{"id":1612,"date":"2010-03-29T21:23:45","date_gmt":"2010-03-30T04:23:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bspcn.com\/2010\/03\/29\/how-to-build-engaging-one-of-kind-facebook-fan-pages\/"},"modified":"2010-03-29T21:23:45","modified_gmt":"2010-03-30T04:23:45","slug":"how-to-build-engaging-one-of-kind-facebook-fan-pages","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/2010\/03\/29\/how-to-build-engaging-one-of-kind-facebook-fan-pages\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Build Engaging One-of-Kind Facebook Fan Pages"},"content":{"rendered":"

Written by Orli Yakuel<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"Don\u2019t let anyone tell you it is easy to create a successfully engaging Facebook Fan Page. It is not.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not an insurmountable task either. But it requires planning, time, some kind of HTML knowledge, design skill, and imagination. Originality doesn\u2019t hurt either.<\/p>\n

There are great tools and tips available that will help you create an outstanding page for your brand without an immense amount of time or capital invested. I\u2019ve been working to improve our own Go2web20 fan page<\/a> and I have some tips from my experience that I\u2019m more than happy to share.<\/p>\n

Let me start off by saying, Facebook itself is the only true obstacle in the whole page creation process. If they accepted all code formats, it would be much easier to create any page. It would open up the space to immeasurable possibilities and we would see a wider variety of amazing, unique pages. But unfortunately, this isn\u2019t the case so you have to find ways to work with what you\u2019ve got and then take it up from there.<\/p>\n

Fan Page Profile Pictures<\/h5>\n

You might not know this but you can use a picture for your profile page as large as 200 x 600 pixels. The good thing about this is a larger picture offers better visibility of the campaign itself, which may include your company logo or a promotional banner of any kind. The downside to this eye-catching stunner is that it shifts the focus away from the rest of the page. This is why you need to plan your page first. Decide where you want the eyes of your visitors to go: on your image or on the rest of the page\u2019s elements. You can play and preview your ideas, change them back and forth, and see what\u2019s ultimately best for goals, your page, and its users.<\/p>\n

Example:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Diverse Tabs<\/h5>\n

Facebook allows you to change the traditional boring tabs to be more exciting, original, and relevant.<\/p>\n

If you want to change your page\u2019s tabs, you will first need to add this FBML application<\/a> to your page. Then, go to your page manager, find the FBML tab, and click \u2018edit\u2019. Within the box that opens, you will be able to change the tab name, and add HTML code. What I\u2019d suggest that you do is to first create a main landing tab that will welcome visitors to your page.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what I did:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. I gave the tab a name \u2013 Go2web20<\/li>\n
  2. Took a screenshot of my webpage and uploaded it to Flickr (optional)<\/li>\n
  3. Grabbed the screenshot picture code from Flickr and inserted it in the FBML body box (FYI: I slightly edited the code, changed link destination to lead to our site, instead of the Flickr page.)<\/li>\n
  4. I linked to my Website on this page since this is a big part of a fan page concept \u2013 to offer Facebook users access to my site in a new way.<\/li>\n
  5. Finally, I added the Facebook comments box to enable people to leave comments in regards our website. The fb comment code can be found at this wiki page<\/a> in the examples section (thanks for the tip @eyalshahar\"\"<\/a>). Again, all I did was to customize it slightly with the relevant information of our site. In my opinion a huge value add in terms of engaging my users and inviting conversations to happen here.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Page Dashboard:<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    Landing Page:<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    Now, since this is the tab you want new visitors to see and experience first, you need to set it this way on your admin page. Go to your page and click on \u2018Edit Page\u2019 > \u2018Wall Settings\u2019 > then on \u2018Default Landing Tab for Everyone Else\u2019 chose the tab which you want to present first when new users enter your Facebook page. People who are already fans of your page, will see the \u2018wall\u2019 first when they enter the page. The whole point of this landing page is that you make a informational welcoming page for new visitors that is interesting enough to be an incentive to fan this page. In a sea of fan pages this is important in terms of standing out and being innovative.<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    If you want you can also add even more FBML tabs, but keep in mind that overall, Facebook only allows you to display and offer up to six tabs maximum, including the first two that you can\u2019t change. So make sure you chose your tabs wisely.<\/p>\n

    If you don\u2019t want to mess around with FBML tabs, here are some alternatives (you can also add them as extras):<\/p>\n

    Twitter Tab<\/a> \u2013 This application lets you bundle your \u2018Twitter Updates Tab\u2019 into your own profile or Fan page. The process is pretty easy: just add the application and follow the instructions.<\/p>\n

    This is the end result:<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    Flickr Tab<\/a> \u2013 Same application but for Flickr photos. I found it more relevant to put this tab on my personal Facebook profile, but it is really depends on your brand\u2019s goals and needs.<\/p>\n

    Example:<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    Foursquare Tab<\/strong> \u2013 I actually really like this tab, despite the fact, that I\u2019m a Gowalla girl myself\u2026<\/p>\n

    If you are creating a page for your company and want a Foursquare tab, here\u2019s what you can do:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Create a venue for your brand\/company\/HQs on the Foursquare website<\/a> (if you haven\u2019t done this already)<\/li>\n
    2. Add this PlaceWidget application<\/a> and follow the simple instructions.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      And, that\u2019s it. You now have a new tab on your page, Foursquare, and everyone can see how popular your spot is and read the tips visitors have left, furthering user engagement in a new way and offering visitors a chance to appear on your Facebook page and add their own tips.<\/p>\n

      Example:<\/p>\n

      \"\"<\/p>\n

      Spotlight the People on your Team<\/strong><\/p>\n

      If you go through all the trouble of creating your own brand page, make sure you spotlight your team\u2019s players and say something about the people behind the curtain. It adds a personal touch to your page and builds a connection between fans and the people involved in the project. Again, with the help of the FBML tab, I\u2019ve created a tab that tells more about my team at Go2web20 (it is was pretty easy since we\u2019re just two people). But even if you have lots of people on your team, it is important to give some background about company management and staff accomplishments or to at least name one contact person that can be reached easily.<\/p>\n

      Example:<\/p>\n

      \"\"<\/p>\n

      Participate on your stream \u2013 that\u2019s the whole point<\/strong><\/p>\n

      I have to admit that I\u2019m not as active on my own Facebook fan page (insert shame here) as I should be. I blame both Facebook and myself. First, I take accountability for not checking the page as often as I should. But, I also blame Facebook for not providing the right tools to track comments and conversations on pages like the ones available for our own profiles. It is really up to you how often you check your fan page activity. But, don\u2019t think you can now sit back and put your feet up. This is not one of those \u201cbuild it and they will come\u201d scenarios. Don\u2019t take it for granted that you have a page available. No matter how great you\u2019ve made it, if you aren\u2019t active, it defeats the whole purpose of having one. A fan page requires maintenance. You have to be there for your page visitors. You have to talk with your fans. You have to answer questions, absorb feedback, and overall, make the conversation flow with consistent fresh content.<\/p>\n

      I really think Facebook never predicted the volume of pages people would create and the effect of these pages on businesses\/brands. Obviously, Facebook isn\u2019t currently providing the right type of support and tools for pages builders. Until Facebook reconciles these changes into their Facebook pages concept and tunes into the importance that pages have garnered over the last few months, we\u2019ll end up with somewhat crappy looking pages that we\u2019re creating with just about any and every tool we can muster up.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Written by Orli Yakuel Don\u2019t let anyone tell you it is easy to create a successfully engaging Facebook Fan Page. It is not. It\u2019s not an insurmountable task either. But it requires planning, time, some kind of HTML knowledge, design skill, and imagination. Originality doesn\u2019t hurt either. There are great tools and tips available that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1612"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1612"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1612\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1612"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1612"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1612"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}