Using Insights to shape Facebook page content

In an earlier post, I wrote about how Facebook usernames help grow brand fan pages. As a postscript, the growth of our university's fan base continued through the month of September. The page reached 2,000 fans on October 8. That's 500 new fans in three weeks, or an overall increase of 286% since the page's username was implemented in midsummer.



Given the size of our enrollment and alumni base, I expect the growth to plateau. But meanwhile, I have found the composition of our fan base fascinating. The group skews female (57%). The age demographics are even more interesting. According our Insights report:

18% are potential future college students, ages 13-17.
32% are currently of traditional college age, 18-24.
25% are probably recent alumni, ages 25-34
11% are ages 25-44
9% are ages 45-54
4% are ages 55+

These statistics have been remarkably stable since June. They did not change significantly even after we added Facebook buttons to our campus portal (for current students) or Admissions page (for prospective students).

The age demographics have made me reconsider how we shape our Facebook page content. We need to keep the material aimed at prospective students, but we need to add more material designed to serve current students and alumni.

About half of our fans live within a two-hour drive of the university. That's important to note when using Facebook to promote special events, such as concerts or athletic competitions. Facebook allows simple segmentation of updates sent to fans. We can shape our communication stream appropriately, routinely inviting those who live nearby but not sending spammy invitations to those far away. (Of course, Homecoming invitations will go worldwide!)

I would like your suggestions about Facebook content for the 25-44 population -- the largest segment of our fan base. If you fall into that category, what kind of resources would you like to see added to your alma mater's Facebook page? Wall posts about alumni, faculty, and student achievements are a natural. What else should be added to the standing content on the other sections -- for example, the Boxes tab or the Events tab?

Post a comment and share your thoughts.

Twitter: Therapy for Graying PR Types

Recently, I have been feeling old. And it’s not the newly prescribed bifocals. I blame Twitter.

You see, I have always pictured myself an early adopter of emerging communication technologies. When I took my first higher-ed PR job—way back in the day, when my current colleagues were still in junior high—I ordered the first PCs for the public relations office and strung telephone wire above the ceiling tiles so we could share a printer. We started faxing our news releases instead of mailing them. In fact, I installed some nifty software that would automagically fax our news to regional media, even at night. Back then, this was cutting-edge stuff.

But somewhere along the way, I must have gotten a little complacent, a little too content, a little too self-identified as a PR guy with a geek streak. When the social media revolution burst onto the scene, I opened a Facebook account, but thought of it only as a place to play games with my kids. I avoided MySpace and shunned LinkedIn. I sniffed disapprovingly at Twitter as a refuge for the hopelessly self-absorbed: “I am sitting on the patio, folding socks.” Who cares?

Then it happened. Suddenly, last winter, Twitter was everywhere. Every trade journal, popular magazine, or PR rag I picked up had not one but several articles about Twitter as a business communication tool. This caught me completely off guard, and I didn’t quite buy it. I made casual inquiries of some trusted friends in the industry, asking if they had experimented with Twitter. Imagine my chagrin when I discovered that several of my peers had fully embraced Twitter as a means of reaching twenty-somethings. They had opened multiple Twitter accounts and had integrated the service with their news blogs and RSS feeds. My comeuppance was complete when I seemed to be the only one at a recent PR conference who had never seen anything like the Twitterfall projected at the front of the room.

It was like awakening with a start after falling asleep in the sun; it burned. Determined not to lose any more time, I jumped in with both feet. For several months now, I have been playing catch-up with Twitter. While the results so far have been modest, at least I feel that I'm back in the game, tech-wise. That’s good therapy.

Next Time: Discoveries of a Newly Fledged Tweep