Phase 2: We're Live on Facebook!

...And we're live on Facebook!

Part one of Phase 2 consists of creating a Facebook Events Page and beginning Facebook awareness to help direct attention towards participating studios, registration information, volunteer opportunities...and just simply to begin conversation surrounding the event.

This is the General Recruitment and Awareness Stage. At the most basic level I've created an events page for the event, and invited fellow New Yorkers and people who might know dedicated yogis, from my Facebook friends list. My one criticism I have about this is that people tend to decline events on Facebook.

What I really wanted to create was a separate landing page within the RTR NY Chapter Facebook page, but a team member brought up a good point, that for events like this, to take away from the main chapter landing page may be detrimental to the brand. And in speaking to studios during the recruitment phase, some have even been confused as to whether Namaste India was the organization or the product/brand. So, point taken. I'm still a fan of keeping things separated, but even I'm finding that there is truth in what was suggested; it's definitely easier to generate excitement on the main page and direct to an Events page since the dedicated following is on the main page, and people seem to decline the events page. Good learnings.

So how do I get people's attention and get them to "Join" my event even though they might not be attending classes? How do I create a following so that I have a database of Namaste India -specific folks so I can utilize them as a listserve to blast updates and news to?

I take over the main landing page.

Muahaha.

No really..actually, I think this might be slightly obnoxious and maybe frowned upon for trumping other posts or events with my takeover, but it was some what of an accidental find. I have not yet converted to Timeline on Facebook and in poking around trying to figure out how to post more information about the event on the main wall, I discovered a delightful little button called "highlight."

Hence what started as a decent, forgivable small square box to the left of the timeline turned into....this:

.......Win!