Social Media

Tips for success

Facebook in Romania

There are 3.5 million Facebook users in Romania1.By the end of 2011 it is estimated this will increase to 5 million2!65% of Romania’s Facebook users are aged 18-351.13.19% of Romania’s population uses Facebook2.

So what?

Social media (especially Facebook) is growing in Romania.

…SO it’s important to get on board early, and to do it right.

How

‘Social media’ is about socialisingIt means engaging in conversation, listening, and developing relationships with your ‘followers’.

It means showing personality, not just company messaging.

If you just post the same company messaging and information as your website, then just use your website. Social media isn’t the right forum.

It’s not just about you

Social media is about building relationships. You would never build a good relationship with someone if you just talked about yourself all the time.

Engage your ‘followers’ in conversation.Ask questions, listen, share interesting stories.

Show your passion

People want to see your personality, not your company messaging.

Add value

Go beyond your own organisation – people are interested in relevant topics and the wider issue, not just OvR.

SO share relevant things with them: e.g. poverty statistics, interesting articles, quotes, videos, stories from the field, websites etc.

An example…An animal welfare group provides links to animal-friendly recipes. They are providing value for their fans, not just talking about their charity’s work. They know what their ‘followers’ are interested in, so that’s what they communicate.

Make friends and be seen

Link with others to make friends – find relevant pages (organisations, charities, causes, Romanian pages etc).

Engage in conversations on those pages to expand your network and visibility.

Provide interesting and inspiring content

Photos appeal more than text.

Videos are especially powerful and more likely to be shared.

Personal stories inspire emotion.

Care about your fans

Recognise individuals – it is a huge motivator. Thank your volunteers, local teachers, individual donors etc.

Your ‘followers’ are real people. Do what you can to show them love.

Summary of how to interact and engage your Facebook ‘followers’

Share interesting articles, links, videos and quotes.Share surprising facts and statistics.Share personal stories and updates from OvR staff (e.g. after a day in the field).Share OvR photos and videos.Start topics – questions, votes/polls, etc.

Summary of how to interact and engage your Facebook ‘followers’…

Interact on other FB pages to get your name out there and increase your fan base.Recognise individuals (e.g. volunteers).Show personality in your posts.Ask questions.Ask your volunteers to post on the page – their stories, photos etc, and to post on their own page (link to OvR).Share all posts in both English and Romanian.

And remember…

Social media is about building relationships. Keep it fun, interesting, informative and meaningful.

Do what you can to build your fanbase. Use your imagination and inspire your fans to share your posts on their own pages.

This is an opportunity for OvR to be a leader in engaging fans through social media in Romania.