How many here Post on Facebook about Scuba Diving?

[scubamarketing]

Comparing Print/TV to Facebook, Facebook is the clear winner. Much more refined targeting for ad spend and much higher ROI.

While the responses in this thread would indicate that divers don't like Facebook, as someone who uses Facebook regularly both for personal use and business use, I can assure you that is not normal of the general dive community. One of the only reasons I log in is because my news feed is full of pictures of dives, divers, marine life, and marine causes.

For business purposes, we post our articles, pictures, and promotions.

For personal purposes, I post whatever I feel like, but definitely pictures, videos, and trip reports from each of my dives. I mention/tag the operator who takes me out (if I had a good time) so they're getting exposure to my 3k+ friends.

Should a business ONLY use Facebook as their website? Heck no! That's just stupid. A business should have a content-rich web site that they promote on the Facebook Page.

 

[Tigerman]

I do post about diving on a fairly regular basis on FB. I wouldnt post anything there I wouldnt post here.
Infact the main reason why I bothered making a FB account was diving as most of the people Ive been diving with is on there and we do amongst other things plan our dive trips there (next one being to the red sea this summer).
Im kinda restrictive with my settings tho - only friends can see my stuff there.

 

[FoxHound]

One thing you will get with FB as opposed to just ads in magazines and such is feedback from people who frequent your services. If you have a fan/business page, you can have people like the page, say good things about what you are doing, it can open up a network of divers for new divers who are trying to find dive buddies. In a diving sense I've also seen it used many many times to help load courses and for some to organize a course they want.

It is essentially free advertising. Its a market that can be used very well. I wouldn't pay to advertise on facebook, I would just start a business page and go from there.

I use facebook to talk about pretty much each individual dive I do, and to share pictures with my friends. I check various diving business pages and link up with some of the divers from there to get out for dives and such. Scubaboard gets a much more generic approach, I don't really know many on the board so I don't generally share most of my dive stories aside from a few pics from tropical dives.

 

[missrachelle]

I post all the time about diving, most of my photos are of diving and when I am diving in a new location I often look the dive shop up on Facebook.

 

[pndldy]

I post pictures, and often get info on places to dive and book trips with that info. Look for specials that different business's post, pretty much use it as a tool for scuba diving and trips. I don't use facebook for communicating with family, and am quick to delete some one for posting any nudity or suggestive pics. I have posted things for sale, underwater photography equipment and sold things.

 

[GrimSleeper]

We use facebook essentially as a news-feed - it's easier to post what we've seen, what we're doing, smart-arsed comments etc there than it is to update the website constantly, or at least it is if you're as web-illiterate as I am. It's an easy way to keep the 'brand' in peoples' minds, especially for destination operators like us, who don't have a local dive community. As the network of people 'liking' the page grows, it becomes a resource for people thinking about diving with you - they can see who's been, who likes it, what's going on. From that point of view, it's more immediate and more personal than traditional advertising (not to mention it's free...).

As others have said, though, it's definitely NOT a replacement for a content-rich website. There still needs to be some way for people to get hard information about what you offer.

 

[miketsp]

I dive with a lot of people that are on FB but not on SB and I don't really feel comfortable posting anything that may identify or expose my friends on an open site like SB. So the types of post I do on the 2 sites are quite different.

 

[Ayisha]

...And one of the cool things is that there are no Anonymous posters on Facebook...

There sure are people who don't use their real names on Facebook. They use kiddie porn names, post abuses of animals, people, etc., as well as people just using made-up names.

You don't have to associate with them, though.

 

[TSandM]

Virtually all of my local diving activity is organized on FB. We have two local diving "groups" where folks post about dives they are going to do, or want to do. I also post all my diving photographs on FB, as do many of my friends; it's kind of where the pictures are. I also keep in touch with the diving friends I've made in a lot of far-flung places on FB, which means that when I travel, it's not like trying to remind folks of who I am.

I don't post questions about diving or dive gear on FB; SB is much better for that.

I am on the FB lists of several charter operators, some I've been with and some I'd like to dive with someday. I enjoy that. They post photographs and trip summaries that are fun. In fact, Dan, Abernathy's is one of them!

 

[Wingy]

All the time, and for various reasons. I have a work one, using a work name where I provide a portal if you will for students to share info, last minute timetable changes etc and a personal one. Interesting having social media be the single most effective way of communication from remote destinations in times of need though - I often travel alone to dive, have encountered a few earthquakes and tsunamis and floods etc..while the 8.6 and 8.2 quakes resulted in no phone comms because everyone around the world was panicking trying to ring anyone in the region..facebook was the best way to assure everyone I was just fine and had enjoyed diving through the 8.6.
In areas like French Polynesia with cost prohibitive monopoly telco's I could share pics of where I was and what I was doing with everyone and keep up with what my kids were doing at home while I was away. And let everyone know bora bora was just wow. I have a lot of diver friends around the world so keep up to date with where the good diving is and how the conditions are in different areas and any reef health news or if they have signed a deal to mine an island news. Dive related ads catch my eye, i have more than once clicked and gone...ads suggesting what I should like just annoy me.