1. Use it!   The best way to learn how to use Facebook is to play around in FB often. How often is up to you, but the more you use it the easier it will be to maneuver through all of the features. Warning: we are not responsible when you become addicted to FB and we do not have a support group. :)  
2. Use it often. Facebook is a dynamic tool and even the most dedicated user can be puzzled by the changes that seem to be made on a regular basis.  The key to success is not to get too frustrated and just to roll with the changes, if something seems different or funny, it probably is.  But you'll get the hang of it and learn to adapt, fortunately the basics remain pretty much the same.  Just keep in mind that if you only go on once a month, you'll probably get frustrated that you have to learn things all over again every time.
3. Repeat, repeat, repeat. Integrate FB into your organization and your program marketing. If you would promote an event or issue in your print newsletter or e-newsletter, it should go on FB too. Don't worry about duplication. People need to see things multiple times before they remember it or take action.
4. Be a resource. Share more than your events. Your FB followers value you as a resource for river information. Post national, regional, and local articles about your issues that they might not see otherwise.
5. Share the fun! More than one person in your organization needs to be an administrator (this means they get to post information) on your page. It will become a chore or just won't get done if only one person is posting on your page- unless they are a FB addict. Also, you will get a range of content and viewpoints if more than one person is posting. This could be a task for a volunteer, as long as you set up some guidelines.
6. Set up a Page. Lastly, be sure to set up a page, not just a group. There are many advantages to a page: posts come from the organization not your personal profile page, anyone can like your page without approval from you, you can have a unique url (example: www.facebook.com/riveralliance) that will show up in Google searches, and you can view the analytics for your page to see what is drawing people to your page and other great info about your followers. We found a nice blog post that summarizes the differences between FB pages and groups that you should check out.

Please contact us if you have any questions about setting up a FB page or using FB. We'll do our best to help you out.