Posting on Facebook is a great way to increase traffic to your page –as well as your website. But what things should you be posting? And which things should you stay away from posting? The purpose of your municipal’s page is different from most Facebook business pages.
Posting on Facebook is a great way to increase traffic to your page –as well as your website.But what things should you be posting? And which things should you stay away from posting?The purpose of your municipal’s page is different from most Facebook business pages. Since you aren’t using it to try to gain new business –but rather are using it to help bring awareness of things related to your town.To give you an idea on which things you should be posting to your page, here are some things to consider.
What to Post
When you’re looking to post on your Facebook page, it can often be difficult to distinguish what are both relevant to your city and members as well. Here are a few areas that you can focus in on to give your residents the most from your Facebook page.
- Tips and NewsPost relevant news related to your town. This can include upcoming voting sessions, changes in voting laws, or how to register to vote. Newsworthy information will help to keep your residents informed.
- Alerts and RemindersYou could also post reminders for events such as spring cleanup, changes to garbage or recycling schedules, or reminders of garbage days. You could also post on public holidays –such as the 4th of July or Thanksgiving –using it as an opportunity to reminders your followers to have a safe holiday –and that the city will be closed.
- Link BacksYou should also take every opportunity to link back to your municipal’s website, since this will help the residents to get used to viewing and navigating your site. For example if you are posting a tip on how to vote, and want to include election rules or results –or any information that’s included on your website, you can post the information and link back to the page on your website.
- Registration NoticesAt Town Web Design, we design websites that give residents the option to register on the municipal website to get instant notifications to any posted news or notices, or any posted meeting agendas. On Facebook, you can post reminders for people to register for news.
- Re-Share EventsYou can re-share events from local organizations who promote their events on Facebook. When you’re logged into Facebook, you can click on another organization's event and click "share" to post it to the municipality's wall.
Things to Consider
When it comes to your municipal’s Facebook page –there are a number of things that you should be aware of. Here are a few things that you should keep an eye out for when managing your Facebook page.
- Flame Wars – The one thing you don’t want are "flame wars" on Facebook or any other social media site, especially when it is the town's official social media account. A flame war occurs when a group of internet users exchange angry messages on a message board or forum. Stopping them before they start is the best rule. You should also have a policy outlining what is considered offensive or inappropriate, and internal policies on how to handle these flame wars when problems start. A policy could be giving a warning to the ones causing the problems before removing them from the group, or banning them from the page. See how to ban users.
- Manager – You should decide who is going to manage the Facebook page, and what the procedures are if/when that person ever steps down. Does the new clerk inherit the Facebook page? You need to have a procedure in mind so the municipal’s Facebook page continues to run smoothly with no interruptions.
For more information on websites for municipalities, contact Town Web Design. We provide responsive web design and website management for small and medium-sized municipalities.Image: PROJurgen Appelo
