This summer I created our department’s Facebook Page and Twitter account.  Since then, other offices on campus have asked me for advice on Page creation, gaining departmental buy-in, and increasing student interaction.  Although I can talk for hours about the intricacies and possibilities of social networking, a beginner really only needs to learn three simple steps.  If you’re unaware of the difference between Pages and groups, learn more here.

Three Keys to a Successful Facebook Page

1. Keep administration in the loop.  At the very least, make sure your direct supervisor knows you’re creating the page.  If you need data to justify Facebook participation, check out this presentation by Dr. Rey Junco about Facebook and student engagement.  If you face resistance to social networking, try these 7 Creative Ways to Introduce Social Media to Your Team.  Also, many of the bloggers on this site can offer anecdotal information about Facebook use on their campus
2. Be intentional when choosing Page administrators.  If you’re in the position to have access to more than one potential administrator, make sure you have a mix of people that (1) have knowledge about your department, (2) understand the how-to’s of Facebook, and (3) have lots of Facebook friends on your campus (or in your target audience).
3. Add content, THEN advertise.  Too often staff/students get very excited about a new social networking opportunity and want to advertise it to the public right away.  I would recommend taking a few weeks or months to build content (complete your profile information, add photos and videos, post status updates, etc).  If you followed step 1 and used your well-connect administrators to suggest fans of your page, word-of-mouth should already have garnered some fan interactions.  Only when your page looks like something that would entice student to come back should you consider advertising it in official publications.  When you make the decision to do this, take any opportunity you can to make your social networking presence legitimate.  For example, we provide links to our Facebook Page and twitter account on our department’s homepage.

These three steps should get you started.  From here, your interactions should lead you to develop your Page in the manner that best serves your population.