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Updated 09/12/2010 for New Profile Layout workaround (below old profile workaround).

Updated 23/02/2011 for New Profile, now you can have a much simpler way to add your Facebook Page. Just delete your job (that created a community page) and when you try to re-add it, you will be prompted to link to your managed facebook page. No extra steps required.

Updated 23/12/2011 for New Profile Timeline workaround (near to the bottom of the post).

Don’t get me wrong, I love facebook. But there are times that I wish users are given more control over things to share on their own accounts. Especially after facebook page was introduced, users who are excited to share their professional backgrounds are constantly brainstorming to break through on a few matters: separating business from personal account, receive notifications for fan page wall updates and most of all, how can we improve page visibility on profile effectively without being annoying?

Getting exposed – Employer Link!

The easiest and most unharmful method is no doubt the ‘Employers’ section in Info tab. But there’s one MAJOR problem with that – no option to place our very own official page link there, instead a community page be created for each field inserted.

Imagine the frustration for unable to showcase our brand correctly with an authentic page. But now a new found fix will change all that – thanks to a Firefox add-on named Web Developer, and you don’t even need to stick with firefox after this, only during the setup.

Web Developer – the magic plugin to fix employer link

If you do not own a firefox browser, Web Developer will give you enough reasons to install it for the sake of your business page visibility. This add-on is for firefox only but final result will work on all browser types. Web Developer adds a toolbar for web development purposes, but no fear as inserting a page ID will get things done with no coding complications at all.

How to Add Official Facebook Page Link to Profile ‘Employer’

Here comes the best part,

For Older Profile Layout (before upgrade):

1.       Firstly, install firefox if you haven’t and run the setup.

Special Note: Good news as Google Chrome also comes with the Web Developer extension and it works exactly the same way!

2.       Next, install Web Developer to your firefox.

3.      Restart the browser as instructed and you will notice a toolbar appears on top of the browser.

4.       Now go to your official fan page and locate your Page ID.

If you already claimed your vanity URL or username, then retrieve your official page ID by mouse over ‘Edit Page’:

5.       Let’s go to your personal profile now : Profile -> Info tab -> Edit

6.       Select ‘Education and Work’ -> look for ‘Employer‘ field box (with ‘Add Another Job’ below it).

7.       Now at your browser, look for the Web Developer toolbar and select Forms -> Display Form Details

8.       Do not be taken aback by the scary looking codes displayed to you. Instead, try to identify the location of this code:

<input name=”work[employer][id][0]”>

Once you have found it, insert your page ID next to the grey box as shown below:

9.       Turn off codes by deselecting ‘Display Form Details’ on your browser and fill in the rest of the details -> Save Changes. You can add as many jobs as you prefer by repeating step #7-9.

10.   Go back to your Info tab and admire the result!

For New Profile Layout:

Updated (09/12/2010)

Now recently facebook had recommended their users to upgrade their personal profile to new layout. This method still works but with a slight twist at the Page ID insertion part. I would recommend you to change the employer link in the old profile first before upgrade to save the trouble. Or if you had done so, then follow exactly from Step 1 – 6 above, then continue the rest here:

7. Type in your Page Name in the Employer box, click ‘Add’ (your page name)’.

Sometimes facebook will load the correct thumbnail of your official page. When that happens, you can stop here and shout for joy! If instead of your page but a briefcase thumbnail appears (community page is created), then go on with the rest of the setups by going to your browser and select:

Forms -> Display Form Details

8. Again, try to locate the location of this code:

<input name=”work[employer][id][0]”>

Once you have found it, change the community page ID to your official page’s in the grey box:

Click ‘Add Job‘ (or ‘Save Changes‘ if you are editing) to confirm your change.

Optional: Sometimes if the page is not updated correctly, try to add details to your Job, for example setting the Time Period -> click ‘Add Job‘ (or ‘Save Changes‘). You can always remove them later after you had successfully added your official facebook page:

Your official page should be added correctly now.

For New Profile Timeline:

Updated (23/12/2011)

For the most recent upgrade to Profile Timeline, slightly different for where the employer link is located and the code as well. Refer to the instructions below after you had installed the Web Developer Add-on. I’m using Firefox 3.6.22 for this example:

1. Go to your Profile Timeline -> Update Info (or click ‘About’) to access your work and education details.

2. Add your work by typing the name of your business page. Sometimes instead of the Page’s full name, try its partial name so it will appear in the drop down:

3. When that’s not working, use the Web Developer -> Forms -> Display Form Details. Then locate the code <input name=”employer_id”> to insert your Page ID in the grey box:

Extra:

Major props to Jon for discovering the fix for old profile layout that saved our day! But there are a few things I came across during the setup as well – the ‘position’ you filled in Employer section will be directed to a community page (of course), just as how the employer link reacts before the change.

So make sure you select the best position title that describes your post. If needed, use the same method to control where the link is been directed to.

Now is Your Turn…

Does this method work for your employer link? Or do you have a better idea for a fix? Love to hear your thoughts.

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