Flight schools and social networking

[drseti]

OK, I'll admit this up front: I'm not of the Facebook generation, and I'm a novice at social networking. Fortunately, my airport is right next door to Lock Haven University, and the students there are Facebook savvy.

Although I created an AvSport Facebook page almost four years ago, I've been too busy flying, instructing, and keeping planes flying to do much with it. I do post airport social events, safety seminars, and course schedules to our website, but that apparently only reaches the Usual Suspects.

Yesterday, I met with a business major at the university to discuss social networking strategy, something about which he knows more than I. The result is, we're trying to update and revitalize the AvSport Facebook page. See:

http://facebook.com/SportFlying

and let me know what you think. (Oh, and in the Facebook parlance I'm just learning, please Like us!)

[Merlinspop]

(Oh, and in the Facebook parlance I'm just learning, please Like us!)

Done!

[Merlinspop]

Your FB page is a nice start. Try to get some pictures with more "Facebook Demographic" folks in it.

[drseti]

Good suggestion, Bruce. thanks.

[David]

Your FB page is a nice start. Try to get some pictures with more "Facebook Demographic" folks in it.

Paul I guess I'm officially your friend now. LOL "Your liked on Facebook". I agree add a few more albums with other pictures. Ask your students to post their milestones and achievements .

[drseti]

Nice to have you as a friend, David! I've been creating new photo albums tonight, and uploading pix to them. More to come in a day or two. (Keep those great suggestions coming, folks - and thanks.)

[dstclair]

Paul -- make sure to update the content frequently. A stale page turns the users off and you'll never get them back.

[theskunk]

I recently went through this type of activity with a flight school down here (I'm a business major with an aviation addiction... its dangerous!)

My suggestions are:

Share events from other pages (and make sure you 'like' the pages who's content you're sharing), which gets a cross-posting going to other audiences.

Make sure photo's of ALL discovery flight pilots, as well as milestones/check-rides/solo's go up after they are done. This starts to build the aspect of community within your flight school so that guys will want to take the plane and split the cost for the $100.00 hamburger. We're already seeing some students get together and go fly, which is phenomenal.

If there is major construction, a refurbishment, something cool nearby from the air, take a picture, share it on your Facebook page, and then post it from your Facebook page to that organizations - that might get you a new student from that org that wants to go all the way to commercial/etc/etc.

[drseti]

Thank you, all for your great suggestions. I've implemented as many of them as I'm able at:
http://www.facebook.com/SportFlying
and issued this new Press Release:
http://avsport.org/press/pres1308.pdf.
This community is a great resource, and I appreciate your help and comments.

[RyanShort1]

Just friended your page.

Ryan