"Like" symbol on blue backgroundFacebook has changed a lot since the early days and they have added many great features. One of the apps which comes in handy for nonprofits is Facebook Events. Have you seen it? Many nonprofits aren’t even aware of its existence. But it can make the spreading of information, particularly about an event or fundraiser, much simpler on many levels.

By setting up an event on behalf of your NFP, Facebook will share the information to individuals letting them know there is an event happening in their area. This widens the spread of information even before you have started promoting the event yourself.

You then have the ability to share it on your Facebook page, your charity Facebook page and in any other relevant Facebook group or network. You can even send the link out to individuals by email.

Don’t forget to ask people to share widely to increase the event reach. You can even offer incentives such as early bird specials to get the ball rolling.

As people like the event and share the information, they can let you know whether they are a) attending, b) interested or c) not able to attend. This gives your NFP insight into how many people may be participating on top of the confirmations you have already received to date.

You can use the Facebook Events facility to update those who are interested in attending by giving them more accurate information to meet their needs. You can fine tune the marketing to let them know about specific fundraisers, raffles or other marketing stories to encourage them to attend. Your updates may also convince those interested to amend their attendance from ‘interested’ to ‘attending’.

Facebook Events gives you the ability to increase your reach through paid advertising. It also gives you the capacity to nominate a daily budget to avoid overspending. This facility alone is beneficial for nonprofits of all shapes and sizes.

Try Facebook Events for your next fundraising or social event. It does a lot of the hard work for you and gives you the essential tools for sharing, networking and promoting.