You know you’re a Floridian when….
By Kassandra Lopez Global Strategic Communications graduate student at the University of Florida
The Facebook Group “Florida Memes” has been around for nearly 4 years, has over 200,000 members, and has dozens of posts a day. As a result they get lots of comments, hundreds of likes and generally a great amount of daily interaction within the group. The group is simple minded, their description is pretty telling of it’s lighthearted nature :
“Florida Memes. Take a meme leave a meme. Really anything weird or cool or just plain wtf about Florida belongs in here! #Floridamemes #Floriduh p.p.s. ONLY FLA MEMES & FLA related things mmm..k? xoxo”
The page does a good job of making sure it’s members will keep the theme going strong. To be accepted you must pledge your fealty to their goal of only posting Florida related memes and posts. In fact, a qualifier is “What is something you’d only do if you lived in Florida?”. This eliminates lots of people! My response was “You went ‘drinking around the world’ at Epcot in Disney World Orlando for your 21st Birthday”, and they approved my application!
The Facebook Group’s success is due to a multitude of factors- from the strong presence of community managers/admins that direct daily discussion, to the appealing nature of the page itself. Members feel encouraged to post frequently, and this allows a natural conversation to flow throughout the group’s page and interactions.
The format of the page, the background and general feeling has remained the same as long as I’ve been a member. I feel this gives the group a visual identity. The page is easily referenced and identified by this visual identity. They keep it simple with a stark white background and marine blue accents. And of course, they’re manatee themed header!
The Facebook group is lively in nature, I attribute this to the comical conversations being held. I find that everyday there are several posts being made from community members. From memes and text posts, to longer writings with insight into local goings-on. This is in addition to the Group admins being conversational as well. The inclusion of a variety of cross posts from other Florida news and inclusion of related communities, such as WTF “What the Florida?!” Or “Florida History” really serves to open the floor for more discussions. In addition, the cult-like love of Publix Supermarkets unifies all Floridians. In fact, I found another group that is solely dedicated to alerting people of when the Chicken Tender Sub is on sale!
Most recently, I was impressed by their commitment to keeping the Florida community informed! They used their platforms to provide timely and informative updates on the recent Hurricane Dorian. The Facebook Group and my email received lengthy informative messages from the group admin. In addition, they have done as I would and given relevant information on where to find supplies and emergency services. While more personal avenues such as text, have received brief and only emergency messages.
This mix of communication has facilitated my awareness of the hurricane situation and is truly appreciated. It is a delicate balance between aiding and overwhelming the community during times of emergency. They also keep this balance in their daily postings. The content is for the most part lighthearted and fun. The page also posts news and things relevant to Florida, while keeping their marketing interests/posts selling items to a minimum. I genuinely enjoy this page, and I think every Florida should consider being a part of it!
Kassandra Lopez is pursuing her graduate degree in Global Strategic Communications at The University of Florida, and works as a Client Advisor for LVMH.
