Campaign Corner: How can I best use Facebook?

The Campaign Corner series looks to give three tips about commonly asked campaign issues. Do get in touch if you have any questions you would like to suggest.

Today’s Campaign Corner question: How can I get the best out of Facebook for my ward branch?

Around half the UK’s population is on Facebook, so if you’re wondering what to spend time on campaigning online, then Facebook is a very good choice (perhaps these days it is second only to email). Three pieces of advice then, as is traditional:

1. Create a Facebook Page for your ward/community Lib Dem team: More than one person can administer a Facebook Page, meaning you can share the work around and have a better run Facebook presence than if you are trying to do everything through your own personal profile. It also means you have a bit of separation between your personal activities on Facebook and the political ones. Additionally, Pages come with better management and promotion facilities, such as integration with adverts and statistics on usage.
2. Post at least three updates a week, including one photo: Your Page needs to get seen by people in order to be useful. A good tempo of updates gives your Page a better chance of being seen by people in their newsfeed. Regularly use photos in those updates as Facebook gives a higher priority to them, and when they do appear in people’s newsfeeds they are more eye-catching than plain text.
3. Post updates the encourage people to respond: the more that people click ‘like’ or ‘comment’ on your Page updates, the more prominence Facebook gives the Page in people’s newsfeeds. So encourage interaction by doing things like posing questions. Don’t simply tell people about a local issue; ask them their view on it.

Bonus tip: don’t forget the power of Facebook in mobilising offline action.

Want to know more about local campaigning? Campaigning In Your Community by myself and Shaun Roberts should be right up your street. It’s available for only £4 from ALDC and you can read an extract for free here.