Facebook is the undisputed King of the Social Networking Sites. I’ve already talked about why EMS Agencies should be using Facebook. It’s important to understand that agencies have choices in both how they present themselves and how they interact with others on the platform.

Facebook Personal Profiles

Facebook personal profiles are the very basic building block of the Facebook platform. Facebook personal profiles should not be used to represent an EMS Agency.

From the Facebook FAQ:

I’m trying to register a presence for a business, product, or public figure: We do not allow these entities to maintain personal profiles, but you can create a Facebook Page. Pages can only be created to represent a real public figure, artist, brand or organization, and may only be created by an official representative of that entity.

Just because your agency shouldn’t have a Personal Profile doesn’t mean you can’t! For that matter, if you are an official representative of your agency you will need one to create a Facebook Page or a Facebook Group. You can check out my Personal Profile for an idea of what it looks like

Facebook Groups

Facebook Groups offers organizations an opportunity to communicate and interact with personal profile users through the Facebook Platform. Although they are distinctly different, Facebook Groups offer a number of specific features like Personal Profiles. The featured areas include:

• Recent News
• Discussion Board
• Photo Uploads From Group Members
• Group Member Link Share
• Group Member Videos
• Group Member Wall Postings

Facebook Groups also offer three different privacy settings:

• Open: Everyone on Facebook can view the group and join. All content (e.g., photos, videos and discussions) is visible to anyone viewing the group.
• Closed: Everyone on Facebook can see the group, but the administrators must approve all membership requests or personally send invitations. Only group members can view its Wall, discussion board, and photo or video content. Non-members can view its Info and Recent News. If you are not a member, you will not receive stories about closed groups.
• Secret: These groups cannot be found in searches or be viewed by non-members. The name of the group will not display on the personal profiles of members. Membership is strictly by invitation only.

Because of the different privacy preferences, agencies can choose what type of group they may want to have. An agency who wants to interact with their community, their responders, and the public in general would choose to have an open group as opposed to an agency who perhaps wants to only interact with their responders would choose to have a closed group. Another important feature of Facebook Groups is its ability to allow multiple group members as administrators for the group. Having multiple administrators will make sure that whatever presence an agency builds on Facebook will be manageable by others if the originator of the group goes on vacation or becomes unavailable to support it.

While Facebook Groups offer an opportunity for an agency to exist on Facebook, what it severely lacks is the ability to customize its appearance on the platform or to integrate the powerful Facebook Applications within the group. A Facebook Group can be created by any user and about any topic, as a space for users to share their opinions and interest in that subject.

The Facebook Group EMS: Forgotten Casualties Of 9/11 grew to over 2,500 members in less than a week through a mix of the exposure through Facebook and the passion of its members for the cause that it supports

Facebook Pages

Facebook Pages are for any real public figure, artist, brand or organization, and may only be created by an official representative of that entity. Facebook Pages are also designed to allow Page Admins to keep a personal/professional distinction while on Facebook.

What empowers Facebook Pages over the other options offered is the high level of customization that it allows. Facebook Pages are able to integrate Facebook Applications and provide rich media content to both their fans and non-fans alike. This enriched environment helps Facebook Pages gain new audiences through their friend’s recommendations and fosters natural interactions with compelling content.

It is important to remember that unlike Facebook Groups there are only two privacy settings for Facebook Pages. There is the “published” which is viewable globally, and the “unpublished” which means the page is only viewable by Page Administrators. There are no private or secret options for pages.

McGregor Memorial EMS uses Facebook Pages in a simple but effective way

In Conclusion

As social media continues to grow and develop in society, EMS Agencies can no longer afford to be absent from the sphere. Although Facebook is similar to Twitter as a tool to be used in conjunction with a strong branding message, it also provides the opportunity for an agency to stick its proverbial toe into the social media water.