2007 Welcome Packet - Facebook

Facebook Networking – Build a Movement

If you're a college student and connected to the Internet, you're probably on Facebook. Students are using social networking to make new friends and keep up with old ones. Millions of college students have now made Facebook their primary form of communication – even replacing e-mail – making this a necessary tool for your chapter to network on campus and beyond.

Facebook provides your chapter with the ability to communicate to your members, recruit new members, and network with students on your campus and on colleges all across the nation. Below are some ways you can use Facebook’s most popular tools to build a movement around global AIDS and poverty on your campus.

Create a Facebook Group for your Chapter

The best way to establish a presence on Facebook is to create a group. Through groups, others will be able to find your presence and promote it through their profiles. Your chapter will also be able to easily message members on important news and activities. Members can also use various group functions to plan activities, create discussions, and post pictures.

Don’t forget to invite us to your group and let us know so we can promote your group on our Web site. AoA has a number of national and regional Facebook groups that link chapters geographically as well. Encourage members to join these groups. Communicate with other chapters -- share tips and ideas, plan group events, and encourage discussion between chapter leaders.

Events

Facebook makes promoting your events easier than ever. By creating an event on Facebook, your chapter can send invitations, check expected attendance, and relay important information. Posting pictures and discussion topics can help build momentum prior to your activity. After your event, this page is a great forum for students to interact and discuss questions and topics that arose during the course of the event.

Update Profiles

While Facebook will always be adding new features that you and your fellow chapter leaders can use, its most popular feature will always be user profiles. Encourage chapter members and supporters to promote their interest and involvement in AoA. Through their profiles, members can share news and information, thoughts and reflections, and pictures and videos about themselves and their involvement. For larger activities, such as “Do You See Orange,” the Broken Bread Poverty Meal, or World AIDS Day, you can encourage members to do something extra special. For instance, some chapters have asked people to change their profile pictures to special promotional graphics or pictures for the “Do You See Orange?” campaign. Of course, the best way to encourage activism through Facebook profiles is to enhance your own.