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by Rev. Eric S. Anderson, Minister of Communications and Technology
The social networking phenomenon, and Facebook in particular, can no longer be ignored by Christian churches. According to an Edison Research study conducted in early 2011, 52% of Americans twelve and older have a social networking account somewhere; 51% of Americans over twelve have a profile on Facebook itself. Millions of people across the world learn about news and resources elsewhere on the Internet because of links shared by their friends in social networks.
A few years ago, a church needed a website to be "found" in the real world as well. Among an increasingly large portion of the population, a local church needs a presence on Facebook, too, to be discovered in the real world.
The principal feature available on Facebook to provide that presence is called a "Page" -- a confusing term, but in this context it has a specific meaning. Individuals on Facebook create a personal Profile; they can also gather into Groups for more convenient communication among people with a common concern.
The analogue of a personal Profile for an institution or public figure is the Facebook Page. These were first created for musicians, celebrities, and companies, who had a need not fulfilled by personal profile. Profiles may only be viewed by persons designated by the profile owner -- by "Friends," to use Facebook's terminology. For a public figure, this meant thousands to tens of thousands of "Friend Requests" to be acknowledged, and it rapidly grew unworkable. So Facebook created the Page.
Pages can be visited and viewed by any Facebook member without the need for the two-way exchange of an accepted Friend Request. Pages can display links, photos and photo albums, videos, and invite responses to Questions (Facebook's new micro-survey feature). Some add-on applications permit considerable cutomization, including embedding your own website or scripting code.
Any Facebook member can create a Page. Pages can also have multiple Admins, or people who can oversee and edit its content. It is also possible to create and maintain a Page without having an individual Facebook profile; there is a link at facebook.com (beneath the invitation to sign up) allowing non-members to do so.
The primary features of a Page, most of which can be changed later by clicking the Edit Page button, are:
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In addition to adding the basic information on a Page, admins can add new content and remove undesired content that might be posted by others. It is good practice to have more than one admin of a Page. This facilitates addition of new information, and also means that if something needs to be removed, it might be done more quickly.
Typically, when admins add a Link or change the Status message on a Page, they will appear as the Page itself rather than their own account. This behavior can be configured under the Your Settings tab of the Edit Page section. It is also possible for admins to post using their own Facebook identity, and it is possible to post on other Profile Walls or Page Walls with the Page identity by selecting Use Facebook as Page from the Account menu.
Although the default setting is for universal visibility, Page Admins can restrict availability to a smaller group. When first created, a Page is visible *only* to the creator so it can be properly configured before being published. This gets turned on or off in the Permissions section. Admins can also restrict availability by country and by user age.
Admins also have the ability to control who may post on the Page Wall -- the place most of the activity happens. It can be as limited as Page Admins only, or as open as anyone who "Likes" the Page. Language can be automatically restricted as well.
To interact with a Page, Facebook users click a "Like" button that appears when they visit it. This is the analogue of the Friends relationship between Facebook users, and it accomplishes two things:
"Like" is relatively new terminology. The previous term was "Become a Fan," and so users became "Fans" of a "Fan Page." You may still hear that term employed.
The Page Wall is the default landing area for visitors (though that can be configured). The Publisher is the primary tool for adding and changing content here. The Status update is a short piece of text that goes into the News Feeds of those who Like the Page. Single photos can be uploaded here (they will go into an album called "Wall Photos"), and so can a video. A Page can ask a Question, which is a simple online survey.
A very powerful feature is the ability to post a Link to a web page that is outside (or for that matter, on) Facebook. These are relatively easy ways to share content of interest to the church -- spiritual reflections, items in the news, and particularly additions to the church's publically available website. Videos hosted on YouTube and Vimeo, when shared as a Link, can be played directly in Facebook on the Wall or in the News Feed.
Events are another powerful feature. They permit Page Admins not just to publish information about an event, but to directly invite people who Like the Page and the people on their own Friends list. Invitees have the ability to respond, and may also be permitted to pass on the invitation to others -- and very powerful feature indeed.
In theory, Discussions permit users to have online conversations related to the church. In practice, this is a rarely used feature. People tend to engage with each other directly in the Wall, and in comments on others' posts.
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Increasingly, websites are relating their Facebook presence to their own websites, primarily through Social Plugins. A "Like Box" is displayed at right.
You can also use a "Like button" (displayed at the foot of this page) to allow visitors to rapidly post a Link directly to that web page on their Wall (and their Friends' News Feeds).
The first source for links is new material on your own website: the account of the church fair, last Sunday's sermon, the announcement of the upcoming Rally Sunday. If you have a podcast, post the link to each new episode (it, too, can be played directly in Facebook).
A second source is announcements from your partners in ministry: the Conference and National settings of the UCC, neighboring congregations (UCC and otherwise), and mission organizations like Church World Service.
A third source is local news outlets. If your church is in the newspaper, it's very likely the story is online; post the link. Likewise post links to stories of wider interest, such as a disaster to which you plan to respond.
A fourth source is stories about your church members. If someone has been honored, or has contributed to a story that exemplifies the life of faith you proclaim, include that link. Include links as well to the wedding announcements or obituaries of members and friends.
Photos, particularly of people, tell a particularly compelling story about your church. Take pictures at Christmas and Easter and post a photo album. *Always* obtain permission from identifiable photo subjects (or their parents) before posting them.
We do not recommend "tagging" or identifying the people in photos. Let the persons do so themselves if they choose.
Most Facebook users seem to prefer uploading their video to a dedicated service like YouTube or Vimeo, and then posting the link, despite the existence of Facebook's own video service.
When there's a special event coming up -- a theme Sunday, a holiday, a special midweek worship, Rally Sunday, or a church fair -- create an Event, and use the Update feature to send it to those who Like the Page. Because invitees can RSVP, you'll get at least some indication of attendance.
Facebook has significantly increased the ability of Page Admins to see and respond to activity on the Page. Activity now appears as a number by the Pages app icon in the left column on the News Feed page, and it also appears in the far right column of the Page itself (when an Admin views it). You can also control whether you receive email notifications.
Facebook provides some demographic and use information to Page Admins in Insights. These can help you discern patterns around posted information.
The terminology here is still changing. A Page can "Like" another Page. To do so, visit the other Page, and look at the bottom of the left hand column for the link that says "Add to My Page's Favorites." Click that, and follow the instructions from there. That Page will now appear in the Likes section of your Page.
A new Page needs help circulating. Within Facebook, use the Suggest to Friends function (in the right-hand column of the Page) to encourage other Facebook users to Like the Page. But also include your Page's username link on your church website, on business cards and letterhead, and in the church bulletin. You can also use the Share link on links you post to the Page to put them in your own Profile News Feed to your friends -- and when you do, Facebook includes an attribution link back to your Page.
This text assumes the features of Facebook available in June 2011. These features may be different next month... or tomorrow.
