Ever came across a ‘Contact Us‘ form on some facebook pages that you wish you had one too? Look no more for today I am going to share with you some fascinating web forms that are compatible to be embedded in facebook page using Static FBML. No worries if you had never touched FBML in your whole life. All you need to do is to copy and paste the codes generated to your FBML tab and you’re good to go.

But before that, let’s take a look…

Why a Facebook Page Needs a Contact Form?

Simply put,

• to encourage inquiries about your work
• to contact page admin for urgent matters
• to allow interactions without exposing admin’s personal profile (separate page from profile)
• to deal with complaints effectively (brand management) through one-to-one communication
• to improve business / fans conversion rate
• to collect feedback about a particular subject or service

Fixing up a contact form is not compulsory, but it serves a great purpose in listening to individual thoughts and ensures two-way communication between page admin and a fan.

4 Online Form Builders for Your Business Page

Although these form builders are offering paid services, but here I will be highlighting on the features given to FREE account instead (everyone loves freebies, right?). If you wish to know more about their paid account, kindly refer to their respective Pricing/Plans.

Without further ado, let’s take a look at these web forms and their layouts:

(Note: Remember to add Static FBML to your page before embedding the form)

#1  Freedback

Free Account Features ~
No. of Forms: 1
Data Export (CSV/Excel): NO
Ad Link: YES
Pricing / Plans: http://www.freedback.com/features.php

Freedback was the first form I tried on my page. The layout is clean and the setup process is straight forward. Just add in your questions and adjust their positioning however you wish. You can set ‘Required’ for must-answer questions, but they will not be indicated in the fields (as shown in the example above). To avoid fans been redirected back and forth due to an incomplete form, it’s advisable to mark it yourself. All edits made to the form will need you to update the codes manually in FBML tab. Once there’s a submission you’ll be notified via Email instantly, along with a record kept in Freedback database (non-exportable).

Freedback allows you to set a landing page after the form is submitted. There may be a delay while waiting for the form to be submitted, advise fans to wait for it then click ‘Continue’ to proceed to the landing page.

I find Freedback very similar to Response-o-matic. If you’re interested to know about the setup, kindly refer to Kim’s write up on how to setup Response-o-matic for a facebook page.

#2  123 Contact Form

Free Account Features ~
No. of Forms: 5
Data Export (CSV/Excel): NO
Ad/Brand Link: YES
Pricing / Plans: http://www.123contactform.com/serviceplan.html

123 Contact Form has a slight advantage with 5 forms for free account. Plus, it shows the ‘Required’ field clearly, along with a verification field built within the form itself instead of a new page (spam control is a common feature for web forms). During sign up, page admin requires to fill up (extra) mandatory fields such as Website and Country. It supports non-English forms as well. Here is the overview of the form editor and form manager:

#3  Allforms

Free Account Features ~
No. of Forms: Multiple forms (with limit)
Data Export (CSV/Excel): NO
Ad Link: NO
Pricing / Plans: http://allforms.mailjol.net
Advantages: Low Price for paid account, Live Support, Form interface

Despite with a congested setup interface, Allforms has quite a few attractive features: no ads display, low cost and comes with a form interface (see example). It supports non-english forms. Page admin can either use existing form layouts provided or import their own forms to be processed and further customized (advantage to those with CSS and HTML knowledge). You can adjust the color, form size and field positioning easily:

The cost for Allforms is so much cheaper comparing to other form builder with only $10.72/year. Frankly, there are not much difference between paid and free account except on data storage (365 days vs. 30 days) and the availability to remove spam control for paid account. Overall, Allforms is highly recommended when it comes to functionality (free account) and cost effectiveness (paid account).

#4  Jotform

Free Account Features ~
No. of Forms: Unlimited (max: 10MB)
Data Export (CSV/Excel): YES
Ad Link: NO
Pricing / Plans: http://www.jotform.com/pricing
Advantages: Full features as in paid account (limited by space), Sub-header, Drag and drop interface

How can anyone not like Jotform?:

a) Does not Cripple Features on Free Accounts
Page admin can enjoy all features as paid account: data-export, no advertisement links, unlimited forms, auto responders etc. The only thing that separates paid from free account are the account size and amount of submissions per month. Fair enough.

b) Drag and Drop Interface
Enjoy its sophisticated canvas with drag and drop – user friendly when it comes to adjusting form style and setups.

c) Account Status at the Sidebar

A monitoring tab is given so you can keep an eye on your submissions and upload space to plan ahead. Maintain the space within 10MB by deleting your data after exported them (if you are to maintain in free account). If you feel like the space is not enough, upgrade it to meet your submission requirements then downgrade back again once you don’t need it. Super convenient.

d) Customizable Thank You Page
I love this! Different from other online forms, you get to personalize your very own Thank You page with images, font styles and many more options provided by the editor.

e) Export Data as CSV or Excel
By far the only form builder I found with data-exporting feature for FREE account. This is the major attraction for Jotform and enough to win me over. Simply amazing!

f) Embed Code for Facebook Page
Once the form is ready, you can embed it to your facebook page through either one of the steps below:
- Share Form > Advanced Options > Social Network > Facebook
- Source Code > Advanced Options > Social Network > Facebook

#5  Others

There are of course, other form builders that may work similar, for example, Formsmarts is said to be allowing form-embed for fan pages but I have no luck to review it:

Now Is Your Turn…

Do you use Contact Form for your facebook fan page? If not what other ways do you communicate with fans besides wall and discussion board? Love to hear your thoughts.

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Every day we are exposed to hundreds of Facebook applications, hoping to find the perfect ones to enhance our page and fan engagement. Last couple of weeks I had a good chance to explore some applications during Facebook Page Customization that I never before mentioned in this blog.  I thought it would be great to jot them down and share it with my readers. If you’re already familiar with these 16 Facebook Applications to Boost Popularity of Facebook Fan Page, now learn 15 more to enhance your facebook page further!

Be pre-warned this is a lengthy post. Go get yourself a cup of hot coffee and enjoy the ride (I do seriously need one now)!

Marketing & Brand Promoting

#1: Promotions

This is an application by a technology company called Wildfire. You are given a variety of campaigns to market your product/brand: sweepstakes, coupon giveaways, quizzes, contests etc. Promotion is one of the best ways to draw attention and increase facebook fan base. The only downside is that this service isn’t free. The basic package costs $5 per campaign, the length of your campaign will decide the charges, for example:

You can preview and adjust your campaign to full satisfaction prior to publish (and payment). Signup is free so at least you can explore the service to learn more about how a promotion is made and what are the necessary fields to go with it. If you’re unsure which campaign suits your business page the most, refer to this post for ideas.

Note: Make sure you read the Facebook Promotions Guidelines first before proceeding to avoid removal.

#2: Constant Contact labs – Join My Mailing List

Here’s a good news for Constant Contact (email marketing service) users who are not into self-customized opt-in form. All you need to do is login with your credentials then add this catchy form as one of your facebook tabs (unable to shift to Wall as no options for box tab). During setup, make sure to assign the location of these emails (for example: general interest). Also, publish a shout-out so people who like your page (a.k.a fans) will know about it:

It would be great if Aweber and Mailchimp can provide something similar too.

#3: My Portfolio

This application is specially designed for photographers, models and whoever wish to showcase their artwork in a professional way. It is said to have a clean interface, great for any artist to embed it easily without having to mess with Static FBML. However you do need to upload the photos to Facebook beforehand. During the settings, you can select multiple fan pages and decide which photo album to display.

#4: FAQ Page

Who would have thought fixing up a FAQ tab can be this easy? Create your very own page’s frequently asked questions without even worrying about HTML coding, just input as many questions you need. Make sure to ‘Save Changes’ before leaving the setup page or Add New Faq otherwise your draft will be gone. To delete a question, simply click the blue [x] same row as the selected answer.

I have one placed on my fan page if you’re interested to check out the sample. One can expand and hide the answers, plain and simple!

Media-Importing Applications:

#5: Viddler

I think all Viddler users will appreciate this facebook application – so convenient to setup! Simply type in your Viddler username and that’s it! Record and upload video can be done without having to leave Facebook at all! Also, one can view and comment on videos easily. Did I mention it imports the entire channel too? Absolutely a fantastic app!

#6: YouTube Channels

YouTube Channels import your entire channel into facebook tab. It equips with social plugin (stream) for commenting, provides sharing option for visitors while showcase your other videos as well. It gives you the ability to insert a banner above your channel, but unfortunately it costs $4.99 per month to set one up in Facebook page. It’s F.O.C for personal account without the banner option .

Good for those who are associating their personal profiles with pages. You can promote your business indirectly via YouTube Channels on personal account. One thing I dislike is the compulsory to fill up email address as shown below:

For those who are not willing to pay can consider using Involver with similar service – free to import your youtube channel and the ability to share selectively with your friends. However, it does not come with a comment form.

**Kindly take note that application tabs will be removed from profile (not pages) starting 3rd Nov 2010, refer here for details.**

#7: Flickr Tab

Love this application for it imports the entire Flickr account with sets of photos (publicly files only) and able to view them via tags. Fans can enjoy the photo streaming inside the facebook page. To customize the tabs or use it on your facebook page requires payment: $10/year or $20/3 years for VIP membership (free for personal profile).

Of course, you can always use Flickr tab by Involver, which I’ll explain next…

**Kindly take note that application tabs will be removed from profile (not pages) starting 3rd Nov 2010, refer here for details. So no more FREE apps from Tabfusion**

#8: Involver

Ah yes, we’ve heard so much about it offering free services to import YouTube channels and Flickr accounts. Actually Involver provides more than that: import Slides, PDFs, Photo and Promotion Gallery. As long you’re not bothered by their big brand name at the side of your tab then it should be no problem. They do provide premium package as well for customers who are willing to take a step further with signup form, coupons, even eliminating the brand name, but that’s optional. Here’s an example of Mashable’s Twitter tab using Involver, notice the ability to share the tab with your friends selectively – available for both free and premium users.

#9: Portfolio tab

Portfolio tab bundles Flickr, Twitter, YouTube and Blogs under one facebook tab. It works brilliantly for personal profile where you can have clickable buttons for each social profiles similar to a mini-website.

Flickr Tab at #7 is an example of how each social tab would look like as a stand-alone tab. Before this, I was looking for a blog application with post excerpts but without comment form. Blog Tab fits right for the category and I have it setup now on my personal profile. The fonts are much bigger than Social RSS; post title links to my main site, just how I like it. In order to have an all-in-one tab as shown above, you need to authorize each tab individually before merging them altogether. Same as Flickr tab, this service is not free for Facebook Page (bummer, isn’t it?) but should be great to try out on your personal profile for extra visibility.

**Kindly take note that application tabs will be removed from profile (not pages) starting 3rd Nov 2010, refer here for details. So no more FREE apps from Tabfusion**

Fans/People Who Like Engagements

#10: Clobby

Clobby is a chatroom app for both personal profile and facebook page owners to communicate with friends/fans instantly. Great for casual chats so you won’t have to worry about flooding people streams with continuous postings on Wall. I did a post about Clobby on my posterous blog after testing it. Read about it if you’re interested to know more about the settings and review.

Social Media Profiles

#11: My LinkedIn Profile

Yes, I had mentioned this application in earlier post. However, there are slight changes for this application in terms of name and settings. Instead of fixing it at the left column as a social button, now it is displayed as a Facebook tab with your complete LinkedIn summary. This is no doubt a smart move for LinkedIn account integration.

#12: Page List

If you own multiple facebook pages and dying to share them with your fans but unfamiliar with codes or Static FBML, Page List is a good choice for you to display all pages in one tab. People who like your page can choose to visit all of them or do it selectively. Of course if you only manage one facebook page like me, no point of setting a tab for that. The above image is just for your reference only. The setting is relatively easy as well, make your page selections and save changes. If you wish to include your selections to other pages, look for ‘add to page’ on top of the dashboard.

#13: Vpype Live Broadcaster

Vpype Live Broadcaster provides you the ease to create live shows to millions of Facebook users. Great opportunity to meet new fans and interact lively with viewers. You can record the show then promote to fans with a ‘Show’ tab as shown above. It works well for personal profile too, get family and friends to participate has never been easier. Just get your microphone and speaker ready, then follow the steps below for configuration.

Others:

These facebook applications might not be for everyone but can be useful for some:

#14: Creative Commons License

This application allows you to specify how your media files and updates can be used by others with six Creative Commons licenses given. Be sure to choose one license that fits all the items shared on facebook and not individually. This is particularly useful for users who are sharing their artwork on Facebook. Although this application does give us the option to ‘add to page’, but the ‘CC’ tab returns with an empty box. If you are to use it for Facebook Page, recommended to save and upload the image to your server, then place the link inside image embedding code with the help of Static FBML.

#15: Menu

If you’re an owner for a restaurant, what can be more suitable if not having a menu tab on your fan page? You can include phone number (for delivery, maybe?), display set lunch or special of the day with pricing too! Love these non-complicated tabs to save time and trouble.

Important Notes: Application Removal

You may enjoy testing out these applications but do bear in mind: If you’re not going to use it then remember to remove them from your account:

1) Personal Profile:
Account > Application Settings > click ‘x’ to remove application completely

2) Facebook Page (fan page):
Edit Page> Look for the application name > Remove Application

You should do the same for other social media integrations. For example, if you have previously linked your Twitter account to test out Twitter tab, remember to revoke access via:

Logged in Twitter> Settings> Connections> look for the application and ‘Revoke Access’

Now Is Your Turn…

How do you enhance your Facebook Page in terms of application, strategy and fans engagement? Share your success stories or opinions on how to enhance a facebook page in the comments below.

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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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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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This week I feel an urge to do something different. It is only first quarter of 2010 but a lot of changes going on and I have so many people to thank that I hardly get to. I’m writing this with a heart of gratitude, appreciating everyone who has blessed me with consistent support and friendship, regardless which networks we are on.

1. The Commenters

Some of you I get to know quite well, while some we just met for a couple of weeks. Many times I have inspired by your motivations and superb ideas! I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you micro-blogging in the comment section, showing me a whole new perspective about a discussed topic. Here are some link loves for these talented bloggers:

Blogging
5 Tips to Increase Productivity while Blogging
5 WordPress Plugins to Add Google Buzz Button on Blogs
How to Add Your Google Reader Feeds as a Blogroll on Your Site
25 Basic Tips to Get Google Sitelinks
Imagine your Blog turning out into a Hardcopy Bestseller !
What Is The True Power Of The Blog?
How To Add A ‘Share This’ Button To Your New Blog

Social Media
10 Positive Social Media Experience Commandments
How to Edit and Delete a List on Facebook
You have done a lot of Social Media Marketing Mistakes! Now Stop Repeating those..

Plugin & Application Tips
Firefox 3.6; Now That’s What I’m Talking About!
2 Free Email Tracking Technique To Get Notified When Recipient Read Your Email
Google Pagerank Calculation
Diigo Extension for Google Chrome Browser
How To: iCal Birthday Reminders With Alarm (iCalBirthdays 2.0)
Friday Mashup: 10 Awesome Free WordPress Themes

Self Development
12 Kickass Ways to Love your Job and Life
How To Make A Quantum Leap
The “Should” Show: Give Your Shoulders A Rest
7 Steps to Overcoming Giants in Our Lives

Branding
Build Your Brand or Fold Your Tent
The Ultimate Online Brand Idea

SEO
Site Speed: An Important SEO Ranking Factor?
On-Page SEO Tips to Help Drive Organic Traffic to Your Site
How Do You Cover SEO *Per Post*?

Art & Designs
Designing For The Future
11+ Tutorial Sites For Adobe Photoshop CS4
Visualizing Psychology Canadian Edition

Breaking News
Facebook Blasts Ahead of Google Today!
Here’s Why I Unfriended Darren Rowse in Facebook

Fun & Leisure
PetLvr Guide – Pet Adoption and Rescue (free download)
Say It Quick
More Funny Typos! “Like A Bord On A Wire” — 15
Ten Questions to Ask Before Going to the Store

2. Social Voting Communities

My gratitude goes to these wonderful voting communities for their consistent support & link loves: Blogengage, Bizsugar, MMOSocialNetwork and Twitter friends/supporters who never ceased to help out whenever a new post is shared. I dedicate my thanks to P5o Allied Bloggers and Authority Blogger members for your friendship, uplifting messages that I deeply treasured; selfless recommendations I hardly deserve to receive.

3. Facebook Fan Page Supporters (a.k.a Fans)

I’m so grateful that Social @ Blogging Tracker fan page had passed the 300 mark in March. I owed my thanks to blogger friends who supported the page in the beginning and members who joined with the intention to network and learn from one another. I would love to make this fan page a mutually-beneficial community, where we get to assist one another in network visibility. Starting 1st March I have created some threads that will benefit the supporters by showcasing their newest posts & social profiles. Including Weekly Post Selection and Member of the Month which we’ll be acknowledging our active supporters for their continuous participation. We will be announcing our first Member of the Month soon so do stay tuned!

4. Last but not least… YOU!

Yes, YOU! There are some people who I carved their names in my heart, while some I didn’t get to know what their real names are! The visitors who came and left without leaving your mark, I thank you for visiting. To those who voted but never told me about your gracious act, you are an angel. Thanks to the rejections and obstacles in life, I met some good willed, compassionate people who relentlessly reminding me failure is a part of life that will only make us stronger, smarter. I constantly remind myself to never judge others based on ‘what we think’ how a good-will should be done; but when someone do, never take them for granted. Your kindness will be remembered all through my blogging career.

Thank You, my dearest blogger buddies & supporters, you are my angels. *HUGS*

Discussion board can be one of the most underrated applications in Facebook Fan Page. It is a mini forum for fans to interact with one another; an excellent area for admin to collect feedback, answer requests and bond with fans in discussions.

However, most of us have neglected its importance due to a huge setback - Facebook does not provide notification for new responses. Fans can either bookmark the thread to check back regularly or have the page admin to send weekly reminders for unanswered threads. Inconvenient and time consuming. Your fans will eventually lose interest and move on.

Why Don’t Just Let the Fans Post on Wall instead?

No doubt we are encouraging an open-posting fan page. However, allowing fans to post on Facebook Wall is a complete different issue than owning an active discussion board. Not only it’s an added value but also a perfect section for new fans to blend in with others. You can easily monitor and trace back the discussions without worrying they be swallowed by busy stream of updates.

While we earnestly hoping for a solution from Facebook, I’m going to share with you how I keep up with the discussion threads:

Google Reader to Track New Responses in Facebook Discussion Board

The main idea is to create a feed from the existing thread and have Google Reader track for new responses. Here are the configuration steps:

1.  Identify the link location for the particular thread you wish to trace.

2. Click ‘Add a Subscription’ to reveal the link box. Paste the URL, click ‘Add’ and a new feed for the thread will be generated.

3. Rename the feed and repeat step 1-2 for other discussion threads. Manage them in a folder for easy follow-up.

4. Once a fan has responded to the selected discussion topic (for example: Fan’s Profile), within an hour Google Reader will retrieve the update as any other regular feed from your subscription.

Now you can head right back to the discussion board and welcome her!

Is it Possible to Receive Updates via Email or Desktop Notifier?

Email notification is not possible for Google Reader. Some third party feed generator services, however, come with delivery options, for example  Page2RSS.com combines with notify.me (email alerts); Feed Notifier is a desktop application as you can see in the image below:

I do need to remind you that time of delivery may differ from one service to another. Google Reader is still by far, my top pick for reliability.

Bonus Tip :

For feed delivery services / notifiers that are unable to recognize / generate feed straight from a discussion thread, you can retrieve the Atom Feed URL for the entire folder which consists of all the discussion threads by following the below method:

1. In Google Reader, go to Manage Subscriptions.

2. Go to Folders & Tags (publicize the feed) > View Public Page.

3. Copy link location for Atom Feed and use it for any feed delivery service preferred. (Make sure the folder feed is ‘publicly viewable’ at all times for the application to work)

Now Is Your Turn …

Do you have a better way to track new responses in Facebook discussion board? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.

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!

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