I just put up a new blog post about which is better for promoting dance events on Facebook: Fan pages or groups. It's worth a read if you're an organizer.
Originally posted Sunday, March 7, 2010 (2 years ago)
Edited on Sunday, March 7, 2010 3:17 am (2 years ago)
Also, you can create events via a Fan Page.
Let's say that I [Toni] am an admin of [Local Dance's] Fan Page. Via the Fan Page I can create an event that is hosted by Local Dance. However, I can only invite people to that Event that are "Friends" with Toni's account. I don't have access to invite the Fans of Local Dance. However, I could open it so that anyone can invite any of their Friends, and I can encourage the other organizers to go through their Friends lists and invite as many people as possible.
Originally posted Monday, March 8, 2010 (2 years ago)
Oh, wow, thanks, Toni! I didn't even realize that. My fan page is an app fan page, which behaves a little differently than a normal fan page, unfortunately.
For the invites, you can do a "bulk invitation" to events with a list of email addresses. I know not everyone has access to a large list of dancer's email addresses but unless it's a brand new event, they should at least have emails from last year's attendees.
Originally posted Monday, March 8, 2010 (2 years ago)
I get seriously annoyed by people always sending me invites for groups, fan pages, and events. Especially when it is something like a tiny weekly dance in the middle of no where that is about 9000 miles away from where I live, and I get about 3 invites a week. Also annoying is when I decline to become a 'fan' and then I keep getting sent requests to be a fan about 5 times a week. Doing those things is a quick way to be defriended by me, no matter how much I like you.
Whatever happened to real life flyers, phone calls, or posting things on various forums and on lindyexchange.com? I much preferred that. The horrible horrible horrible part of facebook is the existance of fan pages, groups, and the ability to invite people to events.
follow my adventures at www.AppalachianToAlpine.blogspot.com!
Originally posted Monday, March 8, 2010 (2 years ago)
Edited on Monday, March 8, 2010 4:45 pm (2 years ago)
Yes, what the hell....if I don't accept one of those huge indiscriminant blanket invitations, why indeed am I receiving the follow up? And the wording of the email notification makes it sound as if I'm in the group.
When I invite people to something via FB, I pick out people for whom it makes georgrapical sense and/or who have expressed an interest.
Mass invitations are, by contrast, very obvious and wildly annoying. And lazy.
This music is not too fast; you're just too damn slow.
If you forget to click "remove from my events" when you decline the invitation, do you then have to go all the way to the event's page to remove it, or is there an easier way?
I have been always assuming that people who decline an invitation do not receive any messages from the event administrator(s).
On the other hand the "Remove of my event option" can be less safe than declining, because one may get invited again. It happened to me and I have made myself the mistake a few times of re-inviting people who removed themselves from my invitation.
There should be an RSVP button next to the event in your events list, even if you're Not Attending. Click it to bring up the RSVP dialog and there's a Remove link at the bottom.
What I've noticed recently are events showing up in my events list to which I haven't been invited or have Removed, but friends are going to. It's like they're trying to throw in the "Top News" logic to events, putting crap in my event list just because friends are attending. There is no way whatsoever to remove these from the list and no indication they aren't "your" events. They feel like a bug, but it's probably intentional with a really horrid UI blunder. No RSVP button, etc. You can RSVP as whatever, then you get the link to Remove, but it doesn't do anything but remove the RSVP option...the stupid event is still listed. :-/
Events should IMHO be at the center of Facebook's design, but they've really half-assed event handling so badly that it becomes a plague rather then a feature. Shotgun event invites are the new Quiz Apps...
Yah, I've started unfriending and unfanning people, pages, and groups which spam me with pointless invites. But it could be worse...there are those assholes who spam everyone's wall one at a time with event links. OMGWTFASSHOLEUNFRIEND!
I've gotten significantly less event communications by following the practice of always using "Remove from my events" so I think it's worth the risk of getting the occasional duplicate invite. Also helpful is NOT being a fan of ANYTHING.
Originally posted Monday, March 8, 2010 (2 years ago)
If you are creating a FB event for a swing event, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD please list the actual location!! I've long ago lost count of how many events I've been invited to where I don't even know what state it's taking place in.
I've even gone to the damn event's web site, custom domain and all, and not a word about what the hell state it's in and it's only an assumption that it's even in the USA. Epic Event Fail!
Originally posted Thursday, March 11, 2010 (2 years ago)
I run a Facebook group to promote my Monday night dances in the L.A. area and I send invitations to the members almost every week.
I have noticed that many people respond systematically 'No' to each invitation. Some of them don't even live in California. I wonder if those folks are fully aware that they are receiving those invitations, only because they have joined the group. Otherwise I don't understand much the point of joining a group promoting events that they are almost never able (willing) to attend.
I think some people join all groups they are invited to join and others want to show support for the event by joining the group. Also, people move and then forget to leave groups.
Events display who the creator of the event was and if it was created by a group it lists the group.
If I am in a group or a fan of something that sends out local events only, I will leave the group. I've also started to ignore invites to become a fan of/join a group of more local organizations. It's not that I don't to show my support, but I just don't want the spam.
ETA:
Quoted from "Gong-Oh" I have been always assuming that people who decline an invitation do not receive any messages from the event administrator(s).
Administrators can pick which responses to target with a message and are not always good about leaving the "No"s alone.
tl;dr: I don't mind event advertising. But make it easy for me to find the information when I'm interested and easy for me to ignore if I'm not. I think Fan pages do that better than groups.
Actually, this brings up a reason why I, as a user, prefer to be a fan rather than be in a group. Fan pages can't send me messages. Groups can.
I really don't mind if there's something posted to my stream about "Event-XYZ Pre-registration Ends in XX Days!!!" every day for two weeks. If it's an event I can't attend or just aren't interested in, I can ignore it and it'll slowly fade into the ether. No big deal. Maybe I'll be interested next time around.
Groups, however, can (and often do) send that same info in email-form via the "send a message to all group members" function of groups. This obviously sucks for me because that message goes to both my Facebook inbox and my gmail inbox and if I want it gone, which I usually do, I have to take action. Twice.
What organizers don't seem to realize is that it's also bad for their event. Good advertising has a strong "call to action". However, the only call to action they're creating is a negative one to "delete these &^$@&$ messages, again", which as you all mention eventually leads to people leaving the group.
Fan pages or Groups for promoting events
http://bit.ly/a8diNS
Hey,
I just put up a new blog post about which is better for promoting dance events on Facebook: Fan pages or groups. It's worth a read if you're an organizer.
Yehoodi Featured Topics
(17 items total, 30 per page)
I haven't had a chance to read the linked post, but I do want to say...
...not both please. Thanks. I get enough FB invites as it is.
Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica.
Also, you can create events via a Fan Page.
Let's say that I [Toni] am an admin of [Local Dance's] Fan Page. Via the Fan Page I can create an event that is hosted by Local Dance. However, I can only invite people to that Event that are "Friends" with Toni's account. I don't have access to invite the Fans of Local Dance. However, I could open it so that anyone can invite any of their Friends, and I can encourage the other organizers to go through their Friends lists and invite as many people as possible.
Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica.
Oh, wow, thanks, Toni! I didn't even realize that. My fan page is an app fan page, which behaves a little differently than a normal fan page, unfortunately.
For the invites, you can do a "bulk invitation" to events with a list of email addresses. I know not everyone has access to a large list of dancer's email addresses but unless it's a brand new event, they should at least have emails from last year's attendees.
I get seriously annoyed by people always sending me invites for groups, fan pages, and events. Especially when it is something like a tiny weekly dance in the middle of no where that is about 9000 miles away from where I live, and I get about 3 invites a week. Also annoying is when I decline to become a 'fan' and then I keep getting sent requests to be a fan about 5 times a week. Doing those things is a quick way to be defriended by me, no matter how much I like you.
Whatever happened to real life flyers, phone calls, or posting things on various forums and on lindyexchange.com? I much preferred that. The horrible horrible horrible part of facebook is the existance of fan pages, groups, and the ability to invite people to events.
follow my adventures at www.AppalachianToAlpine.blogspot.com!
Yes, what the hell....if I don't accept one of those huge indiscriminant blanket invitations, why indeed am I receiving the follow up? And the wording of the email notification makes it sound as if I'm in the group.
When I invite people to something via FB, I pick out people for whom it makes georgrapical sense and/or who have expressed an interest.
Mass invitations are, by contrast, very obvious and wildly annoying. And lazy.
This music is not too fast; you're just too damn slow.
You need to use "Remove from my events" to kill it off completely. If you just decline or ignore it, you keep getting the updates.
Reuben Brown - www.JiveJunction.com - Southern California
If you forget to click "remove from my events" when you decline the invitation, do you then have to go all the way to the event's page to remove it, or is there an easier way?
Thanks
I have been always assuming that people who decline an invitation do not receive any messages from the event administrator(s).
On the other hand the "Remove of my event option" can be less safe than declining, because one may get invited again. It happened to me and I have made myself the mistake a few times of re-inviting people who removed themselves from my invitation.
Lorenzo
Happy Feet & Balboa Mondays at Joe's: Every Monday except the first, in Burbank, CA
There should be an RSVP button next to the event in your events list, even if you're Not Attending. Click it to bring up the RSVP dialog and there's a Remove link at the bottom.
What I've noticed recently are events showing up in my events list to which I haven't been invited or have Removed, but friends are going to. It's like they're trying to throw in the "Top News" logic to events, putting crap in my event list just because friends are attending. There is no way whatsoever to remove these from the list and no indication they aren't "your" events. They feel like a bug, but it's probably intentional with a really horrid UI blunder. No RSVP button, etc. You can RSVP as whatever, then you get the link to Remove, but it doesn't do anything but remove the RSVP option...the stupid event is still listed. :-/
Events should IMHO be at the center of Facebook's design, but they've really half-assed event handling so badly that it becomes a plague rather then a feature. Shotgun event invites are the new Quiz Apps...
Yah, I've started unfriending and unfanning people, pages, and groups which spam me with pointless invites. But it could be worse...there are those assholes who spam everyone's wall one at a time with event links. OMGWTFASSHOLEUNFRIEND!
I've gotten significantly less event communications by following the practice of always using "Remove from my events" so I think it's worth the risk of getting the occasional duplicate invite. Also helpful is NOT being a fan of ANYTHING.
Reuben Brown - www.JiveJunction.com - Southern California
If you are creating a FB event for a swing event, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD please list the actual location!! I've long ago lost count of how many events I've been invited to where I don't even know what state it's taking place in.
Amen!!
I've even gone to the damn event's web site, custom domain and all, and not a word about what the hell state it's in and it's only an assumption that it's even in the USA. Epic Event Fail!
I run a Facebook group to promote my Monday night dances in the L.A. area and I send invitations to the members almost every week.
I have noticed that many people respond systematically 'No' to each invitation. Some of them don't even live in California. I wonder if those folks are fully aware that they are receiving those invitations, only because they have joined the group. Otherwise I don't understand much the point of joining a group promoting events that they are almost never able (willing) to attend.
Happy Feet & Balboa Mondays at Joe's: Every Monday except the first, in Burbank, CA
I think some people join all groups they are invited to join and others want to show support for the event by joining the group. Also, people move and then forget to leave groups.
Events display who the creator of the event was and if it was created by a group it lists the group.
If I am in a group or a fan of something that sends out local events only, I will leave the group. I've also started to ignore invites to become a fan of/join a group of more local organizations. It's not that I don't to show my support, but I just don't want the spam.
ETA:
Administrators can pick which responses to target with a message and are not always good about leaving the "No"s alone.
I may be wrong, but I do not believe that it is technically possible for an event administrator to message invitees who responded 'No'.
Happy Feet & Balboa Mondays at Joe's: Every Monday except the first, in Burbank, CA
No, I think you are right. I thought that messages sent to "All" included the "No" responses.
tl;dr: I don't mind event advertising. But make it easy for me to find the information when I'm interested and easy for me to ignore if I'm not. I think Fan pages do that better than groups.
Actually, this brings up a reason why I, as a user, prefer to be a fan rather than be in a group. Fan pages can't send me messages. Groups can.
I really don't mind if there's something posted to my stream about "Event-XYZ Pre-registration Ends in XX Days!!!" every day for two weeks. If it's an event I can't attend or just aren't interested in, I can ignore it and it'll slowly fade into the ether. No big deal. Maybe I'll be interested next time around.
Groups, however, can (and often do) send that same info in email-form via the "send a message to all group members" function of groups. This obviously sucks for me because that message goes to both my Facebook inbox and my gmail inbox and if I want it gone, which I usually do, I have to take action. Twice.
What organizers don't seem to realize is that it's also bad for their event. Good advertising has a strong "call to action". However, the only call to action they're creating is a negative one to "delete these &^$@&$ messages, again", which as you all mention eventually leads to people leaving the group.
(17 items total, 30 per page)
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