I know in a previous post that many people thought I was railing against Facebook. I should have been more clear by stating that I was against closed Masonic message boards. What is frightening is the lack of open communication. Nothing leaves the password protected message board. With all that being said, I want to tell you just how pleased I am to see lodges, grand lodges, and other Masonic bodies making a name for themselves on Facebook by creating a Facebook fan page.
Masonry is a brand and we should seek to use that brand to make the general public more aware of who we are. Each lodge and each grand lodge has a need to reach out to brothers and interested worthy men on the internet. My own lodge has a wonderful website but we also supplement this site with a Facebook Fan page and a Twitter page. That way, we can maximize our reach on the internet. These ways of reaching brothers and interested men is paying off dividends with the number of petitions and seats filled in our lodge room. Also, as the High Priest of Corinthian Chapter No. 33 (also in Farmington), I have created a Facebook fan page for both Chapter and Council. Again, brothers are starting to take notice of the appendent bodies in Farmington and we are starting to get petitions to join and affiliate in both bodies.
Thankfully, the Grand Lodge of Minnesota, A.F. & A.M. has created their own Facebook fan page. This Facebook Fan page is wonderful and can really help lodges plan their events. It appears that the fan page takes those events from the Grand Lodge's website and posts them. Now, any brother that is on Facebook can RSVP on these events and can really aid those lodges that are hosting the event in numbers and getting the word out to two different calendars, which again, maximizes the event's exposure.
I think this is wonderful; Masonic organizations are seeing the potential of the internet and using its power. This is a great and long overdue. Let's hope that more Masonic groups take the leap, especially when that step costs nothing. I can't wait to see how Masonry continues to evolve.
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3 comments:
Dear Brother Nick,
A little less than a year ago, I started my Grand Lodge's Facebook page under the direction of our Committee on Masonic Awareness. It now has almost 2500 fans and we're seeing an increase in attendance at many events, because the brothers "saw it on Facebook." Brothers are posting text and images as the events happen. The page is also increasing traffic back to our Grand Lodge website, where we post digital copies of our paper-based publication. Check it out at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Connecticut-Freemasons/89393053328
I'm very happy to see more Grand Lodges taking this step!
Fraternally,
Charles
Excellent work Bro. Charles. The brother that was instrumental in getting this website started is a brother of my lodge, Brother Curt. Hopefully, we will be able to get more exposure for the Grand Lodge and lead them back to the main mn-mason.org site. We have to be in all places to get exposure. If you have any pointers, send them along and get them to him.
Nick
I think the key to a successful GL FB Page is constant content. People like seeing something new and interesting as much as possible. Images, video, articles, blog entries, holiday wishes, etc are all great to post.
One of the fastest growing populations on Facebook are Seniors. Many of our brothers can't get out to lodge anymore, but many of them are on Facebook and appreciate hearing about what is going on.
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