How to Reach One Million J:4460

Recently, the Humane Society of America’s Facebook page reached 1,000,000 “likes”. According to an article on the PR Daily’s website, the Humane Society hit 1,000,000 “likes” in November, four years after the launch of the Facebook page. There is a lot that can be learned from such a successful story.

            It’s important for every organization and company to have a social media presence, but it’s even more important how they use their online presence to their advantage. Utilizing every aspect of a social media site is also important. I will use Facebook and Twitter for my examples of using social media sites correctly for organizations and companies.

            There are many ways to keep followers and friends engaged using Twitter and Facebook. According to the Humane Society’s success story about reaching 1,000,000 “likes”, they constantly kept their followers in the know. The Humane Society would comment back to users’ comments on their page or they would post information or inspirational stories to their Facebook page to keep their followers interested.

            In a world where people have the choice to “friend” or “defriend” you, it is important to keep them interested in what you have to say on your Facebook and Twitter pages. One example of a poor use of Facebook is when three people walked onto a balcony in an apartment complex in Denton and it fell to the ground. Many people tried using the complex’s Facebook page to gather information about what had happened. Instead of using the opportunity to respond to their concerned “friends”, they deleted their Facebook page. This caused uproar of concern from the residents of the apartment complex who had questions that were never answered. The apartment complex had the right to pull down the page, but they should have considered rebuilding their reputation with their followers before pulling the site down.

Here are a few tips for organizations/companies to keep in mind to keep their Facebook users and Twitter followers engaged.

1. If a user asks/comments on the organization’s Facebook page, comment back even if it is just to say “Thank you.” Users’ appreciate businesses more if they make their Facebook pages personal.
2. Place photos/videos on the Facebook page. Studies have shown that video’s engage users 6 times more than a text status.
3. I have learned recently there are three appeals to use when trying to persuade a person to do something, whether it be “liking” a Facebook page or asking a person to donate money. The three appeals are: Ethos, pathos, and logos. Ethos is using credibility to persuade a user to do something. Pathos is using an emotional appeal to persuade someone to do something. Logos is the use of logic to persuade someone to do something. In order to engage users, use these three appeals to gain their attention on an organization’s/company’s Facebook or Twitter page.

It is always important to continuously engage users to gain their “likes” or “follows”. They are more likely to use the products an organization or company has if they feel the company is more personal. Every organization has the opportunity to be as successful as The Humane Society of America if they follow these tips while using social media sites.