Facebook keeps adding new features and options to its platform in order to increase users’ engagement. While now the social network has focus on engagement with local government and politics. According to the latest news, Facebook users can go through Facebook petition feature to create a campaign that other users can support in different ways.
What exactly Facebook petition is?
Have you ever felt you need to take an action about issues or you felt passionate about something? Facebook petitions tool lets you post and sign online petitions in Facebook news feeds. The Facebook petitions feature, is called “Community Actions” and it is rolling out in the US first. Users can create an action with a title, description and images, and tag the relevant people in order to persuade them to act for something. You can express your concerns about a cause and ask relevant people in governmental or official positions to take a proper action in order to solve the issue. This is possible in Facebook directly while other users can “support” by tapping on support button on your Facebook petition and share their idea, opinions and reasons for supporting. It is important that not all users can express their taught around a petition but they must first choose to support a petition to be able to discuss about it and share their points of view.
What is the purpose of Facebook petition?
The company said in a statement which emailed to Geek.com that “Building informed and civically engaged communities is at the core of Facebook’s mission. Through these and other tools, we have seen people marshal support for and get results on issues that matter to them”.
According to this statement Facebook Community Action is a way to create changes in people’s society and let people interact more and express their demands to officials and government.
How to support a Facebook petition?
As a Facebook User you have the possibility to support a petition if you agree with the aims. You just need to simply click “support” button. Users can also share related testimonies and videos if they access any information about the concerning issue in a particular Facebook petition while officials and government agencies tagged on a Facebook petition will be notified and can respond to supporters evidences. Supporters for any Facebook petition will be able to discuss the issue with other supporters and create events or collect found for it.
How to know who supports a petition?
Facebook in the newly added feature displays the numbers of supporters for a petition as a Community Action. However you can only view the names of supporters who are your friends on Facebook or they have public Facebook pages.
How to express opposition to a Facebook petition?
It can be somehow limitation of this newly rolled out feature. What if you are against a petition and you want to express it? If you’re against an Action, you cannot express your opposition with a not support button as you can express your agreement. However they might be other ways, you can always share the petition with your followers on your Facebook profile and express why you are not supporting it. You can report the petition if you think it is violating the community. It is also possible that you choose to ‘support’ the particular community action and then post opposition comments in the discussion thread, however the creator can always manage the comments if they be offensive. You also can create your own community action to fight the issue you are not agree with and try to collect your own supporters.
Tips to create effective Facebook petitions
Before you start your petition on Facebook try to decide what exactly you want to argue and what you expect to be changed by officials. Spend some time to probe your issue and learn all you may need to know about the topic. Make sure who will have to implement the petition. Collect some information to tag the correct officials in your Facebook petition. Have a good description that can clearly state your goals and ask for people to support you or add their opinion to make your Facebook petition stronger.
