Successful Facebook Parties

Steps to a Successful Facebook Party

Think of it like a house with 3 basic parts:

I: The foundation

II: The walls

III: The roof

Each essential parts of the house.

A thriving Facebook party also has 3 basic parts:

I: Hostess Coaching (the foundation)

II: Party Script (the walls)

III: Follow-Up (the roof)

Hostess Coaching:

Your hostess is your sidekick! A successful party is 75% hostess and only 25% whatever you do (of course you still need to work for it!) In other words, if you have a motivated hostess, the party will be awesome! If she's not initially motivated, you have your work cut out for you! Show her what she can get and then tell her how.

YOUR JOB is to teach her what to do and how to do it! 

Make a hostess coaching video! Get her started off on the right foot with the information she needs to know to be a good hostess. Here is mine: 

I let mine know that their BIG goal is 30 people actually GOING to the party, but once they have 15 yes's I set up the private event (NOT group!) on Facebook and add her as cohost. 

If a video isn't your style or doesn't seem to be effective for your hostess, make a phone call! Whatever you have to do to get in touch and deliver the info she needs in a way she can understand it, do it!

Party Script:

What do you WANT to share during your parties? This may change from party to party depending on the guests, their interests, and the time of the year! You should always share what excites you about UBAM- that excitement will be loud and clear through the screen, and that's what sells these awesome books.

Your party is just that: YOURS. It should look and sound like YOU. These are NOT up to date and they do contain out of stock or out of print material. Please only use these as a template to get you started. Here are a few sample scripts you can browse through to get a feel for the typical structure of a Facebook party:

Sample Script I

Sample Script II

Now build your own! Again, DO NOT copy and paste these scripts. Make it yours. You may create your own graphics (see branding manual) or you can use the many, many graphics already created and shared. Join the UBAM Home Office Branding group on Facebook, or look through the albums on Guardians of the Reading Galaxy.

Follow-Up:

It's true when they say the fortune is in the follow-up. The day after the party, you will want your hostess to send messages to all of her invitees (including those who did not RSVP) letting them know that her party is still open and asking them if they were able to find some books for their kids! Provide the link for easy access to shopping. 

Prize Drawing:

Many of us offer a grand prize. Party guests earn POINTS into the prize drawing by participating before and during the party. In the party description, make sure you detail the drawing with text similar to this:

***What is a PARTY without PRIZES!! There will be lots of fun ways to earn points into the drawing! MUST be present during the party to WIN! No purchase is necessary, but the party must reach $150 in sales to be prize eligible :)***

or this:

*Fine Print: The party giveaway is in no way sponsored or endorsed by Facebook, and Facebook is released from all liability associated with it. The giveaway contest starts today (7/16/16) and goes through (7/21/16). The giveaway will occur with a qualifying party of $85+

Timeline:

1 week before the party, message hostess and get the ball rolling by having her *watch your hostess video, *personally invite her friends, and *being involved in getting her free books

Once she has 15 yes's post once or twice a day until party day!

Most parties have between 10-15 posts and last an hour.

Typically, parties remain open for 24 hours UNLESS an extension is requested- you can obviously run it for a longer period of time if you so desire.