How To Create A Powerful And Engaging Facebook Page

Following is a guest post by Rajeev Edmonds from New Delhi, who publishes a blog called Mintblogger (I highly recommend subscribing if you haven’t already).

____________________

Facebook is undoubtedly one of the most popular social media services used by individuals, businesses and non-profits to connect with people. Groups and Pages are excellent options to leverage the large network and reach of this popular platform. Lately, Facebook Pages have become quite popular among businesses to show their presence in a much better way building engaging and long lasting relationships with users and fans. Let’s see how to make an interactive Facebook page that gives a reason to your fans to stay, interact and promote your cause.

Custom Image

Picture says a thousand words. Take a look at the Facebook page of Coca Cola. Not only does it brand the page, but it also grabs immediate attention of the visitor. Just as a successful blog needs a customized design, the key to a successful page is customized images that represents your brand.

Facebook Page Pictures

You can try out various Facebook profile photo hacks to get the required effect you want.

New Features

Since the revised version of Facebook pages has been launched in March 2009, the layout and features have changed dramatically.

Tabbed interface – allows you to group the content and applications as per your requirements. Not only you can edit the default tabs, but you can also add new tabs giving you complete control in its customization.

Tabbed Interface in Facebook Pages

You can freely drag them to arrange in required order. With new Facebook application standards in effect, almost every new application (internal or 3rd party) can be integrated with Facebook tabs. This opens endless opportunities to create customizable tabs with your choice of third party applications.

Direct feeds for fans – is another new feature that allows your fans to access the page updates directly from within their Facebook profile.

Multi-media integration – lets you embed audio/video content to the wall making it rich in content and more engaging for users. Facebook allows users to upload a video file of size up to 1 GB and supports 18 major video formats.

Video formats

Similarly, you can upload unlimited amount of audio content. With no restriction on the amount of upload, you can provide podcast series to your fans.

Events and Discussion Boards: Invite and Discuss

Events – serves two purposes. First they keep your fans updated with new happenings and cool offers in your kitty and secondly they help in expanding the reach of your page. Once a fan RSVP’s an event, it is visible in his profile. His friends can view the event and can further RSVP it creating a snowball effect. While creating an event, time-zone differences and dates play a big role. If you have the rough demographic data of your fans, you must create an event that can be attended by majority of fans.

Facebook event

Discussion boards – have the power to develop a lively and interactive community around your page. Initiate some threads with eye-popping headlines that may entice the visitors to respond. Once you get a decent number of regular contributors to the forums it can help in keeping your page updated with fresh new content on regular basis.

Custom Page Settings: Personalize Visitors’ Experience

Facebook pages of Bon AppÈtit Magazine and Lucky Magazine presents a perfect example of custom landing pages for non-Fans enriched with multimedia content guiding the prospect to the main site and its products.

Custom settings for facebook page

Default Landing Tab – By default fans and non-Fans both land on wall tab. Through page settings you can easily set a custom landing page for non-Fans as shown above.

Sharing/Uploading Permissions – No community can survive unless there is enough room for everyone to contribute their part. You MUST allow your fans to write, post videos, photos and links on your wall. In case any fan misuse the permissions, you can selectively block him from posting. The more freedom you will give to the fans, the more they will feel at home.

Third Party Applications: Spice Up Your Page

There are tons of Facebook applications for enriching your page with desired content. These applications are powerful, easy-to-use and extend the functionality of the page. Here are some of the popular applications that can be used to customize your Facebook page.

Profile HTML Facebook ApplicationProfile HTML: As the name implies, this excellent application lets you add arbitrary piece of HTML code to your page. You can even create a separate tab with this application filling it with different sections of customized HTML code. Through this powerful application you can create a separate landing tab for non-Fans filling it with subscription boxes, links, post excerpts, presentations, animation slides, promos and much more. It all depends on your imagination and your coding ability.

YouTube Box Facebook ApplicationYouTube Box: Yet another popular application used by large number of Facebook users. Take a look at Discovery Channel YouTube Box. A perfect example of selecting the right kind of application to keep the readers engaged. YouTube Box allows you to embed videos from Google, Yahoo, Dailymotion, Bebo and many other video services. You can customize the layout (horizontal or vertical), can change the size of video and can give custom title and description to the video. It also supports 6 different themes to suit your taste and preferences. You can also upload a bunch of videos and can display them in random order as per your custom settings. If you have your own YouTube Channel, you can easily connect it to your Facebook page through this handy and easy-to-configure application.

Blog RSS Feed Reader Facebook ApplicationBlog RSS Feed Reader: This is a must-have application for every Facebook page. Want to share your blog articles with your fans? Use this application to grab the latest content from your blog via feed and serve them in a presentable format to Facebook community. Not only it fills your page with regular updated content, but also drives traffic to your blog or website. BR Feed Reader supports all major feed formats and provides number of customization options. Custom image, a unique icon for each feed, separate/merged feeds and custom feed update intervals helps you configure the best combination for your Facebook page.

There are many more such applications in Facebook application repository that can be used to make an appealing Facebok page. In case you are still hungry for more and want to be a true Facebook ninja, head over to Facebook developers forums. Here you can find plethora of resources to customize and enhance your Facebook account.

Custom Facebook Page URL

Normally, a typical Facebook page has a long and cryptic URL that makes it difficult for you to aggressively market and promote it. Visitors also cannot remember such long cryptic urls. How about a short custom URL like http://facebook.dj/company-name? Use this excellent Memorable Address Facebook application to create short, memorable web address for your Facebook page.

General Page Management Tips

1. Do not experiment too much with your brand image on the page.
2. If possible keep a dedicated admin for discussion board.
3. Update photo and video tabs on regular basis (at least every fortnight).
4. Every quarter, create a poll to get your fans feedback about their views on various page elements.
5. Resist the temptation to integrate tons of applications in a single tab.
6. Do include a subscription box on the custom landing page for non-Fans.
7. Keep enhanced wall posting permissions open for all (fans).

Also check out John’s Facebook Booster offering.

  • Ilyasny
    Hi John,

    I've tried to add a variety of different apps to my Facebook page, but when I try to add something after I press "Add to My Page" it says "No Results" even though I have 10 Facebook pages that I manage consistently.
  • Either you've already added the app to all your Pages, or you actually have
    10 Community Pages (or Profiles).
  • Metaldoc
    One other question. I want my page to be the name of the group - Art at your feet. But when I created the page, it asked for a first and last name. So I have the organizer's name now showing up with the page. Any way around this?
    Thank you again.
  • It looks like it is named "Art At Your Feet".
  • Metaldoc
    Thanks for this great help! One big problem I'm having is when I search my page I see only original posts first created. I have to go to home tab on upper right to access latest feeds. One thing I realized last night is I had neglected to hit the like button myself. Now I have a box to write and post in. Was this my only oversight (doubt it) & can I now cut and paste my old, misplaced posts?
    http://www.facebook.com/pages/Art-at-your-feet/...
  • It looks like the Page is called "Art At Your Feet"
  • caparepandrew
    Hello,

    Thanks for the tips. Here's what I'm looking to and I've been thinking about trying this a number of different ways but I am making a tab for a facebook fan page for Studying Abroad and want to connect students to photos of other students currently abroad that are publishing their pictures on flickr, picasa, photobucket, facebook, etc.

    One thought is to use Yahoo Pipes and mash all of the different photo RSS feeds into one and then make a FBML slideshow to display the RSS. The problem is I can't find any examples of people doing this but I feel like this would be a really useful/cool feature.

    Another idea is maybe using the flickr tab and importing all the different photos into a flickr account.

    Or maybe just manually post the pictures from the different students as appropriate but I was hoping to do something more interactive/hands free.

    Any ideas or links would be greatly appreciated, thanks!
  • Zack B
    Hi John,
    i have created a facebook group for my business but i can't add a note tab. how do i add a note tab on facebook group?
    also, what is the major difference between facebook groups & (fan) pages? which is better to promote, interact & share useful info/notes with my clients?
    Thanks.
  • Zack - lots of questions here. Fortunately, I have created a number of video
    tutorials and post posts that answer these questions about using
    Facebook
    .
    .
  • Shi Wan
    Hi,

    I have a Facebook profile for my not for profit company. We have a Fans page as well as a Causes page. I would like to create a customised tab to show Donate.

    As our company is a Singapore based company we cannot make use of the Facebook donate function. So what I would like to do is to create a tab saying Donate and if fans click on that page, they will be brought to a page where they can download a donation form and send it in to us directly.

    I've seen the codes to create a tab but my question is where do I input those codes?
  • You have to add the Static FBML application first and then add the
    code to the app.
  • deiu
    Facebook Pages allow artists, businesses, and brands to showcase their work and interact with fans. These pages come pre-installed with custom functionality designed for each category.<arel="follow"href="http://www.revitol.ro/product/overview/Acnezine_Acne_Solution/">acnee
  • You are exactly right. Functionality is dictated by Page type.
  • I am writing an application that displays quotes and wanted to know how I can make it fetch a random quote every time the profile is accessed instead of every time the displayPage() is viewed?
  • We've had the team start to compile a gallery of good examples of custom Facebook pages as a reference for what some of the big brands are doing on FB.

    The gallery is at www.customfacebookpage.com
  • We only just got around to adding a Facebook page for our blog. Should have done it ages ago. We are already getting traffic from it even with only around 30 fans.

    I didn't know about the Direct Feed for Fans either. I'm going to look into that one in a little more detail.
  • Thanks for the visit, Paula! Let me know how things progress.
  • I've recently started a facebook page http://www.facebook.com/ukmindreader and these tips proved invaluable. My page is now going from strength to strength with youtube, rss, twitter and fbml. Many Thanks.
  • Andrew - that's great! I'm glad you found this helpful.
  • jennie
    Thanks for this article! I've created a page using my personal account. I've added applications through my page. However, when I do something through the application, it shows up as being done through my personal account instead of the page. I'm accessing the application using my page, not mer personal profile.
  • Damien
    As posted by Britt Bravo, how do you upload audio?!
  • Feed in the RSS from the podcast using notes. The other option is to embed the link to a podcast using FMBL. You could also upload a video (that has audio).
  • Frances
    Hi John,

    Thanks for the awesome information! I set up a page for my company and was able to feed the RSS through Notes. However, when trying to use the FBML to create new tabs and pages, I found the only option I had was "Add to my favorites". It would not let me add it to the pages. Matter of fact, none of the applications you mentioned was available. I set up another test account and set up a profile this time, then I was able to access FBML and other applications. Is it true that all the applications are available ONLY if you have a profile associated with the corporate pages? Or am I missing something? The pages are really for the business purposes. I don't want to associate my personal profile with the business. Is there anyway to avoid this and still be able to add tabs and customize the pages? Thanks again!
  • Frances - I'm glad I was able to answer this for you (via email). Sometimes it's good to see the page that's having issues.
  • Kinga
    i have a Facebook page for our business and i was wondering if there is a way to directly contact a fan that has interacted with my page without becoming their friend via the profile connected with my page. i don't like how the page and profile need to be connected for anything to happen.
    Great post by the way.
  • You can send messages in Facebook without being connected.
  • Rajeev, great post and thanks for all the information.
  • "Similarly, you can upload unlimited amount of audio content. With no restriction on the amount of upload, you can provide podcast series to your fans."

    How do you add audio files/a podcast feed? I've been searching and searching for a good application for this, but to know avail.
  • Feed in the RSS from the podcast using notes. The other option is to embed the link to a podcast using FMBL.
  • DDAOUD
    Hi,

    I read in an article which said that when you have a Facebook Group, you can send an automatic message to all new members. However, I did not find how to implement this option.
    Kindly advise if it is true or not, and if yes, please provide with the details.
    Thank you in advance.
    DDAOUD
  • In your Facebook Group, select "Message All Members".
  • DDAOUD
    Thx for your prompt reply! but the fact is that I want to send email only to the new members on daily basis (not all members)! Did you get my point? Can you help me?
  • Excellent information, thanks so much for it!
  • Lucky - you're welcome!
  • @K Tran, @Subhash - Glad you found the tips useful. Subhash, do share the link of your Facebook page, once it is completed.

    <abbr>Rajeev Edmonds’s last blog post..How To Track Social Media Traffic of Your Blog</abbr>
  • Greate post Rajeev, I was looking for information on how to create a corporate profile and this article has all the information, I need. Thanks! - Subhash
  • K Tran
    Wow... very nice article! Thanks!
  • Great info here. I notice all these supposed customization features for YouTube Box, but I've found it very hard to control the layout, with no explanations or help anywhere. I saw this Page, which I believe was done with YouTube Box: http://tinyurl.com/dknw7o

    but can't see how they got such a nice clean look.

    Any ideas. Cheers, Tim

    <abbr>Tim Ware’s last blog post..Moving from Headdress to VirtualHostX</abbr>
  • @SFSPCA - It's not displaying on Firefox... but it could be some html / java that they've embedded using the FBML application. Read more here: "Video Tutorial: How To Embed A Social Or Fundraising Widget Into Your Facebook Page"
  • Hi John - love your info...so helpful!

    I was looking at this FB page - http://tinyurl.com/db4vqw - and they have a "Follow Us" box in their lefthand column - with myspace, youtube, flickr, etc... links - how can we add this to our FB page?
  • @Patricia - you're welcome!
  • Thanks for the useful information.I'll give it a try

    <abbr>Patricia’s last blog post..Se Hizo la luz</abbr>
  • @Brooke - Three things:

    RSS: Try using the "Notes" Application for your RSS feeds - check out "How To Use Facebook “Notes” To Get More Traffic".

    YouTube: No clue here - are you sure your adding the app to a page and not a profile?

    Twitter: Tweetdeck allows you to post to Facebook. If you want to post every Tweet (not recommended if you are a heavy user of Twitter), check out: "How To Link Your Twitter Page and Facebook Profile For Social Media Sanity"

    Again, make sure you're adding these apps for "Pages", not "Profiles".

    Finally, Chris Garrett, Rebecca Leaman just launched a free forum on social media for non-profits. Please join NonProfitWorkshop.Com.


    Hope this helps!
  • Brooke
    Hi John!

    I have a Facebook Page for a Non-Profit organization which is separate from my personal account. The page was created from a generic email for which we did not set up a profile. I am having trouble with the following:

    RSS Feed - Able to download the application, but I'm not allowed to edit it to actually input any urls or anything related to our blog.

    YouTube Box - ditto

    Twitter - I would love for our organization's tweets to post to our Facebook Page as well, but I haven't been able to figure out how to make that work. I have done it in the past with my personal profile and personal twitter account, but am having no success with the organization pages.

    If you have any insights, please pass them along. For reference, the link to our Page is: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cambridge-MA/Priz...
  • Hi Kris,

    Go to polls application page and click 'Add to page'. If you have multiple pages, it will present you a drop down list for choosing the desired page. Finally click the 'Add Poll' button.

    Once it has been integrated to your Facebook account, use the 'Create a Poll' link on top right. Specify the target page, your question and each answer in a separate line. You can also give custom text for the voting button.

    Hope this helps.

    <abbr>Rajeev Edmonds’s last blog post..Micro-Blogging: 26 Twitter Desktop Clients For Mac</abbr>
  • Kris
    Please tell me how to add a poll. I've tried without success.
  • Hi Peg,

    Setting up events associated with a page doesn't require any kind of payment. You can set them via '+' sign on extreme right of tabs on your page. Through page settings page, you can either keep your events as a separate tab or may place them in a sidebar as a separate box.

    Hope this helps.

    <abbr>Rajeev Edmonds’s last blog post..StumbleUpon Guide For Bloggers: Building Traffic - The Right Way</abbr>
  • I just checked again on my SCORE Chicago page and I do not see any way to set up events associated with the page and not the personal profile. Even tried going to the page and clicking applications, but it still shows up in the profile, not the public page. I heard that only those who paid for ads got access to advanced features. Is that my problem?

    <abbr>Peg Corwin’s last blog post..A MySpace Profile Page for Your Small Business? Intro, Video and 36 Links To Help You Market</abbr>
  • Hi Lisa,

    Which application are you talking about? Can you please share links of that app and your page?

    @Hisham - Ya, I've got the invitation by John :)

    <abbr>Rajeev Edmonds’s last blog post..StumbleUpon Guide For Bloggers: Building Traffic - The Right Way</abbr>
  • This application, as well as many others I've tried for my page (not profile, but page) say "this developer is no allowing this to be installed" or something like that. Are things still in transition from the design switch or am I doing something wrong? I have a page under the nonprofit category.
  • @Hisham - I believe you will get it from John :)

    <abbr>Hisham’s last blog post..Looking for Twitter Websites that help you to Manage your Twitter Followers by Automated Way?</abbr>
  • @Gina - Thanks Gina. I'm glad you found the tips useful. Do share the link of your page once it is completed.

    @Hisham - I'm also looking for that link :)

    <abbr>Rajeev Edmonds’s last blog post..StumbleUpon Guide For Bloggers: Building Traffic - The Right Way</abbr>
  • Aloha John! Big Mahalo for having Rajeev guest post this fabulous article...I am so ready to do this FB thing....dragged my feet long enough, Perhaps being totally self employed now had lit the fire under me. Your words of wisdom and expertise keep me going. Mahalo! ~G

    <abbr>Gina Ryan’s last blog post..Cravings and Compulsive Overeating</abbr>
  • @Hisham - Please come back and post your link when your done. Also, please join the Facebook Group called "Let's All Create A Rockin' Facebook Page!"
  • Very nice post, I am on my way to creat a page on facebook!

    <abbr>Hisham’s last blog post..Looking for Twitter Websites that help you to Manage your Twitter Followers by Automated Way?</abbr>
  • @Kim - you need to add applications through your Facebook page. When in the "edit" mode, click more and the search. Don't use the upper right search box.
  • billfox
    Hello,

    Also new to facebook. I am having the same issue as Kim. I do not understand the answer you gave?

    FYI: I tried to use the facebook connect button on your site and I get "Error while loading page from DISQUS Comments"
  • Bill - Check out this screenshot: http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnhaydon/4059046...

    Also, many apps may be for profiles only. When you try and add those apps, they will sync up with your profile, not your Page.
  • billfox
    Hello John,

    How do I add a link like this site to a corporate site
    http://www.facebook.com/posted.php?id=64623309539
    ?
    Bill Fox
    FOXmls.com
    1-800-936-5478 X7001
    barkley@foxmls.com
    http://www.foxmls.com
  • Bill - can you be more specific? Do you want to link to your FB page from your website?
  • billfox
    I would like to add links in facebook to various pages in my web site.

    Bill Fox
    FOXmls.com
    1-800-936-5478 X7001
    barkley@foxmls.com
    http://www.foxmls.com
  • billfox
    That was awsome. You are a great instructor.

    Bill Fox
    FOXmls.com
    1-800-936-5478 X7001
    barkley@foxmls.com
    http://www.foxmls.com
  • Thanks, Bill.
  • billfox
    Hello John,

    I also have a personal facebook page. Will this tool also work on my
    personal facebook. I want it to show on the side bar like the corporate
    site.

    Bill Fox
    FOXmls.com
    1-800-936-5478 X7001
    barkley@foxmls.com
    http://www.foxmls.com
  • Bill - There are other FBML apps for profiles.
  • billfox
    Hello John,

    Thank you for your help. I treid to add a "link" to my corporate face book
    page but can not figure how to make it happen.

    Bill Fox
    FOXmls.com
    1-800-936-5478 X7001
    barkley@foxmls.com
    http://www.foxmls.com
  • Kim
    This is probably a stupid question, but I'm having trouble managing my page - whenever I try to do fun stuff like add applications, the application ends up on my personal profile instead of my nonprofit page - what am I doing wrong?

    Thanks so much for all your great ideas!
  • Hi T,

    Since Facebook has disabled direct tab renaming, people are using Facebook Developers Sandbox to get the desired effect.

    Now these custom tabs are integrated as custom application tabs. Here is a guide to create such tabs. It requires some programming.

    As I told earlier, the easiest way is to add static FBML or Profile HTML apps to Boxes tab and use the table tag to align images. Additionally, you can make this tab default landing page for non-Fans.

    <abbr>Rajeev Edmonds’s last blog post..StumbleUpon Guide For Bloggers: Building Traffic - The Right Way</abbr>
  • Hi T,

    Earlier Facebook allowed users to directly edit the tab names, but disabled it from Sep 2008. Now tab renaming is done at the application level via static FBML.

    As far as the pictures are concerned, they are quite easy to embed. Add static FBML app or Profile HTML app to the boxes tab. Use HTML table tag with appropriate width and height to align the images. Requires some HTML knowledge.

    I'll update you with the actual tab renaming procedure shortly.

    <abbr>Rajeev Edmonds’s last blog post..StumbleUpon Guide For Bloggers: Building Traffic - The Right Way</abbr>
  • T
    The link to my page is here - http://tinyurl.com/df3bml

    Also I was looking at this page http://tinyurl.com/db4vqw
    and wanted to replicate this for my page - I want to promote designs and would love to have a tab called " Designs" and lay it out the way Threadless has done here and perhaps incorporate links to my website, once I've set it up.
  • @T - A link to your Facebook Page.
  • T
    I don't understand what you mean. Do you mean a link to the page I've published?
  • @T - Do you have a link?
  • T
    I just created a facebook page, however, I do not see the functionality you have described above, particularly editing the tabs, dragging them etc. Please could you assist me.
  • @Michael, @Rebecca and @Frank - Thanks for stopping by. Rajeev wrote a kick ass post!
  • @Mike - Glad you found the article useful.

    @Rebecca - The original idea was given by John. Hope you will implement some of the tips on your page :)

    <abbr>Rajeev Edmonds’s last blog post..StumbleUpon Guide For Bloggers: Building Traffic - The Right Way</abbr>
  • Great post Rajeev. John, I can see this being useful for all types of businesses - but especially some great tips for small and non-profit groups, no wonder you snagged this guest post.

    <abbr>Rebecca Atkinson’s last blog post..How To Use Filters In Google Analytics To Remove Your Own Data</abbr>
  • Thanks, John, for this fabulous article! I'm a Facebook newbie and I need all the help I can get.

    <abbr>Mike Nichols’s last blog post..Beyond Zits: Acne and Anxiety Disorders Part 2</abbr>
  • Great post and very useful information. I'm learning more about Facebook pages and doing a post soon about how nonprofits running events can leverage social media tools. I'll be sure to link to this post where i talk about Facebook!

    thanks fellas!!

    http://twitter.com/franswaa

    <abbr>frank’s last blog post..franswaa: If I Started Today | chrisbrogan.com http://ff.im/-26VzL</abbr>
  • @Beth - I'm glad you found it useful. If you're just starting out with Facebook, check out "Facebook Groups and Pages – Features, Benefits And Killer Tips"
  • So far, I have just dipped my toe into facebook for business, not really knowing what the options are. This article really clarified what can be done. I also work with nonprofits, specializing in ongoing member communication. The more I learn about how to build community though social tools, the better I can serve my currently very print-based clients.

    Thanks

    Beth
  • John,

    Thanks for having me share some tips on creating an interactive Facebook page. I hope the readers will find the post useful and interesting.

    Rajeev

    <abbr>Rajeev Edmonds’s last blog post..Interview With Cindy King: Cross-Cultural Communication Expert and International Sales Specialist</abbr>
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