NextGenWeb’s Social Media for Staffers series continued last Friday with a deep dive into online community building through Facebook.  Expert panelists including Adam Conner from Facebook, Nick O’Neill from AllFacebook.com, and Todd Ziegler from The Bivings Group, advised Hill staff on the best ways to use Facebook to manage constituent relations and distribute information while still complying with administrative and “franking” rules.  Attendees had plenty of questions from the very general “why should we engage on Facebook?” to the detailed “What are the benefits of a custom application?”

Here are the top takeaways:
•    Personal profiles have caps on friends and message recipients.  Use fan pages because they have been optimized for larger scale use.
•    Always separate campaign and official Facebook pages and activity.
•    Keep content updates consistent and spread out (don’t do several updates all at once).
•    Activity begets activity.  You need to participate and engage to get something out of it!
•    Make content compelling, and remember that what might seem mundane in your office can be very interesting to your constituents.  Think about all of the tourists that come through the Capitol just for a glimpse!
•    Post news and information that you put on your website on Facebook.  (Helpful reminder:  People go to Facebook every day—i.e. much more frequently than your website.)
•    Facebook can help with offline activities, like organizing events and recruiting volunteers.
•    To the extent that you can respond to users, you should.  And, it’s always nice to greet new fans.
•    Ask for comments or feedback to inspire conversation.
•    Let your local news know that your Member is on Facebook and follow-up with them on interesting activity. They will likely cover it!
•    Good content is humanizing, but still professional.  Share videos, floor speeches, news stories and photos.

Recommended Resources:
•    U.S. Air Force Chart of Engagement
•    U.S. Army comment policy
•    Ask your conference for help if you need it!
o    Gop.gov for Republicans
o    Dems.gov for Democrats

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