Arizona, California, D.C.: Using Facebook to Reap Public Benefits

After a Facebook race to the finish, three state arts agencies have stories to tell and lessons to share with their colleagues about last fall’s Facebook Challenge. The Arizona Commission on the Arts, California Arts Council, and D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities challenged each other: Who would be the first to reach 10,000 “likes” on Facebook? Each used creative means to strive for the goal, including video, tweet-pleas over Twitter, Facebook ads (with their statistics for judging effectiveness) and a “Like-a-thon” promoting agency awareness.

While California reached the goal first, all three agencies say the contest was beneficial for their constituents. Arizona reports that Facebook Challenge participants included representatives of local media, elected officials, educators and others—demonstrating an outpouring of local pride and unity—and counts 2,500 more individuals connecting with the arts industry in the state. California is incorporating its lessons learned into a series of YouTube videos to encourage the state’s local arts councils to increase their Facebook outreach; the Council reports that the challenge had the unexpected ripple effect of driving traffic to several of its county-level partners. And D.C. offers these valuable take-aways:

• Social media posts should be engaging and educational, not just promotional.
• Keep social media content fresh.
• Create Facebook-specific content rather than repurposing.
• Have fun!

To find out more about the benefits of the Facebook Challenge, contact Arizona Commission on the Arts Communications and Research Director Casey Blake, California Arts Council Information Officer Mary Beth Barber, or D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities Director of Marketing and Communications Marquis Perkins.