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Chapter Public Facebook Pages

It is strongly suggested that you talk with your state leader about setting up a state page upon which chapter events open to the public and posts can be shared rather than creating your own public page. 

In the past, many Chapters are utilized a public PAGE (not a public GROUP) for promotional/marketing purposes. This is optional – but there are a couple of important things to remember.  The basic guidelines still apply — no extreme political commentary. We are about empowering women – educational links and pertinent information is fine.  NO risqué or sexually provocative images – we must be mindful of the image we put forth.. No provocative or disrespectful image of women and guns. Armed Women of America Inc. is an intelligent resource for women – we all must protect this image.

Also it is EXTREMELY important to note that Facebook is VERY restrictive concerning anything that think may be an attempt to sell firearms, firearms parts or ammunition and this may cause your page to be suspended or even taken down. This will affect you, the other admins and potentially AWA. 

Please review any photos to ensure they are portraying safe firearms handling practices, you have permission to use the photo and those members pictured have signed the media release waiver. PLEASE respect their privacy as it may also affect their personal safety.

Before creating a page, please reach out to Annie (annie@armedwomen.org) One of the AWA Staff Team or an AWA Board member must be included as a page administrator with full access.

Live stream videos are not permitted during meetings, range time, and classroom time.

Use your private Facebook Group for communicating, posting events, photos of your group. Remember, before you post any photos of women in your chapters, they must give you permission in writing.

Chapter Facebook Marketing Tips

If you are new to setting up and administering a business Facebook page, Facebook offers a great tutorial for how to do this. Once you set up your page, complete the “About” section of your page with your contact information and specifics about your chapter. Once your business page is set up, you need to grow your fan base and keep them engaged. Here are some tips on doing just that.

  • Posting Frequency – There is a balance that needs to be achieved between posting enough so that people see and engage with your page, but not so much that you annoy them. Many businesses err on the side of not posting enough, which makes you disappear from your fans’ feed. In my opinion, you need to be posting at least 3 -4 times per week or more. There may be times when you may want to post multiple times a day.
  • Posting Content – The “SEE” Formula – Now that you have an idea of how frequently to post, the question becomes, “What do I post?” In general, I have found that the “SEE” Formula for content works well for ALL businesses. If you will post 1/3 each for these general content categories, you will see your fan engagement and following increase.
  1. S = Sell – About 1/3 of your content should be selling your product or service. In our case, this will be getting sign-ups for the monthly shooting outings and selling people on the benefits of becoming a member of the chapter. The “Events” app is a great tool for announcing your outings. It also helps you keep track of who is coming. Events are also easy for your fans to share with others who may not know about your page yet.
  2. E = Educate – About 1/3 of your content should be educating your audience. There are a lot of great articles, videos, and websites that can be shared with your fans to educate them on a variety of firearms and self-defense topics.
  3. E = Entertain/ Engage – Here’s the fun part. The final 1/3 of your content should be entertaining and/or engaging. This could mean a cartoon, video or interesting news clip. Here’s a humorous example, a picture called the “baby holster” for men:• Content Resources – So, where do you find all of this great content to share? The easiest way to do this, is to go and “Like” other gun-related business Facebook pages and share the stories, links and pictures. You will need to be logged in and acting as your business page and then go to the appropriate page to like that business. Of course, the first ones to like are Armed Women of America and our sponsors and partners. 

Here are some others who post great content worth sharing:

National Shooting Sports Foundation

Project Child Safe

National Rifle Association
Guns Save Lives
United States Concealed Carry Association

You will also want to “Like” the page of the host range that you are using, and any other local businesses that are supporting your group with discounts, etc. Don’t be afraid to tag your host range in occasional posts to support them. You may also want to like specific gun manufacturers, like Ruger, Walther and Glock and our AWA Sponsors and partners.

 Expand Your Audience – Here are some easy ways to expand your Facebook following:

  • Include a hyperlink in your email signature to your Facebook page.
    Include the Facebook link on your business card.
  • Ask friends and family members to share your page.
  • Post links and pictures directly to your page (instead of sharing them). That way, when your fans share something, your Facebook link is being shared also.
  • Tag other businesses in your post and you will show up on their Facebook home page! For example, if you type in, “Just joined @National Rifle Association!” that will show up on their page in the section called, “What others are saying about…”
  • Ask Fans to add your page to their “Interest List” – Once fans have liked and followed your page, they can ensure they see ALL of your posts by adding your page to their “Interest List”.