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23+ Essential Facebook Page Applications to Improve Fans Engagement in 2012

Posted by Ching Ya | Posted in Facebook, Social Media Tool, Web Application | Posted on 03-01-2012

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Update: Don’t forget to check out 7 Killer Facebook Applications to Create Impressive Custom Tabs too!

Greetings and Happy New Year! To kick off 2012, some of you may think of giving your Facebook Page a facelift. There may be some features you wish to add such as custom iframe tabs with fan gate option or ideas to encourage fans engagement on your Page. If you do, you’ve come to the right place! Every year I will compile a list of cost-effective facebook apps you can use not only to improve your fans engagement but hopefully enhance your brand visibility at the same time. Without further ado, let’s get to the list.

This review is based on my personal opinion only and has nothing to do with affiliation or app sponsorship whatsoever.

 

To Encourage Fans Participation and File Sharing:


#1 FriendCard

FriendCard is a smart way to make your brand go viral by allowing fans to send customizable branded greeting cards to their friends. Upload your logo and replace the default message with your own to fit your brand image. Your fans can then schedule to either send out their card immediately or later, what fun!

Friendcard


#2 Coupon for Pages

What can be more exciting to offer fans some great deals on your Page? Coupon for Pages by Involver is easy to setup while allowing your fans to print the coupon or share the good news with their friends. Not only you can gain new fans out of this but existing fans will appreciate your special treat and support your brand continuously.

(Note: Transform the Coupon tab into a fan-gating tab to entice new ‘Likes’)

Coupon for Pages

Encourage fans to share


#3 File Sharing

File Sharing enables page admin to share up to (any) 5 files with fans on your Page. There doesn’t seem to be a way to delete the files though but uploading new files will replace the old ones. I won’t worry too much about this as you can always hide the tab and use it when necessary.

File sharing on page


#4 Scribd for Pages

Scribd for Pages is by far the best file sharing app I came across with the ability to support various file formats (.doc, .xls, .ppt, .txt, .jpg, .pdf). When you upload multiple files the latest one will appear on top of the rest. Files uploaded to Scribd will have more sharing options including embedding and emailing.

Scribd for Pages


#5 PDF Tab

If you would like to share a PDF file with fans without the download option, this app might just meet your requirement. However you can only display one PDF file (<10MB) at a time.

PDF file


#6 Fotobabble

Fotobabble lets users add voice to their uploaded photos and share them on Facebook Pages! What a great concept where Page admin not only get to enhance their welcome tab with a ‘real’ call to action asking fans to Like the page, but can also plan a fun contest like ‘Tickle Me Baby’ here where fans can upload ‘baby-talk photos’ for others to listen to.

Fotobabble


To Communicate with Your Page Fans:


#7 LiveChat for Fan Pages

LiveChat is a very useful Facebook application to provide real time customer support to your fans or potential customers. If handled well, you may even convert first time visitors into loyal fans too. Sadly, LiveChat is not free but you get to try it for 30 days with no credit card required.

Livechat

Livechat form


#8 TinyChat

TinyChat provides free video chat rooms for you to setup video conferencing with fans. After you created a chat room, just share your Tinychat room link with fans on your Page wall so they could enter. Bear in mind, since you are using TinyChat’s Facebook app your name will appear as your personal profile in the chat. For now there is no way to change the name yet so make sure you are comfortable with that.

Tinychat


#9 Forum for Pages

Ever since Facebook removed the discussion board from pages, Forum for Pages becomes one of the best alternatives to fill in the spot. You will be asked to authorize the app in order to post or comment; and ‘Like’ the discussion post to subscribe to the topic. Page admin can edit, delete or ban the user from the forum. Best of all, you can even lock a thread or make it a ‘sticky topic’ so it always stays on top.

Forum for pages


#10 SupportTab

SupportTab creates a tab for your fans to ask questions. This app is great for those who don’t feel like installing a forum on the Page but still wish to communicate with fans about brand-related topics.

Support tab


#11 Contact Forms

There are three types of contact forms you can choose from:

i) ContactMe

You can add business information including logo, address, phone number and social profiles. Customize your form with required fields and arrange them to your likings:

Contact Me form


ii) Contact Form

Aside from basic configurations, you can add picture and message text separately as header; ‘send me a copy’ option is also available and you can customize your (sent) success message too. However you won’t be able to re-arrange your selected fields:

Contact form for pages


iii) Contact Us Tab – Improve Your Conversion Rate Form

Contact Us Tab is equipped with four general fields and you may set whichever as required fields.

Contact Us tab


To Acknowledge Loyal Fans on Page:


#12 Top Fans on Pages

Instead of checking through all fans activities yourself, here are several Facebook applications to help you decide who is(are) your superfan(s):

i) My Top Fans

After the results had been generated, you can publish it to your page Wall so everyone can celebrate:

My Top Fans


ii) Booshaka

Booshaka tells you who is your superfan while rewarding the others in weekly basis based on their participation on your page – wall posts, likes and comments. What I love is that Booshaka shows admin the overall performance of a fan (Recent Activity) to confirm their qualification to be chosen. You can then recognize your top 10 fans on Page wall.

Booshaka


iii) Fan of the Week for Pages

Fan of the Week for Pages will feature one fan weekly. Although it is said that the result is based on fan’s activities but after compared the results with similar apps I’m not totally convinced. Either it’s random or based on activities, it’s still a good app to showcase your fan while schedule an automated shoutout at the end of the week (optional).

Fan of the Week for pages


iv) Top Fans by SocialAppsHQ

Page admin can configure so top 5-15 fans are displayed. It is optional to link to fans’ profiles and place a Like Gate to this tab.

Top Fans by SocialAppsHQ


To Notify Events and Handle Appointments:


#13 Events Calendar

Events Calendar enables admin to create and maintain a list of events related to your brand Page and showcasing them in monthly calendar format to fans. You can set the event name, date, time and link to the contact’s profile Timeline or email. You may set so the calendar is viewable to admin/fans only.

Events Calendar


#14 Genbook

Genbook is an appointment scheduling web service for small business. By installing Genbook to your Facebook page, you are allowing potential customers to reach you and gain more leads through confirmed appointments. You do need to register a Genbook account with your email address for 30 days free trial. When fans access your ‘BookNow!’ tab, they will be brought to the appointment page outside your Page:

Genbook


To Encourage Invitation to View Your Page:


#15 Invitation Tab

Always make sure your fans are aware of this call to action to attract more ‘Likes’ on your Page:

i) Tabmaker Invite

For none-coders, this is an easy way to add an invite tab on managed Pages. Your fans can select who they want to invite to your Page or type their friends’ names in the search box:

Tabmaker Invite


ii) Invite Your Friends Button for Pages

This app makes it easy for fans to invite friends because all their friends’ names will be automatically added for invitation after the app is authorized. Of course, they can always choose to ‘invite (friends) one by one’.

Invite Your Friends Button


iii) Smart Suggest To Friends – Invite Friends

Smart Suggest allows fans to include an invitation message not more than 255 characters before selecting friends manually.

Smart Suggest To Friends


To Create Tabs for Company Blog & Information:


#16 RSS for Pages

I have always loved RSS Graffiti for automated blog updates on Pages, but when it comes to creating a blog tab, RSS for Pages is my favorite. The tab consists of post image along with ‘Like’ and ‘Send’ buttons for fans to show their support.

RSS for Pages


#17 Extended Info

Not enough space in Info tab to describe your brand? Don’t squeeze everything on your landing tab, use Extended Info to add extra fields on a separate tab instead.

Extended Info for Pages


#18 FAQ Tab

Besides an appealing interface with your brand logo/banner, it attaches a form below for fans to reach you if needed.

FAQ tab


To Showcase Other Social Media Profiles on Page:


#19 Google Plus Tab for Pages

Showcase your Google+ profile at your Page’s sidebar and configure the amount of Google+ updates (5-20) to display on the tab. Insert your Google+ Profile ID in the admin settings and you’re set to go:

Google Plus tab


#20 Twitter Tab

I prefer a (free) Twitter tab with customizable settings for brand visibility. This app allows you to insert banner image and provides customizations for the tab’s background, text and link color!

Twitter tab for pages


For Your Facebook Page Management:


#21 Post Planner

Post Planner lets you schedule your wall posts (text, links, images, videos etc) without leaving Facebook. This app is free for profile Timeline but costs $4.95/month to post on Pages (and Groups). Anyhow, it offers a 30-days trial for you to test it out.

Post Planner


#22 Static HTML:iframe tabs

Not enough iframe tabs on your Page? Now you can add up to 12 iframe tabs per page with Static HTML, find out where to get them. (More iframe apps to choose from, kindly refer to: 7 Free iFrame Applications to Create Welcome Tab (Custom Tabs) for Your Facebook Page).


#23 Selective Tweets

Don’t flood your Facebook page with Twitter stream. Use Selective Tweets to share info that matters to your page fans. When you post a full URL in your tweet that ends with #fb, it will appear as how you normally post a link on Facebook. Not to mention you will get a link below to be redirected to your twitter account for fans to follow.

Selective Tweets for pages

Selective Tweets


Not enough Facebook applications for your Page? Get 14 more app suggestions here.


Now Is Your Turn…


Do you have other facebook page applications to suggest? Which app do you think has the biggest potential to improve fans engagement on Pages? Kindly share in your comment.

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How to Track (Manage) Your Pending Friend Requests on Facebook

Posted by Ching Ya | Posted in Facebook, Social Media Tool, Social Networking, Tracking, Web Application | Posted on 30-11-2011

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If you’re on Facebook then you are well aware of this problem. Remember how we used to be able to check pending friend requests in our friends list as indicated below?

old facebook friends list

Not anymore with the new personal profile.

If you think there may be a hidden feature for this then sorry to disappoint you again. Here’s how Facebook responded about tracking pending friend requests:

cannot view facebook pending friend requests

Unable to check pending friend requests is a huge disadvantage for Facebook users, especially if you are warned for overusing the feature (sent too many requests in a short period of time), reducing the request quantity may be the way to go. Currently the only known way to track pending friend requests is by visiting the person’s profile with a ‘Friend Request Sent’ icon at the upper right corner:

facebook friend request sent

Imagine we have to memorize ALL friend requests we ever sent then return to each profile, EVERYTIME? Obviously this isn’t effective enough. Now wouldn’t it be great if there’s a list for that… that’s right, a LIST!

Recently, I was inspired by how useful a Facebook list can get, including tracking our liked pages in News Feed. So I thought why not utilize Facebook lists to track our pending friend requests as well? Of course there may be plugins or apps for the same purpose but if you are skeptical towards third party apps, Facebook Lists is a much safer method to use. Here’s how:


Step 1: Build Your ‘Pending Friend Requests’ List


1. After logged in your personal profile, go to this link: https://www.facebook.com/bookmarks/lists

2. Click ‘Create a List’ and name it ‘Pending Friend Requests’.

create a custom list for pending friend requests

3. You won’t need to add anybody to the list yet but whenever you sent a friend request, be sure to add him/her to your ‘Pending Friend Requests’ list.

add new friend to pending friend requests list

4. From Home -> ‘Pending Friend Requests’, you can see profiles that had been added to your list. In order to follow up the list regularly, add it to your ‘Favorites’.

add pending friend requests list to favorites


Step 2: Manage Your ‘Pending Friend Requests’ List


Unlike any Facebook applications, you need to update this list manually whenever a friend request is accepted. You can easily aware who just accepted your friend requests via Facebook Notifications or email alerts. After that, remove your new friend from the ‘Pending Friend Requests’ list.

Now, what if you missed the notifications and forgot all about the list after sometimes? Fear not, there are ways you can modify the list after several accepted friend requests.

Bear in mind, the news feed of your custom list will be consisting of updates from both your new (accepted) friends and non-friends (their public stories). Therefore you need to make sure the correct profile been removed from your ‘pending friend requests’ list, but how do you determine that?


Method #1 – Update ‘Pending Friend Requests’ List in News Feed

a. Open your ‘Pending Friend Requests’ list and scroll through your news feed. Hover over the profile to reveal his connection with you: If he/she had accepted your friend request, the ‘Friend’ button will appear. Remove everyone who established the ‘Friend’ connection with you, leaving the actual pending requests remained.

remove new friend from facebook pending friend requests list


Method #2 – Check if Someone Had Accepted Your Friend Request

Instead of visiting the person’s facebook profile, you can check this within your custom list:

a. In your ‘Pending Friend Requests’ list -> ‘See All’ (upper right corner) to load the popup menu.

see all your facebook pending friend requests

b. From ‘On This List’ you can have an overview of the people you sent friend requests to on Facebook. The unanswered/unaccepted friend requests will not appear in your ‘Friends’ list. For example, if Ron had yet to accept my friend request, his name won’t appear in my ‘Friends’ list. That’s how you know if a particular friend request is still pending or accepted.

check if someone accepted your friend request on facebook via custom list

These methods can only assist you this far in monitoring current and future sent requests but not previous ones. If anybody knows how to track back old (unlisted) friend requests, be sure to drop me a message!


Now Is Your Turn…

How do you manage pending friend requests before this? Do you think it’s necessary to have a checklist for it on Facebook? Kindly share your thoughts.

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10 Social Media Apps to Watch in 2011

Posted by Ching Ya | Posted in Social Media Tool, Social Networking, Tracking, Twitter, Web Application | Posted on 11-01-2011

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You should know by now how much of a facebook fanatic I am.  Since last year, I have not been blogging much about other social media apps except facebook. Well this week, I decided to do them justice by introducing you some of my favorite social media applications that got my attention long before 2011. Some of them may not be new to you, but they are all ‘love at first sight’ to me.

10 SOCIAL MEDIA APPS TO WATCH IN 2011


If you are expecting something grand, complex then it’s not the purpose of this post. These social media tools impressed me with their simplicity and best of all, they are cost free.

Twitter:


#1  Formulists


formulists to track interactions and expand your network

I remembered how tedious it was to group all my twitter contacts MANUALLY into Twitter lists. When I first heard about Formulists I was overjoyed! It is exactly what I needed to manage and reach out to other Twitter users based on our recent interactions, direct or indirectly. For example, I have an auto-updating list for ‘Thanks-For-Listing-Me’ generated by Formulists. Not only I can return the favor, knowing which lists I belong to but at the same time getting to know these kind people better:

formulists to see who added you to their twitter lists

Formulists also gives you filtering options such as bio and location so you can better customize your lists for targeted contacts. This video explains it all:

Remark:

What I love is you can keep your lists in Formulists even though you deleted them from your Twitter account, a good way to refer back or exchange lists whenever necessary. Formulists provides a sidekick account if you used up all 20 twitter lists (limit) but till now I have yet gone into that so unsure how that works.


#2  Mentionmap


mentionmap to show your connections with other users

Fear not, you’re not in Charlotte’s web but a twitter conversation web to show you relevant people to follow on Twitter. Back then it was all about people and location search, now Mentionmap makes it ‘visually’ capable in discovering who our friends talk to recently and how we can expand our network through these potential contacts.

Remark:

Best of all, no Twitter authorization is required to compare your map with friends’, something a lot more relevant comparing to Twitter’s very own app called ‘Who to Follow’.


Blogs:


#3  Apture


Apture to encourage social sharing with facebook and twitter buttons

Apture is a must-have if you are all about twitter and facebook sharing. Besides the catchy Twitter and Facebook share buttons, the search bar is equally impressive by offering results from your blog and Google. Your readers don’t have to leave your site in searching for ideal content. It works the same when someone highlight any phrases within your blog post,  just click ‘Learn more’ and the search results will show up before you :

Apture search bar imports results from your site and media files

Remark:

Apture bar occupies the top spot of a blog. However, it moves following the reader’s scroll bar to encourage social sharing after reading! Pretty neat, huh?


#4  Hellobar


Hellobar to display site announcement or shoutout

I was having my regular blog visits when I found this app on a friend’s blog. It is no Apture but a ‘notice’ bar for specific call to action.  Let it be a simple greeting, your latest blog post (via RSS setup) or even your latest tweet. Unlike Apture, it sticks on top of your blog and doesn’t move along with the scroll bar.

hellobar manual and feed control panel

Remark:

All is well except newly registered users may wait a day or two before you’ll get the Beta key emailed to you.


#5  BlogPulse


blogpulse to track branding and subject matters to you

BlogPulse is all about discovering what’s hot and what you think matters in the blogosphere. You can find out who wrote about your brand and offered a link love! For instance, Evelyn mentioned my site in her post last year which I wouldn’t have known if I didn’t check with BlogPulse. I hurried over for a comment, praying she wouldn’t mind my delayed thank-you. Imagine how many more blogs had slipped under my radar!

blogpulse to discover who linked to you

Remark:

BlogPulse can be very helpful for bloggers. Apart from Google Blog Search we need a focused tracker that not only about hottest trends but to discover potential bloggers we can network with.


Forums, Discussion Boards:


#6  Omgili


Omgili search engine for forums

Someone said to me earlier that forums are outdated. I don’t quite agree with that. Forums may not be the mainstream but they have their own impact in shaping a community. Forums are ideal for detailed, in depth discussions. We should not neglect them when it comes to brand-monitoring. Omgili is perfect for the job in discovering what people are saying in message boards, discussion threads about any topics at all.

Omgili track discussion threads and forum mentions of your brand

Remark:

Forum used to be the major ground for bloggers to interact with one another. Thanks to Omgili, I was able to track a discussion thread in which my Twitter account was mentioned. When participated in the discussion, I remembered how forum is still playing the role in building trusts and knowledge-sharing among the members. You’ll never know who you end up meeting with along the path.


Expanding Social Connections:


#7  Rapportive


rapportive displays social media profiles of the sender's email

Rapportive is a nifty tool that shows you more than just a plain email address. Based on the sender’s email, Rapportive is capable of pulling in gravatar image, LinkedIn profile, Twitter updates, Skype account and many more. You can follow up (I prefer not calling that ‘stalking’) your potential clients/readers closely on various social media sites. If you wish to check on other recipients in the same email, just hover your mouse over the recipient’s name or email address will do.

Remark:

Absolutely loving it! Highly recommended if you are hoping to extend your social network in 2011!


#8  Qwerly


qwerly search engine for people on social web

Qwerly helps you to discover where your Twitter friends are ‘hanging’ on the social web. Type in the twitter username like this ‘@wchingya’ and it will give you an overview of who your twitter contact is and how you can connect with him/her other than Twitter. Exactly why it is referred to as the ‘whois for Twitter’.

Remark:

verify profile on qwerly

You can verify and claim your profile by signing in with your Twitter account. It’s that simple to claim your vanity URL with Qwerly.


#9  About.me


about.me to create a custom profile

Props to Mari Smith for this handy tip. About.me is a custom profile and a dashboard for your personal analytics based on your social accounts like Twitter and Facebook. Create an account via your email then select your username. Add in as many personal details so others can reach you from your about.me account. It gives a huge interface up to 1680×1050 pixels but it’s advisable to keep the size optimum. Feel free to check mine out.

Remark:

It’s all about SEO benefit, whether you’ll be using the analytical tracking or not. I’d love to grab my vanity URL whenever I can. Another thing I love is other people can reach me by ‘Email Me’ button without having to disclose my email address publicly at all!


#10  Wordle


I HAD to include Wordle because it’s so much fun!  Wordle is basically a toy to generate word clouds based on the URL you provided that contains RSS feed. A good way to find out what is the site mainly about. See how it describes my blog, do you think it’s accurate?

wordle for social @ blogging tracker

Remark:

Its visual effect is compelling! You can randomize, change the fonts or colors. So much you can do with it, it’s time to get creative with your site.


Now Is Your Turn…


What is your favorite social media tool of all time? Which application above you’d like to try best? Tell us.


SPECIAL GUEST NEXT WEEK!~


Don’t forget we have a special guest blogger next week to talk about social media for the first time on Social @ Blogging Tracker! Be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss it. :)

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Most Wanted Facebook Christmas Wishlist 2010

Posted by Ching Ya | Posted in Events, Facebook, Social Media Tool, Social Networking | Posted on 22-11-2010

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Last year, Facebook overtook Google to be the most-visited site on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. I don’t think the forecast will be any less different in 2010 considering facebook continues to outshine other social networking sites in terms of user base and connectivity. Plus, you must have heard that Facebook beats ebay to be the third most valuable web company in U.S. lately, right? With so much power and fame, facebook lives under the radar of its 500 million active users daily, hoping their expectations be heard and taken heed of.


Two days ago I had an interesting discussion on my page wall. I asked the fans to share what they hope to get from facebook for Christmas this year (if facebook is listening). Their feedback was amazing and I had so much fun learning what people are expecting from facebook! That’s what I love most about a facebook page – you can never expect how a normal wall post can create unusual responses! To reward their enthusiastic participation, I hope their wishes be heard. What can be a better way to chase away Monday blues than a Christmas wishlist to facebook? Take it away, dear Social @ Blogging Tracker members:


  1. “I would like an exclusive souvenir from Facebook!” – Mico
  2. “Two Newsfeeds – one for personal profiles and one for business pages.” – Jill

  3. “To keep it as it is. I dont want them to change its appearance or functions!” – Noor

  4. “Time on my hands.’ – Todd

  5. “An easier, appropriate, reliable and fair way to communicate, to support people. Please!” – Debbie

  6. “To share via my page instead of my profile (because sometimes that’s what I want to do WITH the share button). Ooh, and to be notified when someone does something on my page (likes, comments, etc.). Please, please, please.” – Anne

  7. “A free T-shirt.” – Jill

  8. “To rid my old account name from any search engine such as google, facebook, etc so i can live.” – Aved

  9. “A an email informing me to wait for my gift cheque worth 100 million in my snail mail..lol” – Jena

  10. “To solve my privacy bug so that my friends could see my photo albums!!” – Miriam

  11. “The ability to unmerge a places and business page; Two news feeds, one for friends and one for pages, each accessible with just one click.” – Laura

  12. “My gift from Facebook would be to keep our profile pics with the post, ie. don’t change the profile pics from previous posts. I’d like to keep the pic with the post.. like Christmas, Halloween, Veterans Day.” – Mike

  13. “If possible, I want to have a chance to meet Facebook CEO – Mark Zuckerberg.” – Lee

  14. Better option for privacy settings for posts, photographs etc, even amongst friend lists.” – Shubhra

  15. Thumbs up for Anne’s wish! It would be way better to be notified when someone does something on pages! And the page can leave a comment on their friends.” – Jane

  16. The ability to communicate better with Facebook (the organization) when you have problems or questions. And more FBML commands!” – Genevieve

  17. My wish is for better separation between personal and professional activities and pages (finally). Let’s hope they listen to all of your readers’ comments!” – Scott


Are you nodding at some of them? I know I am. Why not join our page and share what is your biggest wish from facebook on Christmas day ? You can do so in the comments too if like, but be sure to tell why that wish is important to you. Fact is, you never know who is going to see the list and checking it twice (*waving* at facebook). Together let’s create an ultimate Christmas wishlist for facebook.

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How To Create A Private Discussion Board On Facebook

Posted by Ching Ya | Posted in Facebook, Guest Posts, How To, Social Media Tool, Social Networking | Posted on 28-04-2010

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This week we have another honorable guest on board – my good friend, Rajeev Edmonds who will share with you an useful Facebook tip today about how to create a private discussion board. Take it away, Rajeev!

Whether you’re an individual, a non-profit organization or a business entity, Facebook is one of the most important social media channels to connect with more people. It’s an excellent medium to let other people know what you’re up to. However, there are circumstances when you selectively want to club a group of people on facebook and want to keep the ongoing activities of this group completely private. It can be a family group, a social media group, a company’s elite members group or just a gang of friends. Whatever is the case, facebook let’s you achieve this very easily via Private Groups, that inherently supports private discussion boards.

Facebook provides an option to create private ‘family groups’. Though the name suggests it can only be used for binding family members, you can use it to include anyone who is on facebook. These groups are like normal facebooks groups with the exception of being completely invisible to non-members. So let’s get started and see how to create our very own private discussion board.


How To Create A Private Discussion Board On Facebook


Step 1: Head on to ‘create private group registration page and fill in your group name. Make sure you add yourself as a member.

The registration page gives you an option to add more members either by their name or through e-mail addresses. If your potential group members are not on facebook, enter their e-mail addresses separated by commas. I’ll strongly suggest you to avoid writing names in the first step. Later on, you can add members via friends list to make sure you make no mistake and inclusion is fast and easy.


Step 2: Update group picture and basic information. This includes assigning a relevant category and providing helpful description for the group.

You can update this basic information via ‘Info’ tab. Along with basic information, you can also update the contact information which includes, website link, address, city and zip code.

Note: Updating contact information is optional.


Step 3: Now comes the real part of configuring a private discussion board for group members. That’s pretty easy and requires a few clicks. Go to ‘Edit Group Settings‘ link and uncheck all the options except ‘Enable Discussion Board‘. Save your settings and you’re done.

After applying these settings, group members will be able to access discussion board and all other parts will be read-only for them i.e, they won’t be able to write on wall, they won’t be able to post videos, photos and links. Now, I don’t think you’ll ever want to exercise such strict policy for private group members. The above settings are only for demonstration purpose to show the possibility of creating a private discussion board on facebook.

CAUTION: Be careful while using ‘Events‘ in your private group. Events are either visible to your friends network or to the entire facebook community.


Rajeev is a pro blogger who shares his expertise in blogging & social media tips. He is the founder of mintblogger.com and you can find loads of insightful articles regarding the mentioned topics at his blog. Don’t forget to follow him on @mintblogger!



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3 Important Things About Facebook ‘Like’ Button

Posted by Ching Ya | Posted in Facebook, Social Networking | Posted on 21-04-2010

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Like’ is dominating our Facebook account today! Apparently the transition has started since yesterday, some said the button was pulled shortly after launched but as of today, a majority of fan pages had undergone the new changes. Facebook wants us to learn more about it but ends up putting more question marks in our heads. We had a heat discussion at the fan page last night about the new feature. Then this morning prior to log in to my Facebook fan page, there I saw the brand new ‘Like’ button sitting comfortably on the landing page:



You know what that means don’t you? Welcome page customization – a redo!

But before that, thought I share with you a couple of things first:


#1 What Exactly is this ‘Like’ Button anyway?


i) A Friendlier Call to Action


To Like a fan page means a connection forms between you and the page:

When you click “Like” on a Page, you are making a connection to that Page. The Page will be displayed in your profile, and in turn, you will be displayed on the Page as a person who likes that Page. The Page will also be able to post content into your News Feed.

There will be no more egoistic phrases such as ‘Be my fan’, but a humble-ish ‘Like my page’. Facebook claims this to be a “light-weight and standard way” to connect with people. This generic term is highly potential to bring you extraordinary results (so much for the wordplay). To some extent I agree with this as we are so used to give thumbs-up (like) to the links and comments of our friends in Facebook. It’s our nature to build relationship and supporting one another as a Facebook enthusiast.


ii) A Connection between Profile to Fan Pages


According to Facebook,

“Connecting to Pages will now be the main way to express yourself on your profile.”

A more accurate, personalized Profile can be created based on your connections with the fan pages. Instead of the previous random Bing search results, now your Likes & Interests are connected with valid links to Community Pages and Fan Pages you participated in. Think about the exposures and support you can give to your favorite fan pages by determining which to be shown publicly, even your own! All in all, Facebook is encouraging info disclosures – the more you’re willing to share, more sociable you can get with fan page suggestions coming your way.

Suggested Read: Facebook to Link Profiles and Pages


#2 What Happened to Our Fans Box?


Since yesterday, I have noticed the below transition for my fan page. Facebook has renamed the ‘Fans’ box as ‘(number of) People Like This’. As you can see during the preliminary transition, we cannot access our complete fan list while the ‘Edit’ pencil is not functioning at all. Later, Facebook finalized the transition by removing the ‘Edit’ pencils and retrieve the ‘See All’ feature (thank God!). And just for the record, none of these will affect our interactions with fans – ‘ Send an Update to Fans’ is still working fine till date.



So to clear your doubts about the new terms:

People Like This = (old terms) Your existing Fans;

Friends Like This = People in your friend list (personal account) that fanned this page … opps! I mean, ‘Like’ this Page. This is similar to ‘Common Friends’ in your personal account, which can be a major influence to one’s decision in Liking a page.

Still confused? Wait till you see the Facebook wall on personal account. Noticed the identical ‘Like’ symbols? From now on there will be no ‘Become a Fan’ symbol so you will need to read carefully to distinguish which are fan pages updates. User friendly? Not so much.


#3 Our Fan Status on Fan Pages We ‘Liked’?


Remember the time when we can see ourselves listed among other fans in other fan pages? There is currently no active link for us to access the complete fan list (‘People Like This’). The ‘See All’ option is only visible to fan page admin.

Fortunately, there is a workaround for this thanks to Peggy‘s brilliant suggestion. In case you’re looking for like-minded people to connect in a fan page, here’s how you can access the complete fans list:

    1. Use the  Facebook ‘Search’ box and key in the page you’d like to check on the list.  For example, I’m looking for fans list for Social Media Examiner. Click as indicated to display the results:

    2. Look for the targeted fan page and you will see the Fans link is still active here. Click it to bring up the fans list dialog box.


Like Button to Go Global?


It is predicted that Like button will be used outside Facebook to encourage info-sharing and data collection for developers. There goes another contender for Digg and Twitter, but how is it any different from Facebook ‘ Share’ button? Users behavior can be tracked even outside Facebook with Like – now that’s a valuable asset. One thing for sure, Facebook is evolving fast preparing itself to a much bigger picture. Just how serious this ‘ Like’ button can get, we’ll leave that to time and upcoming Facebook announcement soon. In the mean time, would you be kind enough to Like my page? :-)

Now Is Your Turn…


How do you plan to adapt your networking goals with this new implementation? Are there any pros and cons you would like to point out? Fire away.

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How to Improve Facebook Engagement by Decluttering News Feed

Posted by Ching Ya | Posted in Facebook, How To, Social Media Tool, Social Networking | Posted on 13-04-2010

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This post was inspired by one of our Facebook supporters:


I think Radhika hit the jackpot with her question – unsubscribe.

I don’t know about you, but to follow 200+ Facebook Fan Pages and 400+ friend updates daily without group management can be overwhelming. Last weekend, I spent half day tidying up my Facebook Lists, but never once in my mind I thought about ‘unsubscribing’. Why should I unsubscribe when I could join up to 500 fan pages, right?

I did not pry why Radhika wanted to unsubscribe from a fan page (hopefully it’s not Social @ Blogging Tracker) but her question alerted me: what seems to be a harmless ‘Become a Fan’ feature now has the tendency to worn us out bit by bit. Gaining back our focus and be in control of the news feed is the cure to social media overwhelm. Speaking of which, I eliminated some unwanted noise in Facebook, mainly applications and the hard work paid off! I’m having a better week in capturing page highlights and improving Facebook engagement with other contacts.


How to Declutter Your Facebook News Feed




To answer Radhika’s question about ‘unsubscribing’ from a fan page, we need to firstly identify our commitment:


1. To Stay as Fan but:

  • eliminate unwanted noise
  • pause and take a break from receiving updates

OR,

2. To Unfollow a Fan Page, completely.


To Stay as Fan but Eliminate Unwanted Noise


Some fan pages prefer to integrate Twitter updates as their wall posts. If you have already followed them in Twitter or FriendFeed, reduce the noise by removing the  Facebook application used to broadcast these updates in your news feed. Beware though, whoever is using the same application will no longer appear on your news feed until you retrieve the app.


1. Locate the fan page among the news feed. Hover the mouse over to reveal the Hide option. Click it.

2. You will be prompted with below selections. Choose whatever that’s applicable to you:

Here we will be turning off the Twitter application to increase visibility for other page updates. To bring back the application (or contact/fan page), look for Edit Options at the bottom of your news feed and click Add to News Feed as indicated:

Caution: Some page admins are actively responding to their Twitter comments in Facebook, so be sure to check the overview of the fan page first before you’re missing any chance to engage.


Secondly, the updates that sent to you via ‘Send an Update to Fans’ feature. Some may not realized but bulk-sending will direct this message to ‘Updates’ – a subcategory of Messages. I can’t thank Facebook enough for separating that from our private inbox. Joining 214 fan pages myself, I can easily receive 50 updates from page admins daily. Now you can have the option to unsubscribe from the hyperactive fan pages. It will remain your membership, just no more updates bugging you afterwards. Of course, the process is completely reversible.


To Unfollow a Fan Page


To quit from being a fan is easy, all you have to do is look for ‘Remove me from fans’ option at the bottom of the fan page itself. So when you hit the 500 mark for fan page limit, you’ll know what to do then.


“Wait, I heard about Facebook Lists?”


Bingo. If you’re not in the mood to decide or quit any Facebook fan pages just yet, why not monitor it over Facebook Lists. Similar to Twitter Lists, you can categorize your most-watched Facebook contacts and fan pages into assigned niche/names so you can easily navigate to check out their latest updates. That’s what I’ve been doing all along and here’s how:

1. Go to Account > Edit Friends

2. Click Create New List > Name & Group your Friends/Pages accordingly via selections





For Page Admins: Shall We Bother?


When a fan decides to pull the plug from our fan page, shall we bother? Some say it’s no big deal to lose just ONE fan. Besides, it’s a self-cleaning mechanism for a more focused fan base – he/she who cares, stays!. Sounds logical, but what if he/she WAS a loyal fan? Are we sending out wrong messages, pissing potential visitors off without consciousness? Plus, there’s no way to tell how many of our fans are opting us out from their Facebook lists or news feed due to (info) force-feeding. Yes, we should bother but not over-panicked. Review your fan page progress periodically can help to strategize your next move.


Now Is Your Turn…


How do you declutter your Facebook news feed currently? If you’re a fan page admin, kindly share with us how you moderate info-sharing to prevent suffocating your fans? In the mean time, would you help me out with this poll by voting (perhaps a Retweet as well?). Appreciate your support:




I’ll leave you with this video from Gary Vaynerchuk who’s not happy when somebody dropped an irrelevant wall post on his fan page recently. Visibility doesn’t mean opportunity anymore, right? You be the judge:





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16 Facebook Applications to Boost Popularity of Facebook Fan Page

Posted by Ching Ya | Posted in Facebook, Social Media Tool, Social Networking | Posted on 04-03-2010

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CHECK OUT: 23+ Essential Facebook Page Applications to Improve Fans Engagement in 2012.

Do you know there are over 20 million people join as fans of Facebook Fan Pages daily? Forget about restricting Facebook as a private network. If you can get 5% of those people to land and join your fan page, the impact will be significant. Time to boost popularity of your fan page with the right Facebook applications.

I setup a fan page for Social @ Blogging Tracker 5 months ago. Since then I witnessed the wonders it did to my blog traffic, proven it’s one heck of a networking site to promote our blogs and online presence. If a Ms. Nobody like me can gain some from it, you definitely can too!


Facebook Applications to Boost Fan Page Popularity


Quit feeling comfortable with the basic fan page layout. You are gathering supporters to form a community. Make your fans proud with a decent fan page and give first-timers something to talk about. Get your coffee ready for we’re going on a Facebook app expedition. Check out what you can do to your Facebook fan page tabs and boxes with:


Media to Enhance Fan’s Participation & Engagement


1. SlideShare

One of the must have applications if you’re into slide presentations. Don’t limit your slides on SlideShare , integrate your account into fan page (limitation of one account per fan page). Import existing or selected presentations based on relevancy and you fans will love you for it.

Suggested Read : How to Design Effective Slides

2. NutshellMail

NutshellMail is originally a management tool to sum up your social network activities and have them sent to you via email. Its integration allows the page owner to update status, reply to comments easily from within the email:

But that’s not all.

NetshellMail has recently provided Facebook Fan Page admin the efficiency to create automated email newsletter for fans to subscribe! Now fans can decide what and when can they receive emails highlighting latest updates based on delivery preferences. A wonderful feature to assist busy fans to follow up and comment on wall posts through email directly. (Note: Does not support Discussion Board updates)

3. Reviews

Reviews are similar to testimonials. Now you can request your fans to review your blog, service or product to build credibility. Give new visitors some ideas about your branding. However, placing the ‘reviews’ tab meaning you are open to all positive and negative comments, kindly be aware of that. Here is an example of the review I did for my blogger friend, Luci on her fan page:

4. Poll

A fun and non-stressful way for all fans to participate. Insert a customized poll and have your fans select their choice of answer(s). Send an update to them about the poll will double the effect (be moderate with messages, not TOO frequent). Tweet about it, anything to get the message out. Fantastic way to collect data and monitor responses. Notify your fans the final results and request opinions. Here’s an example:

5. YouTube Video Box

Video sharing can never be easier in Facebook fan pages. Say if you’re a blogger, showcasing self-made YouTube tutorial videos on WordPress customizations can both be helpful to your fans and own reputation. Or, import your favorite videos to share with fans depending on your page niche. Even humor can be an effective ice-breaker sometimes.

Tip: If you intend to upload videos from other video hosting sites, you can copy and paste the given video URL using the Link application. Alternatively, you can record and upload own video straight to Facebook using the Video application.

6. RSS Graffiti

When we talked about autopost from blogs to Facebook Fan Page, integration tools and NetworkedBlogs are among the favorites. Thanks to Hartley’s recommendation, I tried and fell in love with RSS Graffiti immediately – the updating is almost instantaneous! You can even configure a prefix to your latest blog post to be shown with the thumbnail image and post excerpt.

7. Static FBML

Here comes my favorite part of this article. For all bloggers you should be familiar with HTML codes for blog customizations and such. Well, now you can fix up a desired tab in your fan page according to your likings with Static FBML (Facebook Markup Language). This advanced feature allows page admins to modify or add extra info to their fan pages using the HTML or FBML, for example setup a landing page, displaying social media profiles etc.

When you’re in my fan page, clearly you can see some added tabs above the Wall posts. These are just some of the examples you can get out of Static FBML:

i) Landing Page

ii) Member of the Month 2010!

The reason I setup this tab is to Give Back. Our fan page has started Weekly Post fr Member since launch, but now we will be featuring some really cool members monthly (starting March, 2010) based on their participations in the fan page. I do encourage fellow visitors/ readers to head right over and see how you can take part as well. A free promo tab been setup just for YOU !

Important Note to Embed YouTube Video:

To copy & paste the embedding code straight from YouTube video won’t work in Static FBML. Kindly follow the general FBML coding as shown below with minor adjustments (free to adjust the color, border size at will ; width and height can refer to the dimension for that particular video’s embedded code):

For example, If the Video link :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abcdef     (width=”425” ; height=”344“)

The FBML coding for the video will be:

<fb:swf swfbgcolor="000000" imgstyle="border-width:3px; border-color:white;" swfsrc='http://www.youtube.com/v/abcdef' img src='http://img.youtube.com/vi/abcdef/2.jpg' width='425' height='344' />


Suggested Read : 9 Ways to Enhance Your Facebook Fan Page with Static FBML


8. Extended Info

Ever felt like never been given enough space for your personal, company, service details in fan page? Extended Info solves your problem by providing a wide range of selections you can choose for insertion: videos, images, tags, categories, FBML block, with or without links. Position them in tabs, boxes or even info section to spice up your fan page.

Remark:  Extended Info vs. Static FBML

a) Extended Info

  • Able to customize both personal account and Facebook Fan Page;
  • A wide range of info styles to choose from;
  • Unable to rename ‘Extended Info’ tab.

b) Static FBML

  • Only works in Facebook Fan Page;
  • Flexibility to rename your tab or boxes.

9. More Extended Info

No catch here. It works exactly as #8, enables you to add a clone or an extra Info tab whenever necessary.

Extra Tip: Profile HTML

This application is not grouped within fan page applications, but since we’re here talking about added info, I’m going to encourage you to include Profile HTML to your personal account. Make it a call to action: a sign up box, a display of your popular blog posts etc. For me, I publicize my fan page so friends can join if they like to:

10. Memorable Web Address

Ever came across this notice when you’re navigate within Facebook?

We do not know when will this happen, as I am currently using an awful lot of box tabs on my fan page, setup a memorable web address seems like a smart thing to do. Why regret later? Don’t forget to make your web address easy to find and memorable. Inform your fans about the new assigned URL for extra info.

11. Discussion Board

Discussion Board is normally ready on your tab when you setup Facebook Fan Page. Discussion Board is a mini forum for you and fans to hang out and help one another. Remind them about this tab frequently, encourage active discussions to build engaging relationship among the fans.

Suggested Read : How To Receive Notification for New Responses in Facebook Discussion Board

12. Notes

Another well known Facebook application that already placed on your tab when signed in. Most people use Notes to import their blog posts while at the same time using NetworkedBlogs or Social RSS for the same purpose. Actually we can diverse the use of Notes for special announcements instead. Notes has a ‘share’ button that can be used to get the message viral. Don’t limit the good news within your fan page. Encourage your fans to share the note if they find it useful.


Applications to Display Social Media Profiles


Information that will help boost your online profile is a must:

13. My Account (is @ Twitter)

Showcase your Twitter account on fan page, at the same time you will able to find out who else on Facebook is currently using this application. Connect him or her to extend the network further in Twitter. Create a Twitter list and monitor them from time to time.

Another bonus given by this application is a Twitter badge for your sidebar:


Social Media Profile on Admin’s Facebook Account


I was feeling puzzled earlier why these applications allowing ‘Add to my Page’ but showing the customized tabs on admin’s personal account? Then it struck me that admin is also an important factor for a page’s popularity. If we can master the communication and community management, our networks will reap from the benefits:

14. LinkedIn profile

LikedIn profile offers you badges with multiple size range. You never know who you might meet and chances are, somebody who appreciate your talent is dying to cooperate with you professionally. Why throw away that chance to get acquainted? You may gain more supporters in your fan page out of a successful collaboration.

15. Skype Me

If you’re into real time conversations, Skype Me is a good option. This application puts a tab on your personal page that allows you to be contacted easily. Talk to your fans or setup a group chat on your network.

16. Web Profiles

If you have more social media profiles to be included, don’t limit yourself. Web profiles app amazes me with hundreds of embedding buttons, all we need to do is type in the username and voila! A link is placed for each social button chosen.


You don’t have to use all 16 but pick the suitable ones that will help instead of burdening your page with distractions. Review and improvise your fan page accordingly, request opinions from your existing fans on what they hope to gain from your fan page. Never stop Promoting your Facebook Fan Page outside the network, enhance it with FBML. Apply Fan Box Widget on your website and make it visible to all visitors.

Suggested Read: Learn another 15 applications more here at 31 Facebook Applications to Enhance Your Facebook Page!


Now Is Your Turn…


What other Facebook applications you would suggest to be added to the list? How is your experience with Facebook Fan Page so far? If you have yet to start a fan page, what has hindered you from trying? Share your thoughts in the comments, love to hear them!


More Tips are on the way, so make sure you subscribe to this blog to get the latest updates.

6 Status Updates Scheduler for Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn

Posted by Ching Ya | Posted in Facebook, LinkedIn, Social Media Tool, Social Networking, Twitter, Web Application | Posted on 09-02-2010

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The commenters rocked the house in previous post discussion about automated status updates!  It’s a controversial subject but I’m pleased with the constructive opinions given by all individuals. Whether to love or hate the service, it has much to do with the user’s networking ethics. Regardless which side you’re on, I’m grateful for your participation in making this post quite a hit last week! So here’s to:


This week’s Twitter #MustFollow list: Bloggers who treat comments seriously & provided insightful feedback:


@ConnieFoggles @marketmetweets @Jan_ Geronimo @KiwiGordie @aks2008 @esther96 @Happymaker @TwtrCoach @PetLvr @virtuosoblogger @FreemanLegacy @FamousBloggers @AussieSire @Elmot @SoftwareCritics @Anklebuster @InfozBlog @arafat21 @Anneonline @IntrovertZone @JimiJones @Zeenatsyal @Mitch_M @GrowMap @Janniefunster @jenaisle @HereWeAre_wLuci

(Hullbert, kindly provide me your Twitter acc)


** Starting this week, I’ll be acknowledging commenters for their valuable feedbacks on written posts. More about this soon so do keep the quality comments coming.**

Two weeks ago, a reader brought up this question in his comment for 3 easy ways to share selective tweets on Facebook Page:


I emailed George personally suggesting some tools that may fit his needs. After seeing how ugly mass-scheduling can get, I figured there’s a need to keep a clear conscience with 6 Points to Ponder before using Automatic Status Updates. I was deeply encouraged for most commenters are into building genuine networks, but thanks to Cindy’s Tweetplan to grow a quality Twitter following, it shows us another perspective of how social media strategists can incorporate status scheduling as part of their out-reaching plan. With proper moderation and control, it can still be accepted to some extent as one of the communication methods.

But what suggestions can we provide George here in deciding which tool to use?


6 Status Updates Scheduler for Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn


In order to find out, I had been experimenting status updates (STRICTLY NO auto-DMs) from a few web applications available. All reviews are written based on personal experiences. If the results vary from yours kindly point out in the comments for further discussions. Most of these web applications are designed to integrate with multi-social media sites but here we will be concentrating on 3 that are most widely discussed – Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.


1.

Twitter: YES

Facebook: YES

LinkedIn: YES

Hootsuite is a powerful Twitter web client. I was absolutely blown away with the ease to setup and its efficiency to avoid clutter with customizable interface: Multiple columns with naming feature, integrations with multiple social media sites…  More on the features will be covered in future topics but first, we’ll be focusing on its capability to schedule status updates.

Why is Hootsuite Powerful?

Not only it stands alone as a perfect scheduler but as a free Twitter web client, it is capable of delivering updates to various social networking sites. Thanks to its integration with Ping.fm., you can gain access to all the social networks covered by Ping.fm here.

Hootsuite supports multiple Twitter accounts; enables status updates to be sent to Facebook personal account and Facebook page respectively. It even shows you all the pending status and ability to edit them however, whenever required.

i) Click ‘Add Social Network’ to include your desired social media profile,

ii) After authorizing access to these networks, you can schedule status updates at will (synchronize or separately):

Pending Status Updates for Facebook Page:



New Status Published on Facebook Page as Scheduled:


Suggested Read: HootSuite Integrates Lists, Facebook and LinkedIn


2.

Twitter: YES

Facebook: YES

LinkedIn: YES

Sendible is a management tool. It’s not a Twitter client, neither will it flood your streams with live feeds nor real-time tweets. It’s all in your hands to plan and manage your contacts via all sorts of planner, scheduling and task reminder features available. Since no live streaming involved, you can minus distractions and PC memory consumptions during social media profile setups.

However, Sendible has one tiny downside for free account holders: all your tweets will end with ‘via Sendible’ or ‘#Sendible’ for all status updates. In order to eliminate that, you need to pay to upgrade your Sendible account.


Extra: Interesting find: when my tweet exceeded 140 characters it splitted into multiple tweets. What amazed me was the tag for ‘#sendible’ did not show at all!

Since I’m all about keeping tweets succinct within 140 characters and avoiding ‘#Sendible’ at all costs, I’ll keep this application at the back seat for the moment.

Suggested Read: Sendible Relaunches; Now a Powerful Social Media Marketing Tool


3.

Twitter: YES

Facebook: YES (only available after paid to upgrade)

LinkedIn: YES (only if collaborated with Ping.fm which is only available after paid to upgrade)

For SocialOomph (used to be known as Tweetlater), it’s all about boosting productivity online. Unfortunately, in order to integrate Facebook and Ping.fm (for Linkedin) you will need to pay for the upgrading. As for free account holders, you can have all the access you need to schedule tweets/feeds, monitor @mentions, RTs and manage follower list – it’s all Twitter-friendly here in SocialOomph. Even so, you are given the option to choose free trial of 168 hours with Professional account.

Suggested Read: Opt Out of Auto-DMs Using Social Oomph (good news for SocialOomph users: if you hated Auto-DMs)


4.

Twitter: YES

Facebook: YES

LinkedIn: NO

A simple, web application that’s still in Beta version, offering status-updating solely for Twitter and Facebook. Status updates consisted with links will be published alongside with bit.ly as the default URL-shortener service. After several trials, I found the scheduling worked out fine but might be slightly delayed from the actual timer. For those who have tried this service your feedback is very much welcomed for a more accurate comparisons.


5.

Twitter: YES

Facebook: YES  (only if integrated with Ping.fm)

LinkedIn: YES (only if integrated with Ping.fm)

A web interface for Twitter. More towards business support-customer interaction purposes, one general CoTweet account for multiple Twitter users. One impressive feature that beats out existing desktop/web clients is the ability to schedule tweets. View your pending updates and edit them if needed. If you’re a Tweet-scheduling maniac, here’s a bunch of Twitter applications to choose from.


6.

Manual Configurations for Status Updates

Why manual? Because even auto cars can put you in trouble if the battery is dead.

Automatic scheduler may have its limitations, try not to be overdependent on a particular application. For precautions sake, better equip ourselves with manual configuration back up plan (just in case). I’m going to keep this brief but I’m sure you’ll get the idea:

i) Combination of Hootsuite with Ping.fm (Preset the following features in Ping.fm before setup the Hootsuite scheduler)

ii) Combination of Hootsuite / SocialOomph with Selective Twitter Status



Now It’s Your Turn…


Which status updates scheduler do you like best and how does it fulfill your needs in social networking?

If you’re not into scheduling, kindly share how do you make up for the time lost in social networking during absence or offline hours?

How important is networking to your blogging career?

3 Easy Ways to Share Selective Tweets on Facebook Pages

Posted by Ching Ya | Posted in Blog Traffic, Facebook, Seesmic, Social Media Tool, Social Networking, Twitter, Twitter Desktop Clients, Web Application | Posted on 20-10-2009

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Facebook fan page & FB profile

Having trouble separating social lives between leisure and work? Let Facebook Pages help you out.

I’m on Facebook Page for days now and glad that I don’t have to bombard my own profile site with updates my friends find annoyed *chuckle*. But being active on Twitter, wouldn’t it be fantastic if we get to publish selective tweets between personal and Facebook Pages? Good thing that’s now doable in various Twitter platforms and I’m going to show you how.

 

3 Easy Ways to Share Selective Tweets on Facebook Pages

 

Tweetdeck (v0.30.5)

 

1. Go To Tweetdeck Settings > Accounts > Add New Account > Add Your Facebook account.

You will prompt to add your Facebook Pages as well. Isn’t that convenient?

Add Facebook Pages to Tweetdeck

2. Approve the authorization to connect with Facebook by logging in.

Integrate Facebook account to Tweetdeck

3. Tweetdeck will display all Facebook Pages that you are administrated.

Select Facebook pages to be added to Tweetdeck Update Panel

Pick either or all for your preferences; publish posts or comments without repeated logins:

Synchronize accounts

4. Now your can update your Facebook account or Page(s) via Tweetdeck.

Selective Tweets to Facebook accounts

 

Seesmic Desktop (v0.6.2)

 

1. Go to Control Panel > Accounts > Click the ‘+’ sign & Add your Facebook account.

2. Click at the newly added Facebook account, you’re optional to have either or both included for:

a. Administered pagesFacebook Pages you’re an admin of.

b. Fan Pages – Pages you followed.

add Facebook Pages to Seesmic

3. Make your selections after you’ve authorized and integrated Facebook Pages with your Seesmic Desktop.

automatically post activity to Facebook Pages from Seesmic

4. Configure the Extended Permissions to have posts/comments published via Seesmic Desktop without repeated prompting.

allow Seesmic publish posts without prompting

Facebook Connect Extend Permission setup

5. There! Add as many Facebook Pages you like and start your selective tweeting.

Facebook Pages in drop down menu

 

Twitter Web Page Interface

 

If your computer system is not compatible to either one of the desktop client above, Facebook has a plugin that’ll work just fine with Twitter web page interface. Introducing:

 

Selective Twitter Status – choose particular tweets to be published on either Facebook profile or Fan Pages. Make sure your Twitter updates are NOT protected on Twitter. Put ‘#fb‘ at the end of each selected tweet as shown below:

 

a. Put #fb at the end of your tweet, for example–
Your message here http://your link #fb

b. have #fb followed by a space then a link, for example–
Your message here #fb http://your link

Add the Selective Twitter Status to your application. Remember to click ‘Add to Page’ first before proceeding to your Facebook Pages setup.

Add application to page

During the configuration, you can have either Your Profile or Your Fan Page(s) to integrate with Twitter account. We’ll look at the Fan Page configuration first:

 

1. Go to ‘Your Fan Pages‘. Only pages you’re an admin of will be displayed. Make your pick.

2. Type in your Twitter username > Save Changes.

configure update status for pages you are an admin for

3. In order to have BOTH Fan Page and personal account compatible with the plugin, you need to grant permission for Fan Page first before doing the same for profile.

grant permission for updates

4. After ‘Grant Permission‘, you’ll be directed to allow status updates as illustrated.

Choose your Fan Page first and click ‘Allow Status Updates‘ before you do the same for your profile page.

allow status updates

But make sure you have filled in your Twitter name first before authorization.

configure Facebook profile to receive Twitter updates

5. This is how the updates will appear in Fan Pages:

updates shown on Facebook fan page

 

Isn’t it great? Problems solved! Now you can post however and whatever you wish interchanging your Facebook personal account and Fan Pages.

Recommended Read: Use Google Reader to Import selective Twitter Favorites to Facebook Page

It’s Your Turn To Share

 

What other difficulties you faced while trying to integrate social media with one another? Do share your thoughts. And if you’re on Facebook, why not say hi and let’s connect at Facebook Page.

 

Can you do me a little favor to share this post with your network? ^^