The National Rifle Association, otherwise known as the NRA has a fairly active social media presence on Facebook. This presence usually becomes greater after a shooting that is covered nationally by news outlets. The majority of posts from the NRA are links to articles about the 2nd amendment and the people who fight for it. When tragedy strikes the country in the way of a public-fatal shooting, the NRA quickly goes on the defensive. The NRA shifts blame for gun related shooting to the mental illness of the shooter or the implementation of a “gun-free” zone where the shooting occurred.
The NRA does have some strengths on its Facebook page. The NRA Facebook page has hundreds of thousands of “likes” and thousands of shares on the articles posted. The page caters strictly to its members and target audience. This helps the NRA satisfy its members by posting only the articles that show gun-rights groups in a positive light.
The main weakness of the NRA Facebook page is it does not attempt to bring more demographics to the group. The page also does not attempt to education its audience before posting articles. The page feels like a “member only” page and does not feel welcoming. The shooting at UCLA that occurred this week was a big topic on the NRA page, but not once was there a post about offering prayers for the family of the victims. The page strictly said that there should not have been a “gun-free” zone. This should be fixed to make the NRA seem more personable rather than cold.
