How FMs Use Social Media
June 27, 2016
Mention Snapchat and Pinterest (not even to mention Twitter and Facebook) to most facility managers, and chances are, you’ll probably be treated to either a blank stare, or an eye-roll and a proclamation along the lines of “I have enough to do without carving out time to goof around on the Internet.”
Tell a facility manager that using social media can help his or her organization with its high-performance goals, and the reaction will probably be closer to overt scorn. But, believe it or not, that is happening more and more these days — take, for instance,
these 17 university facility managers who are crushing it with social media. Indeed, facility managers taking to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn to disseminate information about high-performance (and other) initiatives is becoming much more common, especially as mobile technology and Building Internet of Things integration making social media easier, quicker, and requiring much less effort.
Say, for instance, a facility manager at a university is working on a new recycling plan. What better way to keep students informed about the plan — and therefore get them to help — than to post information about the plan on either the university’s Facebook page, or better yet, the FM department’s own page? How about a using Twitter to let students and faculty know when a demand-response event is in effect? Or setting up a Facebook event page to help get attendees to a meeting explaining a new energy efficiency initiative? Really, the possibilities are endless.
Twitter and Facebook (
here’s ours, by the way!) may have the most impact among younger “occupants,” but that doesn’t mean facility managers in other types of organizations can’t use social media effectively, as well. Many professionals are using LinkedIn these days to network — to make contacts with similar professionals and to share information. LinkedIn is also a great tool for keeping abreast of industry news — high-performance and otherwise.
Indeed, keeping on top of news is one of best uses for Twitter, as well. Even if you don’t tweet yourself, simply subscribing to top media resources (blatant plug: like ours!
@BldgOpMgmt), and important industry organizations (
@USGBC, for instance), you can stay informed quickly and efficiently.
This Quick Read was compiled by Greg Zimmerman, Executive Editor of Building Operating Management magazine, greg.zimmerman@tradepress.com.
Read more from him about how facility managers are using mobile technologies to be more efficient.
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