Facebook Page Management 101

Facebook is a great way to promote museums. It’s free, it’s simple, and it connects people in the community to the museum. It’s also incredibly easy to use. However, Facebook pages for organizations are different then personal Facebook pages, and can be a bit tricky to figure out at first. Here are some answers to a few questions about Facebook page management that are commonly asked.

How Do I Create a New Facebook Page for My Museum?

This is the easiest part! Just go to www.facebook.com/pages/create and follow the steps!

Some things to think about:

• Have a cover photo and display picture already chosen before you set up your page.
• Think of a url that is easy for people to remember (www.facebook.com/rocanvillemuseum, for example)
• Think of some things you want to post in order to get your page started.

How do I switch from my personal facebook page to the page of my organization?

Some people find this a bit tricky, because the button to switch facebook profiles is small. Click on the button on the top, far right corner of your screen and then a box will come up. There will be an option to “use Facebook as” your organization. Click on it and you are now on your organization’s Facebook! Do the same thing to switch back to your personal profile.

Click on the triangle on the top right side of the page to switch accounts.

How do I get to the page’s Newsfeed?

When you first switch from your personal page to your organization’s page, you will be sent to the main dashboard, which will show your wall posts, cover photo, and other information. To get to the newsfeed, click on the facebook logo in the top left corner. Now you will be on the newsfeed where you can comment, like and share posts from other people and groups that you have liked. To get back to the main page, click your organization’s name in the top left corner.

The “Dashboard” of a Facebook Page

The main newsfeed.

How do I like other groups and organizations?

Simply type the name of the organization into the search bar at the top, and click like on their page! Their information will start to appear in your newsfeed. Facebook will also make suggestions for organizations similar to yours if you click “like pages” under “pages” in the left column.

How do I get people to like my page?

The easiest way is to invite your friends to like your page! To do this: Switch page to your personal profile. Then, once you are using Facebook as yourself. Click on your page. On the main page, select “build audience” in the right hand corner. Click “invite friends” then select which friends you want to invite to like your page!

Another easy way of building likes is to like the facebook pages of similar organizations, such as other nearby museums, and local businesses in the community. Chances are they will like you back!

If you want, you also have the ability to “promote” your facebook page. This can be found under “build audience” as well. For a fee, Facebook will promote your page in the Facebook newsfeeds of people in your area.

How do I give other people control over the Facebook page?

As the administrator, you have full authority as to who posts on the page. You can make other people administrators, or give them limited control as editors and moderators. Editors have the ability to create new posts, and edit moderate, and respond to comments and messages. Moderators only have the ability to edit and respond to comments and messages. As the administrator, you have the ability to add or remove people from different roles.

To give somebody a role on your page, click “settings” at the top of the page. Then click “page roles” in the left column. If the person you are trying to add is friends with you on Facebook, type their name. If not, send them an email inviting them to their role on the page. Click “editor” to select their role from a menu. Click save.

There you go! There is no limit to the amount of people that can have page roles, so you can add as many people as you want to ensure your Facebook page stays active! However, it is a good idea to have a policy about the type of content people should be posting, and that everyone is aware of the policy before giving them a role on the Facebook page.

Add/Remove page admins under “page roles” in the settings panel.

I don’t have a personal Facebook page. Can I still have a role on the organization’s page?

No. Every person who plays a role on the Facebook page must also have a personal Facebook account.

How do I adjust the security settings on my Facebook page?

Click “settings” at the top of your page, then click general in the left column. Here, you will find ways to adjust security settings from profanity filters to who can post messages on your page’s wall.

Adjust security settings, set a profanity filter, change the page name and more in the “settings” panel.

These are only a few answers to some basic Facebook page management questions. Facebook has a more detailed guide on managing facebook pages here: www.facebook.com/help. In my next blog post, I will discuss what types of content to post on Facebook that will get people talking!