Facebook Page Help

#1. You can not prove a facebook page is driving down sales. That is an ASSUMPTION. People can decide not to buy a home for any reason. I did not buy a home because the bathroom was too small and the door about hit the toilet when opened. So do not assign that much power to a few comments. Anyone who believes everything they read on facebook or the internet are already half way to idiotsville.

#2. Do not worry about and create an official website for your HOA. Do not even mention that facebook page or recognize it. Once you acknowledge it, then it exists in peoples eyes to view. So do not even go there.

Note: I visited both pages and in my honest opinion the page created to label the other page as "fake" is lousy.

It doesn't provide any information about your community. It doesn't provide access to governing documents, it doesn't provide information on who is on the Board or how to get questions answered. It just appears to be a site made by individuals who doesn't like the other site.

From my perspective, this actually gives the other site more credibility and makes it appear as if the Board has something to hide.

You would do far, far better in countering the site you don't like by having an Association website that provides information, documents and answers. Perhaps you can even have it's own forum for members to talk amongst themselves. There are references to a "neighbors" page but that that page is closed and also not the official site for the Association.

Based on the comments of the "fake" site, it does appear that your Association has some communication problems. I would urge you to look at the comments on that site and try to address them.

Hope this helps,

Tim

What am I missing?

Admittedly, Facebook confounds me much of the time. I did a search on Facebook for "Grand Firs" and the only page that came up was one called "Grand Firs Neighbors." This page is for members only and says it has 92 members. According to that page, membership is restricted to current residents of Grand Firs.

I also noted that there are five administrators and not just one.

Since the page is private I was unable to read anything that would either induce or hinder the sale of a home.

Where exactly are these other two sites? The site put up by the guy who lost the election that ruins home sales and the other that says his is fake?

Nothing you really can do.

The First Amendment to the United States Constitution, protects free speech. Even if you wanted to take it down, this is the internet, a new one can be created in 5 minutes, in another country not bound by us laws.

Stephanie,

I have to agree with Tim. The absolute WORST thing you could have done is create another Facebook pages, and ESPECIALLY to refer to the offending page. Let me tell you a true story:

At one home where I lived a certain bird decided to build her nest in a particular tree in my yard. After she had laid eggs in the nest she began attacking anyone who happened to merely walk near the tree. I used to refer to her as the "attack bird." I thought, "You silly bird. If you didn't attack me I wouldn't even know your nest was nearby. By attacking me you are calling attention to the fact that there is a next nearby." By calling attention to the offending Facebook page, you are like that silly bird. You are unwittingly inviting others to see what is posted there.

The best thing you can do is create an OFFICIAL web page for your community, with helpful information as Tim suggests. This will most not likely not be free, as on Facebook, but it will do a lot more to promote your community and provide communication for your members. There are also ways to increase the probability that your official web page will come up in priority with internet searches. A good web page designer can help you with this.

Ray's advice is good.

I did find the Facebook page that the OP referred to and all it did was confirmed to me that Facebook is a crappy venue for discussions. I read through parts of a few threads and all I found were complaints about the number of stop signs in the community. Maybe if I waited for more junk to load I might have found some real dirt, but what I saw reminded me of junior high. Speaking of which, the OP's complaint to Facebook also sounds like something right out of Junior High School Confidential and leaves me wondering whether there are any grown-ups residing in that HOA.