which is always large and located at the top of the screen. A cover page can attract attention and contribute to your fan page’s overall look. You may not, however, use promotional cover photos, offering discounts or containing contact details; or images that encourage readers to ‘like’ or share material, or indeed take any other action. You can change your cover photo regularly, for instance in response to current events.
4.9 Add Favourites You can add a fan page that you like or find interesting to your favourites. Go to the fan page that you want to add to your favourites and click on ‘Like’. Remember you’re using Facebook via your fan page and not via your personal profile. Ask whether other missions, departments or projects also want to add your Facebook page as a favourite. You will find these favourites to the right of your timeline, under ‘Likes’. If you click on ‘Show everything’, you will see a list. Status updates from your favourites will appear in your news feed.
Guide to Facebook
The fan pages that your fan page likes
4.10 Periodic evaluations Different target groups and objectives require different approaches. There is no standard formula for a successful Ministry fan page. Think carefully about what you want to achieve. Try something new occasionally, and evaluate your goals periodically. Check the page statistics regularly, and try to discover what works. Then decide how to proceed. You may, for instance, need to shift the emphasis.
Don’ts 4.11 Don’t remove messages Don’t remove any comments, and keep your fan page open to comments. Remove comments only if they break Ministry rules, which appear under the Ministry disclaimer tab. If you add the disclaimer to your fan page, you will show that you are prepared to remove certain types of message. You should mention it in the fan page’s Info tab.
4.12 Don’t fill your timeline with Tweets Facebook should add value not offered by websites, weblogs, or Twitter accounts. This is also why Facebook uses EdgeRank. RSS and Twitter feeds can be annoying to your fans. Not every Twitter message is worth posting on Facebook. Remember that Twitter, weblogs, and websites each serve different purposes. So don’t send the same message via all media. You can post tweets on your Facebook page, but do so selectively. See also section 5.2 (Twitter).
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Chapter 5 Working with apps
Guide to Facebook
5.1 Why use apps? Facebook has three types of tab: the standard Facebook tabs, tabs for apps you can link to your Facebook page (via ‘Search’), and proprietary tabs. Facebook apps are interactive screens, applications and actions that improve your user experience via games and features like videos and photos from YouTube and Flickr. You can add apps to your fan page. If you want to download an app, you will first be asked whether you consent to the use of your information. A screen created and hosted outside Facebook that nevertheless appears on your fan page is known as a custom app. These external apps are almost always developed by specialist companies. A good example of an app page is that of the Washington Post Social Reader: http://www.facebook.com/wpsocialreader (see ‘Read now’ tab) or The Netherlands Game Awards: http://www.facebook.com/ #! / Netherlands Game Award (tab ‘Apply’). With apps, you can: • provide information; • develop promotional activities; • share photos and videos.
Adding default tabs: • • • •
Go to the timeline. Open the Tabs drop-down menu. Click on the plus sign in the top right corner of a new tab. Select the tab you want (‘Events’, ‘Notes’ or ‘Videos’).
NB: The default tabs ‘Photos’, ‘Likes’, and ‘Map’ appear automatically if you use these functions.
Instructions for adding default tabs
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Working with apps
Adding general tabs: • • • • •
Go to the timeline. In the search field, enter the name of the app. Click on ‘Pages’ under search filters. Go to the app’s information page. Click on ‘Add to page’.
For general tabs, see: http://www.facebook.com/Fanpageapps/app_4949752878 COM has commissioned icons for a number of tabs: Discussion, Videos, Twitter, Slide Share, Visas/Passports, Cultural Heritage, Poll, Photos, Map, Events, YouTube, Flickr, Welkom, Welcome, Bienvenido, Holland, and Disclaimer. The icons are available in the online toolkit and can be posted directly.
Adding icons to tabs: • • • • •
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Fold out the drop-down menu. Then click on the pencil icon in the top right corner of the tab. Select the ‘Edit settings’ option. Under ‘Custom icon for tab’, click on ‘Change’. Upload an icon.
Instructions for adding an icon to the tab
5.2 Creating, linking, and managing apps To add an app to your Facebook page, enter the app’s name in the Facebook search bar. Select the results under the heading ‘Apps’. The app will now appear. You can also refine your search by using ‘Apps for pages’, which you will find by clicking on the plus sign on an empty tab in your admin panel, and selecting ‘Search for more apps’. You can then search for apps by category. NB: Not all apps are created to be added to pages.
Guide to Facebook
In the app, you may find a button or link with a text like ‘Add app to page’. This will depend on the design of the app itself, because many developers have their own installation procedures. Click on the button or link. Permission will now be requested to add the app to one of your pages. If you select the page concerned in the drop-down menu, the ‘Add to page’ and ‘Leave application’ buttons will appear. Check whether you have selected the page you want and whether you are about to add the right app. Click on ‘Add to page’. The app will now be added to your page. As mentioned in section 2.8 above, remember your privacy. Be aware that some app providers are commercial operators. There is a chance that when you add an app, you will also be adding unwanted advertising. So check carefully whether the provider is reliable. As an indication, you can examine whether an app has many frequent users. If it does, it probably comes from an official source.
Linking Facebook to YouTube, Flickr, and Twitter YouTube: Search for the YouTube app in your search bar. • Click on ‘Click here to install’ in the Involver Fan Page Application. • Select the page where you want to add the app. • Click on ‘Add YouTube for Pages’. • Then enter the purpose for which you want to authorise the app (optional). • Enter the user name of your YouTube account, and activate the options you want the app to perform, such as ‘automatically posting new videos to the timeline’. • YouTube will now load your videos in the Facebook app.
Select the page where you want to add the app.
Flickr: • • • • • • •
Search Flickr for pages in your search bar. Click on ‘Click here to install’ in the Involver Fan Page Application. Select the page where you want to add the app. Click on ‘Add Flickr for Pages’. Then enter the purpose for which you want to authorise the app (optional). Enter your Flickr user name and ‘Save changes’. Flickr will now load your photo sets in the Facebook app; you can post them in the timeline.
Twitter: Do you want to post your tweets directly on Facebook? If so, go to your Twitter account settings and select ‘Sign in to Facebook and connect your accounts’. In the screen that then appears, click on ‘Log in to Facebook’. Specify the permissions you want, and click on ‘Save changes’. NB: For your EdgeRank, it is better not to post your tweets directly on Facebook (see section 5.1).
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Working with apps
You should therefore do so selectively: • Go to Facebook. • Type ‘Selective tweets’ in the search bar. • Select the ‘Selective tweets’ app. • Enter your Twitter user name, and click on ‘Save’. Thereafter, add #fb to the tweets you want to post on Facebook.
Changing app settings Go to your fan page’s timeline. Below the cover photo and next to the page description, you will see three tabs. Your most recently added app will appear in the last tab. Next to the tabs, you will see a button with a down arrow. This leads to further options for changing or adding apps. If the list contains more than three apps, the window will expand and all your apps will become visible. If you then click on the button and hover the mouse pointer over a tab, additional options will appear. They are indicated by a pencil icon in the top right corner of the tab. The down arrow makes all apps visible.
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Click on the pencil icon to see the additional options.
Guide to Facebook
Changing the order of tabs Click on the pencil icon and select ‘Exchange places with [other tab]’ to change the tab’s position with a tab of your choice. NB: Photos always appear first in the menu; this cannot be changed.
Deleting tabs Click on the pencil icon and click on ‘Remove app’.
Changing the app icon Click on the pencil icon; then click on ‘Edit settings.’ Next to ‘Custom icon for tab’, you will see ‘Change’. Click on ‘Change’, and upload a new icon from your PC. Facebook automatically adjust these icons to bring them in line with its own standards, but for the best results, create your own custom icon. Its resolution should be 111 x 74 pixels. The five Facebook functions (‘Photos’, ‘Notes’, ‘Events’, ‘ Videos’, and ‘Likes’) cannot be changed. The Communications Department has had a number of tab icons produced. You can download them from the online toolkit. Please use them only for the purpose for which they were developed.
Changing an app’s name Click on the pencil icon; then click on ‘Edit settings.’ Enter the new name in the text field under ‘New tab name’, and click on ‘Save’. The Ministry has developed default icons for the tabs in your drop-down menu. You can also download them from the online toolkit. | 61 | Go to ‘Edit settings’ to change your app’s name and icon.
Chapter 6 Measuring results
Guide to Facebook
6.1 Introduction If you want the content of your fan page to meet your fans’ needs, you must monitor the impact of each update. What is its reach? Who is on your fan page? And what they do there? Facebook provides your fan page with free statistics to help you answer these questions. Once your page has over 30 fans, Facebook will start calculating your page statistics (‘Insights’). You will find them in your fan page’s admin panel, under ‘View stats’. View your page’s statistics here.
| 63 | These statistics will help you answer questions like: How many likes does an average message on your page receive? • Which ones stand out and are liked most often? • What topics prompt the most comments or questions? • When do fans stop liking your fan page? • Have your messages been seen by all your fans or only a small number? (check EdgeRank) • Does the above make sense in the light of the comments (topics, frequency) you have posted in that period? But you can also ask fans directly what they would like to see on your page. On your fan page’s wall, you can see instantly how many ‘impressions’ each message has scored, i.e., how often the message has been displayed on the wall and in the news feed. Here, you can see instantly whether your EdgeRank is high. For example, take the fan page ‘The Netherlands and the UN’, which has 6,340 fans. Below the status update, you will see ‘2,393 have seen this message’. The EdgeRank is not very high. The number of people who have read the message will be higher than 6,340 if your fans have shared it. If you click on ‘2,393 people have seen this message’, you will see how many people have seen your page message ‘organically’ or ‘virally’ (i.e., via ‘Share’).
Measuring results
Below the message, you will see that it has been seen by 2,393 people.
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The page has 6,340 fans. So you need to get the EdgeRank up.
Guide to Facebook
6.2 Fans It is interesting to follow the trend in the number of fans of your page. You can do so in various ways: You can find the information you are looking for via ‘Statistics’ > ‘Like’. Here, you will find your fans’ demographics in terms of age and place of residence. Below that, you can see the number of new likes per day. You can also see whether people like your fan page via a mobile device or their PC, as well as how many people no longer like it. If your fan page is also a ‘place’, such as the Dutch Embassy in Lithuania, you can also see information about check-ins (see 2.7). NB: This information is available only if more than 30 people have been checked in at your place over the past seven days.
Under ‘Likes’, you will see your fans’ demographics and locations.
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Measuring results
6.3 Reach As a fan page administrator, you want your page to have not only the widest possible reach, but also the most effective. The introduction to this section explains briefly how you can view your reach. You can also analyse it in more detail. To begin with, you can learn much from the ‘Overview’ tab. In the top bar, you will see: • the total number of likes; • friends of fans (the number of individuals with whom your fans are friends; if all your fans like your message, this is your potential reach); • people who are talking about it (the number of individuals who have interacted with your page: liking, responding, checking in, sharing, posting a message, responding to an event, or tagging your page in a message/photo). These people can also be non-fans as long as they are friends of your fans; • the total reach per week (the number of individuals who see something to do with your page). Fans will not necessarily always read your messages, which may be hidden if the fans never like or comment on messages, or if they turn messages off. See also section 5.1 (EdgeRank); • the number of subscriptions (i.e. people who elect to receive a notification if a new message/photo/link is posted on that fan page). See also section 2.4 (Features/Subscribe).
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‘People talking about this’ is especially important. This shows you how many of your fans are really interacting with your page. If you have 1,000 fans, for instance, and only 100 of them are interacting with your page, you should ask yourself whether you are posting the right content. It is also useful to know your total weekly reach. These two figures give a good indication of activities to do with your fan page. So always try to increase these figures. Under the ‘Statistics’> ‘Talking about this’ tab, you can find more specific information about the distribution of people who are interacting with your fan page. Under the ‘Statistics’ > ‘Reach’ tab, you can then find demographic information about the people you have reached. This offers a more detailed breakdown of your following. Are they current fans? Are they friends of fans? Or have you reached them through advertising? Finally, under the same tab, you will find the number of page views. If you use tabs or apps, you will also see the number of page views here. The results appear in a graph that by default covers 28 days, a period you can extend or shorten. With this information, you will have useful tools to measure your page’s success.
Guide to Facebook
Under ‘Reach’, you will see the demographics of the people you have reached and where your reach comes from.
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Measuring results
6.4 Messages You can see specifically which messages have fared well in the past week, month or quarter. As explained above, this information is available for each message, but you can also view a summary. Go to the ‘Overview’ tab. Under ‘Page messages’ (‘Statistics’ > ‘Overview’), you will find all the messages you have recently sent. You can sort them by date, reach, users engaged, ‘talking about this’, and viral effect. The best messages are those that reach a high number of users and generate a lot of conversation, because their reach and viral effect will naturally be high. Pay attention to this when you conduct your analysis, and take advantage of it when sending new messages. Under the ‘Overview’ tab, you will see how your messages have recently fared.
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Guide to Facebook
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Chapter 7 Promoting fan pages
Guide to Facebook
When you create a fan page, your target group will not find it automatically. But you can use various methods to draw attention to it. Some of these methods are free, and some cost money.
7.1 Free methods Facebook banners You can draw attention to your Facebook fan page on your website by reminding visitors of it and helping them find it quickly. You can use the CMS Hippo to place a banner on your website.
Example of a website banner
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Invitations You can also build your audience by sending email invitations to your fans. Using the admin panel at the top of your page, click on ‘Build your audience’ and then – oddly enough – click on ‘Invalid email contacts’. Here, you can select which email service you want to use and follow the instructions accordingly. You can do the same with your personal profile, in which case you will invite your friends. You can also invite recipients of your newsletter to join your fan page. Explain here briefly what you have to offer your audience on Facebook.
Email Include the name of your fan page in your email footer:
Promoting fan pages
Example of an e-mail footer with a reference to the Facebook page
Draw attention to your fan page at real-world locations and events You can use offline media to promote your online activities. Ensure that everything you print or create offline (e.g. posters, magazine ads, and brochures) bears a reference to your Facebook fan page, either in textual form or as a QR code. | 72 | NB: Ensure your URL complies with Ministry guidelines before you promote it. You can then use it in all your communications. See also section 3 (d), URLs.
7.2 Paid-for methods Facebook ads You can use Facebook ads to promote events or urge users to become fans. Within Facebook, you can target ads at specific groups. You can select your target groups by location, age, gender, sexual orientation, education, or interests. Facebook makes it easy to tailor your message to your target group and, for instance, to show different ads to men and women. Do you, for instance, want to reach only 23-year-old women majoring in European Studies who are members of the AEGEE student association? Facebook makes it possible. You should first test your ad and landing page on a small target group. Facebook distinguishes between advertisers with budgets above and below €20,000. Brands and organisations with small advertising budgets are expected to produce their own ‘marketplace ads’. Facebook does not provide direct support.
Creating marketplace ads Go to www.facebook.com/ads/create to create an ad or sponsored story. You will be guided through an intuitive three-step process, specially designed for lay people. Three steps: • Design your ad. Think of a good text and select the right image. • Select your target group, which may be based on gender, age, interests, etc. • Give your advertising campaign a name (which will make it easier to find in the statistics). Decide how much money you can spend. And plan how long the ad will run.
Guide to Facebook
Setting your budget You may want to get your budget in advance and adjust it over time. You can proactively vary the payment method between CPC (cost per click) and CPT (cost per thousand) in order to reduce overall cost. Under CPC, you pay per click; under CPT, you pay per 1,000 showings.
Various types of ad • Facebook provides various types of ads: • Standard ads, in which you can add your own text and images. You can for example ask people to like your page or publicise a particular activity. You have a lot of freedom. • Friends’ stories. This type of ad is generated by Facebook. You cannot add text, and the image used is your fan page’s profile photo. Facebook users see: ‘Piet Pietersen likes the Netherlands and the UN’ above your profile photo. This works very well, because people often believe their friends rather than a fan page. You should always use this type of ad if you have 100 or more fans. • A message from you on your fan page, such as a poll or special photo. If you have a fan page message that is already popular with your fans, you could use it for advertising and attract users with its content. The message itself is the ad. It is not displayed completely, but excerpted with ‘...’. All three types of ad appear in the right-hand column in Facebook. Up to five marketplace ads can be displayed at once. Advertisers cannot specify the fan pages where their ads will appear. Sponsored stories, the only ads to appear in your timeline, show which of your friends like your fan page. They also display more information about the sponsor. Since they are expensive to produce and probably unsuitable for government use, they are listed separately. If you want to use a sponsored story, you should first discuss it with your manager.
Example of a standard ad
Examples of friends’ stories
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Chapter 8 Support
Guide to Facebook
Facebook is constantly in development, which is why this Guide is regularly updated. You will find the latest version of the Guide in the Online Toolkit, on the Rijksportaal (go to Home > Facilitair > Communicatie > Middelen > Online Toolkit BZ > English > Guide to Facebook). If you think there’s anything missing or have any suggestions for improvement, please contact Paul Frank or Mirjam Suurmeijer.
Frequently Asked Questions about Facebook www.facebook.com/help
Ministry of Foreign Affairs support Paul Frank paul.frank@minbuza.nl +31 (0)70 348 4005 Mirjam Suurmeijer mirjam.suurmeijer@minbuza.nl +31 (0)70 348 5228
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