Recently Facebook has radically altered the way that organization pages reach their followers. This is big trouble for nonprofits and activist groups that rely on the platform to reach supporters and organize action campaigns.
This isn’t news for folks who run activist or nonprofit pages, the changes have been rolling out for a while. However, in the last few weeks post reach has been reduced dramatically, creating a crisis for many organizations that have spent a lot of time, effort, and yes, money, building big communities on Facebook. What the hell is going on?
New Reach = Less Views
Facebook is a public company and it needs to make money. The revenue model they have developed involves organizations and brands that want to reach Facebook users paying a price for that reach. It used to be that when a group posted to their page they reached 100% of their followers in their timelines. Now, unless organizations pay to boost a post, they will reach only about 5% of their followers.
You can call this unfair or you can call this a bait and switch, but it is the new reality and Mark Zuckerberg probably does not care if that doesn’t work for your group. I work for a nonprofit and I manage several activist group pages and this has become a constant concern. But again, Facebook is not concerned about our troubles because there are plenty of customers who do have the funds to play.
Accept the reality, and decide what is the best move for your organization.
How Do I Reach My Followers When I am a Broke Idealist?
It really sucks that people who have come to rely on Facebook are finding that they can no longer use it as an effective platform to reach their supporters. However, nonprofits and do-gooder types have always changed the world on the cheap, so a little creative thinking is in order. Here’s a couple of ideas to get you started:
- Pay. I know it is not the best option for most groups, but if you have the budget, spend it on boosts. You may just need to build it into your budgets and let your funders know that costs have increased. It may not feel fair, but it will be the easiest route for most organizations.
- Build your email list. Instead of using FB to talk to your supporters, why not talk to them directly? You can build an open source CRM into your website and you can actually get a better idea about who will open and act on your messages. You can actually use Facebook to drive people to your email signup form, and you get a better way to reach people in the process.
- Make your website a destination for your supporters. Does your site have interesting content? Does it allow supporters to connect with one another? Why not? It may be harder to maintain your own site than to use Facebook, but all the data belongs to you, and you can create a community that is cohesive and ready to act if you put in the effort.
- Use other social media channels. Twitter still loves your broke ass and so does Pinterest, Instagram, and Google+. If Facebook becomes a less effective organizing tool, activists will gravitate towards more useful platforms. Be ready. Survey your users and find out where they are. Talk to your people.
- Form coalitions. Organizing and connecting with other like-minded groups will increase your reach and build relationships that take you way beyond a simple Facebook message. This is organizing 101. Don’t let shiny social media make you forget the fundamentals of organizing.
- Get Old School, Fool. You’re an activist, go talk to people. Set up a table at an event and collect emails. Pass out flyers and hang posters. Do a phone bank. Face to face is still the best way to really move people and the NSA probably won’t record you handing our flyers in the Target parking lot anyway.
These ideas may require more work, but the pay off might actually build you a stronger community in the long run. Emma Goldman, Jonas Salk, and Nelson Mandela did not have Facebook, but your world is still better because of them. Be creative and be agile. That is what people who have wanted to do good have always done, and that is what you must do.
