1) Fanning a page is weighed second most heavily (after mobile uploads) as its distributed into newsfeeds.

2) The call to action is immediate and simple, you can become a fan right there in your news feed

3) Fanned pages are listed in your info, which makes it part of your identity on Faceeboook. The primary motivator for action on Facebook is self-expression, with the other being syndication.

This is why pages spread like a wildfire.

There are some noteworthy distinctions with a college Facebook page as they are generally set up. For one, it is generally more inclusive of alumni, staff, current students, future students, and pretty much anyone else.

Unlike groups, pages allow applications. For example, SimplyRSS is a basic but effective application for bringing in a campus news feed to a page. That currently can’t be done with groups.

In terms of usefulness for the alumni office, the college ‘11, college ‘12, college ‘13 groups have some great (often overlooked) potential. These groups are useful for recruiting and retention now, but also have use in the future!

Facebook is popular now, but who knows what the future will bring. If you are an admin/owner to any of these groups/pages, you can invite the membership to the next big thing via built-in messaging mechanisms.

On a related note, it is a good idea to not be the only owner or admin for a Facebook group or page. If something happens, it is good for someone else to have access to make updates, changes, etc. Sometimes a college Webmaster makes sense as an additional admin.

I targeted 17-21 year olds through this network when recruiting Bloggers (see recent post), and had great success, yielding nearly 50 inquiries in about 5 days.

Like I mentioned above, sometimes I wonder if people enjoy being in a group because there is not content to keep up with. The group is stagnant and almost just acts like a ‘Butler Badge’ on their profile, but I do wonder if some like that.

I think in a few years this group will be an amazing resource for the Alumni Office, and a great medium to push communication to for updates and site launches, like AU’s new site.

I would be interested in learning if there is content growth in the next few months. Many people join groups and becoming “fans” on facebook because they are invited . period. Growth on a network doesn’t mean anything unless there is content creation.

You should test different forms of communication through this network to see what sticks.