Tips on Using Facebook for the League of Women Voters of Iowa

1. Using Facebook to
promote your Local
League: Strategies for
Success
Cherie & Mike Dargan, LWV-Black Hawk/Bremer

2. Agenda for this morning
● SIX REASONS for your League to be on Facebook
● SIX things to Post on Facebook
● Our three goals:
○ 1) Every League actively posting, creating events
○ 2) Every Officer, Board Member, & State Board
Member with Facebook accounts & checking their
League’s Facebook page

3. Agenda, cont.
3) Every League Following, Liking, and Sharing content
from other Local Leagues, National League & don’t forget
the State League’s Facebook Page
Mike will do a brief demonstration of ZOOM, a web
conferencing tool

4. Our AHA moment -- I became
the new President on July 1st
2017 and decided to post a
picture and a brief introduction
on my personal FB page.
Within a few days, I had over
488 people who had viewed
and commented on the post.
We made Facebook a priority.

5. Cherie’s Pet Peeve #1
What is worse than NOT
having a Facebook page?
NO CONTENT!
I came here, looking for some
details about an event.
But it is an abandoned child,
created and apparently
forgotten.
GIVE YOUR FOLLOWERS A
REASON TO COME BACK
TO YOUR PAGE!

6. Six Reasons to Be on Facebook
● Visibility – stats from Pew say that over 70% of the U. S.
population is on Facebook. So, if 7 out of 10 adults are on
Facebook, League needs to be there as well.
● Ability to promote Events --Create announcements for Events
that can be shared or sent in Messenger. We have been using
Events for several years and they help to increase traffic; don’t
just hang up posters around town--create events. We will show
you how to do it!

7. Six Reasons to Be on Facebook, cont.
● Mobility – you can check it and post to it on your smartphone
or tablet. Take pictures at events and then post them to
Facebook. (I would not do all of my work on a mobile device,
however).
● Credibility – League is 98 years old, but we aren’t stuck in the
past, and still sending telegrams. Our online presence can help
educate people about our organization and mission, and in
doing so, we establish our credibility.

8. Six Reasons to Be on Facebook, concluded
● Recruitment – if you want to recruit new members and target young
people, you need to have a web presence. Almost 90% of people
between 18 and 29 are on Facebook.
● Mission – (from The State League website) “The League of Women Voters
is a nonpartisan political organization that encourages informed and
active participation in government, works to increase understanding of
major public policy issues, and and influences public policy through
education and advocacy.” Encourage, Works, and
Influences….those are all possible using Facebook.

9. Four Features of Facebook Useful to League
Create Events -- Promote events,
Share Events, and Prepare People
for doing Facebook LIVE
Post a link to your Website on the
ABOUT section & a picture of your
officers. Add the League Logo.
Check your Inbox for Messenger:
I’ve gotten messages from
Candidates, the public, and even a
local Mayor
Connect with your community,
fellow League members,
Legislators, & other advocacy
groups.

10. Six Things to Post: first, post links
● Copy & paste the URL (web address) for a headline in an
online newspaper, blog, or website. I post links to articles about
voting and other topics of interest. The link opens to show the story,
creating a more visual post that attracts viewers. Here is a link I just
posted.
● (How many people know what TINY URL is about?)
● https://tinyurl.com/ybo9cu9o Kobach’s Documentary Proof-of-Citizenship Law Heads to
Trial. By Amrit Cheng, Communications Strategist, ACLU. MARCH 1, 2018

11. Here is the post.
Facebook takes
that URL and opens
up the article inside
of Facebook.

12. Link to
websites, like
Vote411
And
Votesmart
(and their
Facebook
pages)

13. Don’t forget to
link to Your
Website!
http://www.lwvbhb.org/

14. Six Things to Post: second, SHARE other
Leagues’ Posts, State & National LWV
● Follow other Leagues’ Facebook pages and share their posts.
● This copies their post to your page, or your League’s page, if you
are one of the administrators.
● https://www.facebook.com/League-of-Women-Voters-Johnson-
County-201879713216037/ These people are doing an awesome
job. I love looking at their page to see what they’re up to now! 500
Likes.

15. Shared
from
National
LWV

16. Shared from our
State League Page
(I promised Karen
that we would ALL
LIKE this page!)

17. Six Things to Post: third, post PICTURES or
Videos
● Post PICTURES or Videos
of events: Forums, voter
registration drives, etc.
(Or, SHARE someone else’s
video--like this from Johnson
County).

18. Use photos to show your
community that you are
doing things!
Mike and I went to a
meeting of a study group
looking at the financial woes
of Country View (our
County Home).
119 People were reached
with this simple post.

19. Use a photo to Introduce
Your Officers,
Your Board,
New Members,
And events
Put a FACE on your League

20. Cherie’s Pet Peeve #2
Trying to help someone promote an
event and they send you a PDF of a
flyer, instead of an IMAGE. So you
take a photo with your iPhone, try to
crop it, and post it on Facebook.
However, how readable is this poster?
We need to transform our thinking
from print to digital and make sure
our materials are easy to read.

21. Have you tried using
Facebook Live?
Here is our First try at
Live streaming Forum.
Mike: he was not
happy w results.
Almost 300 views.
People watched video
for 199 minutes!
It was a learning
experience.

22. Mike posted about his
disappointment with the
first attempt to live
stream.
Check it out -- over 100
people were reached, with
several supportive
comments by City Council
members

23. Six Things to Post: fourth, Create Events

24. List of
Events

25. Six Things to Post: fifth, use”Goodies”
from Email
Share information from state and national League email messages or articles
on their websites. You can copy and paste from email (control C to copy and
control P to paste).
From National, Convention 2018--The 53rd National Convention is June
28-July 1 in Chicago, IL. All available information on the convention
can be found here. (add an image)

26. Six Things to Post: Finally, if you want to
get noticed, ADD PICTURES
https://tinyurl.com/ya4yl7vd
“A post on social media accompanied by
an image is 10 times more likely to
receive engagement.”
Selfie with Doris at the August 2017
gathering in Marshalltown.

27. Facebook on a PC vs. Mobile Apps
It’s great to post “on the go,”
but I would not try to be the
administrator for a page with
only my smartphone.
Remember, your page looks
different on various screens!

28. Facebook on Mobile Devices (IPhone &
IPad)

29. How are we doing in Iowa with using
Facebook?
The good news is that all of our 11 local Leagues has a Facebook
page: however, five Leagues do not have a website or have problems
with their domain name linking to a website, so Facebook becomes
even more important.
Out of the Board of Directors, I found 8 on Facebook, but could not find the
remaining 8. If you are not active on Facebook, you are missing an opportunity
to inform, advocate, and interact with others.

30. Now, let’s get
hands-on! Grab
your laptop, or look
on with a friend

31. Log on and find your own Facebook page
& then your League’s page
● Have you shared anything lately from your League’s page?
● Do you know how to share?
● Do you include the URL for your website & Facebook page on your
printed materials? Do your Officers have it on their Signature
lines?
● Options--share to own page, share to a friend’s page, or share to
a page you manage

32. Example of a Signature Line
Cherie Dargan, President
League of Women Voters of Black Hawk/Bremer Counties
(319) 610-1805 (Cherie's cell phone)
Facebook | Visit our new website | Calendar of Events
(Note: These are hyperlinks, instead of listing the long URL for each item)
www.facebook.com/BlackHawkBremerLeague/
www.lwvbhb.org/
We have an embedded Google Calendar on our home page

33. Checklist--Take a look at your League’s page.
Do you see these features?
● League Logo? Info at “ABOUT” (contact information and Link to
your website?
● Has anyone “Liked” your page? Have you asked your members &
Board?
● Any events created?
● When was the last posting? Many photos?

34. Next, find Two Other Leagues’ Facebook pages
● Find at least two other Leagues’ pages and LIKE them
● Share one or two posts from those pages to your own page, or
post them on your League’s Facebook page if you are the
administrator
● The Next five slides contain the URLs for all of the leagues in Iowa,
including the State League Facebook page.

35. Links to State League’s Facebook Page &
Black Hawk/Bremer Counties LWV
(State League & Our page for BH/Bremer)
https://www.facebook.com/BlackHawkBremerLeague/ (The Black Hawk/Bremer)
www.facebook.com/League-of-Women-Voters-of-Iowa-332644123428745/ (State
League)

36. Facebook Pages for Local Leagues in
Iowa (Ames, Linn County, Dubuque)
www.facebook.com/AmesLeagueOfWomenVoters/ (Ames)
www.facebook.com/League-of-Women-Voters-Linn-County-
130804443644297/
www.facebook.com/LeagueofWomenVotersofDubuque/

37. Facebook Pages for Local Leagues in
Iowa, cont. (Grinnell, Jasper, Johnson)
www.facebook.com/leagueofwomenvoters/ -- Grinnell’s Facebook
page
www.facebook.com/groups/LWVJasperCounty/
www.facebook.com/League-of-Women-Voters-Johnson-County-
201879713216037/

38. Facebook Pages for Local Leagues in Iowa, cont.
(Des Moines, Ottumwa, Sioux City)
www.facebook.com/LeagueofWomenVotersMetroDSM/
www.facebook.com/groups/125032836551/ (Muscatine). (This is a
group, which works differently than a page)
www.facebook.com/League-of-Women-Voters-of-Ottumwa-
409803342746761/?ref=br_rs
www.facebook.com/LeagueOfWomenVotersSiouxCityChapter?fref=ts

39. Links to National, Vote411 & Votesmart
www.facebook.com/leagueofwomenvoters/ (National)
http://www.vote411.org/
https://votesmart.org/
https://www.facebook.com/ProjectVoteSmart/
https://www.facebook.com/Vote411orgOnlineVotersGuide/

40. As time allows, do a Review of another
League’s Page who is here today!
● Look at another League’s page and do a review
● Shade Stars 1 to 5
● Write a simple statement about what you observe
● Here is a review from our newest Member, Marcia

41. Sample Review

42. How to Create A Facebook Event*
1. Click on Events in the Left Side Navigation, and then click on
Create Event.
2. Fill out the form to the best of your ability; you can use the EDIT
TOOL to add or correct information later and you can also add
or change the photo.
3. Once created, share it to your own/personal page.
● If you are the Facebook page Administrator

43. The
EDIT
Button--
up at the
top

44. I Created an Event--Now What?
1. Send it to people via Messenger (the personal messaging tool).
2. Encourage Board members to share it to their pages--or share it to a
friend’s page.
3. FOLLOW UP with people who indicate an interest in your event: Mike
can explain how he did it.
4. At the event, take photos and post them to your page.

45. Action Plan--Follow up from Today
● Talk to your Board: who needs help setting up a Facebook
Account?
● Create a Facebook Team: this is not a solo sport!
● Follow at least half of the Leagues who are closest to you or most
active
● Follow the State League and the National League

46. Tips from a Marketing Pro
● Best times to post? Early morning and evening, around 8
pm. Also, Post over the weekend
● Use Facebook LIVE at events
● Post BEFORE the event, DURING the event, &
AFTERWARDS
https://www.johnhaydon.com/13-ways-boost-your-facebook-reach-without-spending-dime/

47. Action Plan, cont.
● Find and Follow your State League Officers and Board members on
Facebook
● Find and Like each one of the ten League Sites, plus the State League
● Rate a League’s Facebook page
● Spend just a few minutes a day looking at your local League’s page, as
well as posts from several other Leagues; you may get some great
content to share, ideas for events, or reminders about upcoming events

48. Need help supporting new Facebook
Users? Here is a great resource & free
https://www.gcflearnfree.org/facebook101/
GCF Learn Free is a website supported by the Goodwill Foundation,
and it is an amazing jewel of a website. It covers a lot of technology
topics. This tutorial covers how to create, use, and maintain a Facebook
page, including understanding Facebook privacy policies and settings.

49. Questions?
Ask us, (Cherie) cheriedargan@gmail.com,
(Mike) dargan@gmail.com,
or (League) lwvbkb@gmail.com (we both monitor).
http://www.lwvbhb.org/ Website, with embedded Google Calendar
https://www.facebook.com/BlackHawkBremerLeague/

50. Desktop Web
Conferences
Zoom is an Option

51. It’s a Party!
● There’s a host and guests.
● The host sends invites to guests
● The guests follow instructions to join
● Host can share screen
● Guests can respond with oral or text chat
● Sessions can be recorded

52. Here’s how it can be
done
Zoom Demo
https://youtu.be/HdyyzMdvxPs

53. A detailed demo
● Zoooooom!
● https://youtu.be/KgkDOUIktr8

54. Zoom is Cheap!
https://zoom.us/pricing
Pricing

55. Recommendations:
● State should acquire a “free” Zoom account
● If successful, state LWV should buy a one year subscription for $149.90
● Use Zoom for all state board meetings
● Use Zoom for all state events
● Allow local leagues to use account for special events.
● Use Zoom for training and updates.

56. Questions?
Thanks
Cherie & Mike Dargan
cheriedargan@gmail.com
dargan@gmail.com