Facebook as a tool to support the BCSS

[Ewen]

Facebook, perceived by some as the devils work but to others, a breath of fresh air and like the atomic bomb, is here whether we like it or not. Used correctly, its power and flexibility is truly incredible. To those that look upon it as a passing fad, gimmick, and believe its use is confined to the common, great unwashed, are truly endangering the future of this society by cutting out a very large, computer literate, younger audience, that might indeed, welcome real-time news and information about meetings, shows and general branch activity.

The Facebook pages we have are a start. I believe, branch pages are the next step. I believe this because it's the fastest way to upload photographs, comments and information, minute by minute, hour by hour, to the web for instant publication. Each branch should have their own web site AND Facebook page ..............

How many branches have we lost so far? How many branches are on the brink? Time to embrace modern technology and in this day of instant messaging and communication, the importance of social media which goes hand in hand with branch and society web sites.

I represent the voice of those who wish to embrace new platforms to advertise the society. I see myself as a grower and propagator, not as an intellectual but my voice should be heard along with the rest of the highly respected and enthusiastic members of the BCSS ............. Embrace or fade into the distant sunset!

[Bill]

If all the branches had a FB, there is a danger of diluting the message, however that can be avoided by the sharing of key posts between both branch and national pages.

My feeling is we need a social media officer, someone that will work with Alan Bromley and myself to do the coordination of these efforts, but the bottom line is it will still rely on the input of sufficient members to make it work

[Ewen]

Hi Bill,

there isn't a straightforward answer to your comment, the reason being Facebook is such a versatile tool, it can be set up in a number of ways. We already have two FB sites which I believe are different. One which you can post messages and one which just gives out information. Hence there should be guidelines as to how independent branch sites are set up.

If a branch is composed of members who don't utilise FB or understand its importance, then you'll not get the flow of information the society desperately needs anyway.

The important thing here is to ensure the BRANCH COMMITTEE and not individuals control social media because once that happens, all sorts of problems arise when disagreements raise their ugly head. I'm very much a fan of Branch pages which COMPLEMENT branch web sites but that as they say, is another issue which needs discussing. If required, a central social media officer could quite easily construct a FB page for branches that don't have anyone I.T. literate.

Whatever the format, the society needs to get the message out there to the branches NOW. FB is the worlds largest social media platform as far as I'm aware. We're not utilising it to full effect which means we're not tapping into a potentially, huge group of enthusiasts.

[Bill]

Busy being a tourist but Alan I believe did offer branches help with FB.

[agavemad]

I think FB is a good tool to reach more people who are hobby growers. New enthusiasts etc. It can be a very useful tool.
In other forum worlds that also have FB pages the fear is always that FB 'could' take away from the forum.
This is often seen in the way new people are happy to post pics on FB and ask for advice but not as many post pics on the forums or people joining for advice. I wonder if this is because they find forums of 'experts' intimidating or just because they fine FB easier to use.
But this forum as with other forums is a vital reference library of information that has a search facility.
I have not really looked at FB but is there a link to the forum from there?

[alanbromley]

I raised the issue of branch Facebook pages at a BoT meeting because, as Bill says, I felt it could dilute the society's messages but I have an open mind on that. However, if members have time to manage and post on their branch FB pages, could they not help with the two belonging to the society?

Bromley branch's website actually goes against FB's rules in that it's been set up as a personal site by someone called Bcss Bromley (no relation) who appears to be male and lives in Bromley but never went to school. He has not posted anything since 2015.

I admit that I have somewhat taken over the Twitter account which Bill set up and it was me who arranged to have the Instagram account set up at the end of last year and I have taken that over too. Both are marketing opportunities, as is FB, and both are free so I do see this falling within my remit.

I attended a social media workshop organized by RHS Wisley in April 2016 and run by their in-house expert. They are big advocates of social media but of course they have the resources to manage it. Their key staff are encouraged to post things as employees of the RHS so perhaps we could do the same with some of our more experienced members.

There are a number of things we can post on social media but some are better suited to FB alone, such as society news. Forthcoming shows and events are a given, but it would be nice to have photos of the events themselves, particularly for use on FB. I tried to do this last year by communicating with local organizers but didn't get much input and it took a lot of effort to track down and write to those concerned. World of Succulents tweet about specific plants and say something interesting but all their posts link back to their website. I am doing this to a limited extent based on my own experience but we could make more of this in the future. Simply posting beautiful photos is a way to get us noticed. If I don't know the species there is often someone who responds with a suggestion (not all the photos I have been given are named).

I have tried to promote membership a few times. I posted the Cool Cacti kid's logo on Instagram but it got the fewest 'likes' of any this year. I also posted the front cover of Bradleya to highlight the new species of cactus and that was more popular. As I said previously, with Instagram it's all about the photo and the two most popular so far have been a shot of Stirling Baker's haworthias at the National Show (250 likes) and one of a group of plants sitting on my greenhouse floor (220). Generally we get 70-100 likes with a following of 1,200.

I have asked that the new member sign-up form on the new website asks how the person got to hear about us and social media is one choice, so maybe we will gradually get to learn more about its effectiveness.

[KathyM]

To Kathy's comments, an organization page (whether commercial or charity) is relatively easy to manage and there are various types but an interest group page are not intended to replace these, just to be a way of getting people with a common interest together. For that reason, there are limits to what you can do with it.

The BCSS Organization page has 5,700 'likes' and if you're an admin person you see all the stuff that Facebook have designed for fund-raising and promotion. It requires a lot of work to make the most of it and to keep abreast of the changes and it's not simply a case of posting things on it. That said, I don't think it's a good idea to bin it at this point. We really need someone who knows what they are doing to make sense of the confusing array of boxes and pop-ups which only admins see.

The Group page, which is linked to the Organization page, has 3,400 members. As RogerF says, it is more of a lively page but it can never compete with the Forum (nor should it try to) because there's no way of organizing topics, and any posts quickly get lost below newer posts. It is, however, a way of communicating with non-members who have queries about C&S.

Social media is not in any way a substitute for the Forum, it's a completely different way of communicating and while it's generally used more by younger people most organization and companies believe it's an important tool in reaching their 'customers'. We need to try all these things and see what works for the BCSS.

Facebook calls them pages and groups; using the term "group page" is probably going to add confusion in a thread where a lot of people already don't really know what the difference is.

I like social media and I know how to use social media, so I don't share your view that Facebook pages are so difficult that the BCSS one couldn't have possibly been updated since August.

I think for a page representing an organisation like the BCSS that covers various geographical areas and has various different aims, it can be a big challenge to have content that covers all that. However, it's not like we currently have a page that has, say, a nice selection of photos of Sheffield's show and none of York's, or has content posted about cactus and succulent cultivation but nothing about conservation, for example. Even something as simple as posting a link to the latest Plant of the Month article hasn't been done since May.

I've seen several people say that social media is important for attracting younger members, but the thing about Facebook is that everyone uses it. Attracting 50-something members is also much more difficult without a good Facebook presence.

[Jim_Mercer]

I've seen several people say that social media is important for attracting younger members, but the thing about Facebook is that everyone uses it. Attracting 50-something members is also much more difficult without a good Facebook presence.

I suspect that most people do not use Facebook (or Titter, Instagram, Flickr etc), I know I am in the minority of my branch that do use the internet and after seeing this thread I did look at Instagram again - tried it briefly in the past then ignored it. Yes it contains some nice pictures which seem to have short descriptions with lots of hashtags, there are more words on the Facebook page but unfortunately some of those words are from the kind of post that makes many Facebook groups places to generally avoid as far as I am concerned.

[KathyM]

I've seen several people say that social media is important for attracting younger members, but the thing about Facebook is that everyone uses it. Attracting 50-something members is also much more difficult without a good Facebook presence.

I suspect that most people do not use Facebook (or Titter, Instagram, Flickr etc), I know I am in the minority of my branch that do use the internet and after seeing this thread I did look at Instagram again - tried it briefly in the past then ignored it. Yes it contains some nice pictures which seem to have short descriptions with lots of hashtags, there are more words on the Facebook page but unfortunately some of those words are from the kind of post that makes many Facebook groups places to generally avoid as far as I am concerned.

The majority of internet users use social media, with Facebook being the most popular, and the one that attracts a wider range of people.

[Bill]

Facebook is what you make of it, I have some fantastic plants sitting in my greenhouse that I can safely say I wouldn't have without the contacts I have made through Fb, the amount of Plants being traded/exchanged etc on Fb is astonishing, I know some people that only use it for their sales. I know there are people who have joined the BCSS because of Fb and others who have attended branches and gone on to join because of Facebook. And wether people like it not our next generation are likely to be on social media, the fact many of the older generation don't use it and in some cases don't use the internet at all is actually largely irrelevant, they are catered (or should be) for by the existing setup, Fb and social media is about the future. We just need to find the best way to harness that Pt and blend it with the existing society and members.