[UPDATED 05/01/2012]Note: You don’t have to worry if FBML tags are not working in some of these iframe apps because starting from 1st, Jan 2012, FBML will no longer be supported as described by Facebook here.

Recently I received emails asking about facebook iFrame applications. Most readers enjoyed the guide on how to create an iFrame tab from scratch but some are requesting for a simpler route with ready-made iFrame apps that could save time and effort, even without owning a web page!

I realized there’s a need to update my previous post about adding a Welcome tab (or custom tab) to a facebook page. Therefore, I would like to share some of my after-use experiences with these handy iFrame applications. Kindly take note these opinions are strictly my own and have nothing to do with app sponsorship whatsoever.

7 Free iFrame Apps to Create Welcome/Custom Tabs for Facebook Pages

iFrame Applications with No Banner/Footer Ad:

1. Static HTML: iframe tabs

Requirement of Coding Knowledge: Yes

Fans-Only and Non-Fans Content: Available

Static HTML is suitable for those who are sensitive with footer or banner ads. You can copy and paste your HTML code, CSS or JavaScript to the empty fields as shown. It enables scrollbars and FBML options which you can tweak for both fans and non-fans content.

In My Opinion…

The editor section is pretty straight forward. To preview your iframe tab just click ‘Save and View tab’. However there is one minor issue when I tried to insert FBML code for ‘Fans-only content’ box with ‘Enable FBML’ turned on: somehow my Facebook Share icon would not show. Unsure if it’s a bug issue on my part but in case you faced the same problem, try inserting the codes below manually in ‘Enter your content here’ box without having to ‘enable FBML’:

<div>
<fb:visible-to-connection>
Put Your Fans-Only Content Here
<fb:else>
<div id=”non-fans”>Put Your Non-Fans Content Here</div>
</fb:else>
</fb:visible-to-connection>
</div>

iFrame Applications with Banner/Footer Ad (may be eliminated with minor fee):

2. TabPress

Requirement of Coding Knowledge: Yes

Fans-Only and Non-Fans Content: Available

Tabpress is similar to Static HTML in terms of copying and pasting the codes in the content boxes. Comparing to static HTML, Tabpress offers a more user-friendly preview bar that you may tweak between Non-Fan and Fan Content.

In My Opinion…

Tabpress kinda solved my bug issue with Static HTML as it allows FBML tags to show up effectively. Hurray to that!

3. Wildfire’s iFrames for Pages

Requirement of Coding Knowledge: Yes

Fans-Only and Non-Fans Content: Available

Wildfire iFrame application is convenient to use but best of all, page admin can upload image files straight from its editor. This differs from Tabpress and Static HTML as both apps require user to pre-upload the images (if have) to a self-hosting or photo-hosting site, for example, a coding below is needed if you are to showcase a Welcome image:

<img src=”http://www.yourphotohostingsite.com/imagename.jpg”>

By using Wildfire iFrames, you may eliminate this coding procedure.

In My Opinion…

Unfortunately, FBML tags are not supported in Wildfire app. Wildfire’s iFrames for Pages is currently FREE but in future they might start charging. So if you’re a fan of the app, better install it now.

4. Hosted iFrame

Requirement of Coding Knowledge: Yes

Fans-Only and Non-Fans Content: Available

What I love about Hosted iFrame is that it lets you add up till 5 iframe tabs to your facebook page (can be found at bottom page ‘Install Additional Tabs’). It gives you both Source and Visual preview of your content. Hosted iFrame allows Google Analytics so you may trace your page traffic. Also, it provides a special ‘Main Content’ editor box that you can create content for EVERYONE, besides the Fans-Only and Non-Fans content.

In My Opinion…

The ‘Main Content’ editor is a catchy feature. For now, Hosted iFrame is free for up to 25,000 fans but do watch out as once your page exceeded 25,000 fans, your tab will show a blank screen until you purchase their paid plans. Do take note that the total fan count is determined as a total of all your managed pages that are using Hosted iFrame, so it is important to monitor your tab consistently.

For Non-Coders: Allowing Subtabs

5. Iwipa

Requirement of Coding Knowledge: No (with Media boxes)

Fans-Only and Non-Fans Content: Yes

I introduced Iwipa previously in 5 Ways to Create Welcome Tab (Custom & Sub-tabs) for Facebook Page http://www.wchingya.com/2010/11/welcome-sub-tabs-facebook-page.html. Iwipa provides advanced editing that benefits both coders (Source view) and non-coders (Visual). You can customize your content easily with the editor, from bolding texts to adding bullet points, pictures, video or links. Most of all, it adds sub-tabs and multiple media boxes to your iframe tab as shown below:

In My Opinion…

Facebook users may get a little frustrated learning their way through Iwipa’s control panels, but once you had mastered it, you may enjoy some fascinating features. For example, you can customize a special note to your fans with catchy title or even a welcome video. (Paid version provides more customization and even embedding your Google Analytics code)

Note: Iwipa has a special media box that can showcase your page fans but that’s optional. If you would like to keep your fan list private, make sure this media box is not activated.

6. TabSite

Requirement of Coding Knowledge: No (Drag N Build)

Fans-Only and Non-Fans Content: No

Same as Iwipa, Tabsite had also upgraded to iFrame compliant. Its ‘Drag N Build’ feature had been recently added so special media widgets such as Google Map and email form integration (MailChimp, Constant Contact and Delivra) can be added to your custom iframe tab.

In My Opinion…

You will have to customize everything in Tabsite’s own main site (login required). Tabsite gives you two free main tabs: Welcome and Drag N Build (each with subtabs). Therefore, remember to ‘Save & Publish’ every time you made corrections to your tab content. Paid account offers more widgets but it all depends on your facebook page requirement.

For Non-Coders: Easy Custom Tab with Ready Template

7. Pagemodo Pagebuilder

Requirement of Coding Knowledge: No

Fans-Only and Non-Fans Content: for Paid Account only

Pagemodo is not affected at all by the FBML to iFrames transition as it provides drag and drop template for page admin. You can enjoy quite a number of free, sophisticated templates with easy image-uploading and text insertion.

In My Opinion…

Pagemodo is great to give fans a professional-feel of your page without having to worry much about image arrangement. Great for facebook page beginners to explore before advancing to more professional iframe tab customizations.

Bonus Tip ~

Some of these iFrame applications are using ‘Welcome’ as their tab name. You can re-name these tabs easily if you are to create a different custom tab. Just go to Edit Page -> Apps -> look for the iFrame application and click ‘Edit Settings’ -> Custom Tab Name -> change ‘Welcome’ to any custom name and ‘Save’.

Now Is Your Turn…

Bottom line, there is never a ‘best’ application but only the one that suits your facebook page the most. Make sure to test the iFrame applications yourself and understand their privacy options before using. Do you happen to know any other useful Facebook iFrame applications? Do share in the comments below.

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Updated Post:
7 Free iFrame Applications to Create Welcome Tab (Custom Tabs) for Your Facebook Page.

Custom tabs can be one of the greatest inventions for facebook page. It brings a page to life, allows content enhancement to impress and capture attention. Setting up a custom tab can be easy (DIY) or complicated with advanced coding knowledge of HTML, Javascript and iframes (soon to come). Answering these questions can help in deciding what type of custom tab you are planning to build:

• What is the tab for?
• What are the results I hope to achieve from the tab?
• What kind of brand image I wish to portray to visitors?
• What are the must-have designing elements within the tab?
• What is your budget for a custom tab?

 

Also, one more thing you should know about is iframes will be replacing FBML tabs soon:

 

Existing FBML tabs will continuously be supported but no doubt, IFrames will be the new lead in facebook customization. Currently IFrames tabs are yet to be released by facebook. A fan from our page had brought up a good concern here – “ I don’t have much knowledge in setting up a welcome tab, but are there any possible ways for a DIY?”.

Yes, there are. In fact I’m going to share with you some facebook applications (come with free accounts) that can do just that. But there will be limitations comparing to customization work done by professionals, such as advertisement links or hidden features. If you’re in a hurry to setup a welcome tab (or any landing tab/custom tabs) for your business page, FBML is still a good pick. Otherwise, these facebook applications will be a good fit for your fan page:

 

5 Facebook Applications to Create Welcome Tab (Custom & Sub-tabs)

 

1. Welcome Tab for Pages

 

HTML Knowledge: Yes
Sub-tabs: No

The whole concept is similar to Static FBML, you ought to have basic HTML knowledge to get things running on the tab. So this may be a good pick if you’re running out of FBML boxes (maximum 10 tabs per page) to add. The only advantage it has over Static FBML is the built-in analytical stats for your welcome tab visits.

If you are to stick with Static FBML (at least it has no footer message; tab name is editable), try to give this article a read about embedding Google Analytics code within the tab.

 

2. TabSite

 

HTML Knowledge: Yes
Sub-tabs: Yes (Two)

TabSite has a wordpress-like control panel for drafting your tab content: font resizing, styles, even media files uploading (images, videos). For its free account, you can create up to two sub-tabs. You can arrange the tab order and how they are displayed to fans – horizontally or as a drop down menu.

Visit tabsite pricing page for more features.

 

3. Static FBML and Welcome Tab by iwiPage

 

HTML Knowledge: Yes
Sub-tabs: Yes (>2 but Limited)

I love sub-tabs so no doubt I’m giving iwiPage a test-run. It is said to support iframes, Javascript and flash on all sub-tabs except ‘Home’. I did not get to verify on the iframe insertion so if anybody did, kindly share your experience with the app in the comments. Apart from the slick design with drag and drop, the ability to hide tab from non-fans until they liked the fan page impressed me the most – it’s a feature that not always come with a FREE account, but iwipage allows it (but with limitations).

The customization is a bit challenging until you figure out how it works. I would advise you to watch this video tutorial first to prevent frustration and lost of your work:

4. Tigerlily CMS

– [UPDATED: 12/01/2012] This app is no longer available.
 

HTML Knowledge: No
Sub-tabs: Yes (Two)

Tigerlily is pretty much straight forward (drag and drop). Its free account offers users with basic configurations without the need of knowing any HTML at all. As long you don’t mind their brand name on the tab and footer, you can insert quite a number of media files or social feeds with just the source links (no sign in for authorization purposes).

It offers several applications for different packages. More about their price plan here.

 

5. Pagemodo Pagebuilder

 

HTML Knowledge: No
Sub-tabs: No (One Tab Only)

For those who are not into complicated HTML or CSS code modifications, pagemodo gives you sophisticated design layout with the simplicity of drag and drop! Everything is basically well customized. Page admin only needs to replace the images and texts, reposition the content before confirming your changes. Font customization and background design can be modified. No designing skills required to make your custom tabs (welcome, showroom etc) look like pro’s!

But to unlock video-embedding themes, add more tabs and eliminating the footer, a paid plan is needed.

 

The reason why I am so into facebook customization is that every page is unique on its own. Even with these DIY apps, you can still make a difference for your welcome tab if you willing to experiment and improvise. Don’t stop by adding the application to your page. Monitor its results and find out what works and what’s not.

Recommended Post:
7 Free iFrame Applications to Create Welcome Tab (Custom Tabs) for Your Facebook Page.

 

Now is Your Turn…

 

What are your anticipations for iframes? Any other facebook applications that I missed for a well customized welcome tab? Share your thoughts.

 

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It’s good to be home! For those of you who missed my last post, I was taking a short break from the net due to health reasons. Glad to start writing again, but I won’t be force feeding you with lengthy posts just yet. How about something light and easy this week with a few handy tips for your daily facebook experience?

16++ Facebook Tips You Should Not Miss!

#1 To Control Facebook Font Size for Readability

To enlarge: Press ‘Ctrl’ and ‘+’;

To minimize: Press ‘Ctrl’ & ‘-’

#2 To Bold and Underline your text in Facebook Chat

For Bold text –> *your message*

For Underline –> _your message_

#3 To Bypass 420 characters limit for Status Updates

Add a photo to your status update and enjoy the limit-free characters.

(Suggestion: use photo that is related to what you’re sharing, see here for the example)

#4 To Increase the number of Pages or Friends to appear in News Feed

At News Feed > Most Recent > Scroll down to bottom, click Edit Options > Increase the maximum number of friends (or pages) shown in Live Feed OR, insert your own selections of ‘Recommended Friends (or Pages)’.

If you are a page admin, encourage your fans to add your page. But mind you, ‘popularity’ is another major factor that you need to be aware of: Facebook News Feed Settings – Random or Not, Biggest Secrets Revealed

#5 To Display extra Information on Facebook Page Wall with ‘Founded’

Go to Edit Page -> Basic Information -> Founded -> type not more than 247 characters for your (extra) business info.

#6 To Access your Application Settings directly from profile

We all know the Account -> Application Settings is no longer available. But you can still reach the application page easily via this direct link: http://www.facebook.com/settings/?tab=applications Bookmark it if you’ll use it often.

#7 To Review your Invites and Imported Contacts

Invite History is an important link to track contacts you had invited to join Facebook. As an admin, I find this particularly useful when I’m sending email invitations to those who are yet to own a facebook profile but to co-administer my page. That way I can track their responses and send reminder to them if need to. Also, a good way to discover if the invited contacts are all set with a personal profile to be added as friends:

#8 To Remove all your Imported Contacts from Phone or Emails

If you’re a mobile user who had accidentally imported your friends from phone contacts or emails while authorizing an app, remove and protect their privacy (and yours) via this link so they won’t be exposed on Edit Friends -> Phonebook:

#9 Discover Facebook Pages to ‘Like’

Browse facebook pages you may find interest in based on categories or countries. Not only that, you can even discover what your friends and you have in common based in mutual ‘liked’ pages.

#10 To Browse Directory by Name

A full directory that contains public search listings on facebook – profiles, pages, applications, groups, you name it – all arranged alphabetically by last name. Numbers 1 to 26 contain non-Latin character names. If you do not wish to be found here, make sure to opt out by changing your privacy settings for Public Search.

#11 Download Your Facebook Information

A new feature introduced by facebook to back-up your personal data:

Go to Account -> Account Settings -> Download -> Learn More

It will take some time for facebook to generate all your data (photos, videos, wall posts, messages, friend lists etc). Once it is archived (in .zip format), you will receive an email notification to proceed with the download.

Your .zip files will not be containing photos uploaded by others, phonebook and friends’ email addresses, so if you’re in need of those data too, some recommended apps to download the missing data.

#12 To Secure your facebook account

To be notified when people hacked into your facebook account:

Account Settings -> Account Security -> ON -> Save to receive notifications for login alert via email from new devices. You can now login and register your computer with a name, then start tracking.

#13 To Download Facebook Videos

It is always easy to download a video hosted on Youtube, but what about those clips uploaded directly to facebook? This facebook video downloader may be able to do the trick. So far it has been working well for all public videos.

#14 To obtain facebook Info & Facts:

• Statistics
• Company Factsheet
• Facebook Timeline
• Facebook Press Releases
• Stories and experiences by facebook users

#15 To Get Practical with your Facebook Page:

• Enhance your facebook pages with Facebook applications, but be selective.
• Import blog feed to facebook page for site visibility.
• Improve admin and fans interactions with contact forms; setup page notifications for wall updates and discussion board.
• Improve profile- or page-to-page engagements with status tagging
• Secure your Employer Link with business page link on personal profile
• Protect your personal profile from business pages with privacy settings
• Social media integrations with selective tweets, status updates schedulers (with points to ponder) and multiple blogs import.

NEW! #16 To Change your Page Name

Great news for newly created facebook pages or business pages that have a small amount of fans, you can now edit your page name from: Edit Page -> Basic Information -> Name

Not all facebook pages are given this previlege and unsure how ‘few’ fans considered eligible for the name-change. But at least it’s a big step for facebook.

Now is Your Turn…

Why not share your special facebook tips and tricks? If there are enough contributions, I’ll produce a sequel for this article, along with a link love to either your facebook page or site, depends on relevancy. If you want more, be sure to follow my fan page’s discussion thread entitled ‘Collections of Facebook Tips’ for new updates.

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For those who knew me well, taking a break is never easy. In mid September, food poisoning and a minor fever forced me to rest a whole week, but my mind was so occupied with work that I hardly slept at all. After recovered, I worked 10++ hours/day to catch up with lost times but ended up with more health issues – backache, eye strain and muscle pain! I had pushed myself too far that it affected my own health this time.

I need a short-break from the online world, at least for a few days. I need time to reconstruct my strategies and come back with a rejuvenated mind and body. So if you’re reading this, I’m probably busy packing and getting some final things done before my flight tomorrow. So this week instead of a lengthy post, I’m sharing with you a recap of some of my favorite links, hope they will keep you company during my absence:

Top 10+ Facebook and Twitter Resources to Check Out

Twitter:

1. Twitter 101 for business – A Special Guide

From best practices to Twitter lingo (retweets, shortened URLs and more), along with PDFs and slides for you to download! My favorite section is the ‘Case Studies’ – see how these prestigious companies utilize Twitter for their ultimate success, simply encouraging!

2. Twitter Guide

Cindy King compiled a resourceful list for you to get the most out of Twitter. Learn how you can make Twitter a strategic networking tool to build your network, create your own tweet plan and even twitter interviews!

Facebook:

3. Facebook Phonebook – How Safe is your Cell Number?

Mari Smith educates us how to protect and un-sync our phone contacts from facebook Phonebook. A good reminder to always be cautious before approving any iphone apps and protect your own mobile number with Privacy Settings.

4. Facebook Insights : A Beginner’s Guide

Everything you need to know about facebook’s very own analytical report for your fan pages. It’s important to understand fans behavior and how influential is your page based on demographics, comments and page views. I wouldn’t suggest you to be overly obsessed with the numbers, but use it more on general monitoring and self-reviewing purposes (periodically).

5. Understanding Facebook Places Functionality Opens Possibilities

Not only Facebook Places is beneficial for nonprofit organizations, but to anyone who wishes to properly use your claimed Places to achieve your goals. Debra Askanese did a great job explaining the steps involved so be sure to check her post out.

Image credit: Communityorganizer20

Extra: Download the Facebook Places Guide for business here. (Thanks to John Haydon for the tip)

6. Facebook Groups: All you Need to Know

Facebook Groups had a face-lift – with group chats and docs sharing available. But will that be enough to replace facebook lists? Or the old groups? You’ll be the judge of that:

Facebook Pages:

7. 8 Success Criteria for Facebook Page Marketing

I shared this on my fan page once and think it worth another mention here. Stumble-worthy!

8. The 10 Point Checklist for Your facebook Page

Great checklist covered by Amy Porterfield for a well presented facebook page – make a few adjustments and strengthen your page presence today. (appreciate the feature at 09:44)

9. 16 Facebook Pages that Will Help you Make a Facebook Page

Kim compiled a great list of resources (fan pages) for  you to check out. I’m a regular visitor on most of them. Do you have any good page suggestions to add? Feel free to do so in the comments.

Others:

10. Why Mobile Social Media Matters – Stats, Trends, Technologies

Bringing you the insights how mobile social media can change our world, especially via geo-tagging and ease of sharing.

Now Is Your Turn…

So can I count on you to not bail on me (and my blog) just yet? I’ll be seeing you again in a week’s time, revived hopefully. Until then, be sure to take good care and most importantly, DO NOT over-work! For those who are joining Blog Expo, have a safe and enjoyable trip/meetup (wish I could be there too)!

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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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Since the new page upgrade, there is a good chance you can better separate your profile from facebook pages, kindly refer to #4 in this post ‘7+ Major Tips in Enhancing Your Upgraded Facebook Page’.

Last week we had covered a major subject about Facebook privacy settings and how each customization can protect your personal profile from Facebook page (How to Separate Facebook Personal Profile from Business Page – pt.1). Today we will be exploring further in terms of profile and page management, along with several practical ways you should know in avoiding clashes between the two facebook platforms:

Part 2:

11 Things You Should Know about Profile and Facebook Page Management

#1  Separate your Business and Personal Contacts with Facebook Lists

A MUST if you have mixed both business and personal contacts in your ‘Friends’ list. Not just for the sake of following up easily in News Feed, but to better control over what to be shared to specific group of people when updating your Wall (will explain later). Follow the steps in decluttering your news feed via Facebook Lists to group your contacts based on requirements.

#2  Control Posting Visibility WITHIN the Profile via Share-ability

Facebook List enables you to hide sensitive information, friends and even real time Wall posts from appearing on some people’s news feeds. Use the Privacy setting in the Publisher as shown below, select whom to block from the info or limiting the update to specific group of people only. For instance, if you about to post a personal update to real life friends, select ‘Customize’ prior sending out the update:

i) Customize your privacy settings to allow only ‘Buddies’ to view it (list name consisting of all your best pals who are invited to the barbeque) OR,

ii) Block list containing your business contacts only:

#3  Tighten Up Privacy Option for ‘Friends of Friends’

The reason I am emphasizing on ‘friends of friends’ is because your business contacts may reach out to your friends for friendship. No way we can prevent that so if you have set ‘friend of friends’ for certain profile information, try to restrict its visibility further via:

i) Custom Privacy: If the person is in your ‘Friend’ list.

ii) Block: If the person is not in your ‘Friend’ list:

Or if you can’t find the user via ‘Name’, just block from his/her profile instead:

#4  Hide Wall Tab from Business Contacts Completely

Another alternative to separate business contacts from personal is by hiding Wall tab from them via ‘Things I Share –> Posts by me’. By doing so, you are only allowing close friends/family members to access your Wall tab, whereas business contacts will be blocked from viewing your account activities and real time updates completely. That way you can still message to business contacts, showcasing them other necessary tabs on your profile without disclosing Wall posts at all!

#5  Page Admin Can Only Represent Him/Herself Outside Business Page

Whenever a page admin tries to comment or post on other facebook accounts, all responses will be seen as coming from the admin’s personal profile that connects with the business page. If your business page has no profile, you won’t be able to comment or join any page at all. Therefore, if you are planning for external networking to boost fan page visibility, a personal profile is needed.

#6  Network with other Fans or Pages via Status Tagging

Status Tagging can be, by far, the only possible way to showcase your business page without giving out your personal identity. But in order to tag, page admin will need to ‘like’ another page with his/her personal profile beforehand (you can hide Liked Pages from Info tab). Even if your profile thumbnail may show in ‘People Who Like’ list, page admins won’t have access to your full profile thanks to the Facebook privacy settings we talked about earlier. Also, make full use of your page’s ‘Custom’ setting whenever necessary:

#7  Assign a Sub Admin for Event Invitations

Another feature that we crave for in a facebook page – able to send personalized invitation to fans for page events. Unfortunately, private invitations can only be done through a personal profile. If you are not comfortable to expose your profile link, temporarily promote a trusted PR or collaborator for this task. Since all email invitations will be going through him/her, be sure to select someone who’s trustworthy for the job.

Extra Tips:

• Share – use the ‘custom privacy’ settings to target business contacts in your ‘Friend’ list.
• Public Event – an event created from a fan page is ‘Public’ by default so by sharing the link elsewhere, anyone can join. (Only events created by personal profile can be made secret)
• Update Fans – like any other updates, it will be kept in the ‘Message -> Update’ folder. Remind your fans to check for it.

#8  Inter-Posting between Personal Profile and Facebook Pages with Social Aggregator

The ease to control what and when to post updates without messing up both business page and personal profile is via social aggregators such as Tweetdeck, Hootsuite, MarketMeSuite or Ping.fm. Instead of inter-switching between browsers, you can have the status delivered in matter of clicks, or even scheduled.

#9  Ability to ‘Share’ as your Page Profile

‘Share’ is another key influential option for personal profiles. The only workaround for a fan page to ‘Share’ something is to re-post the item on your page Wall and give credit via status-tagging.

When sharing, it’s suggested to do it manually so:

• Can personalize the status
• Post excerpt available with image thumbnail preview (if a link involves)
• To make sure status tagging with @mention works

#10  Mobile Users: Update to Business Page and Personal Profile with Different Emails

For mobile users, a unique email will be given to each profile and business page RESPECTIVELY for updating/media file uploading purposes. Set the email correctly so not to mistakenly post to either one of the platforms. Profile will have its own email ID, while page another.

Facebook Page: Edit Page -> Mobile:

Personal Profile: go to this link http://www.facebook.com/mobile -> look for ‘Upload via Email’:

And last but not least,

#11  Knowing that ‘Privacy Setting’ is not Invincible

Not to be a party pooper but it’s important to be self prepared. Do not post what you don’t want others to find out. Moderate your messages, photos, videos and status updates so that even if there may be security loopholes you’ve got nothing to hide or worry about.

What Do You Think?

Some tedious work isn’t it? As I explained earlier, the idea of this post is not to offer you the ‘best’ method but suggestions that one may find helpful in managing his/her facebook account. Facebook will continue to evolve. No matter how far we go, always remember we are responsible for our online presence and branding. If you do not bother about it, nobody else will.

Did I miss out anything? Share your ideas in the comments. If you missed out part 1 of the story, check it out here.

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The new facebook upgrade has given page admin better opportunity in securing their profile from facebook pages. Please refer to #4 in this post ‘7+ Major Tips in Enhancing Your Upgraded Facebook Page’.

So now, if you have associated your personal profile with a Facebook page, don’t mind using both platforms to boost your business brand and visibility, Facebook is doing you a huge favor with its revolution. But what if we are to separate private network circle from business profile? Is that even possible?

We can modify our privacy level and adhere to several precautions, but there is no 100% satisfactory when it comes to separating the two. A few clients have approached me with this issue, therefore I decided to divide this subject into two sections. This week we will emphasize on privacy settings while the next, discuss the important measures to be taken while handling both apps.

Part 1: How to Protect Personal Profile from Facebook Page

The only way you get to separate a fan page from any personal profile is to create a business account.:

Advise for New Users –

To create a business account:

• NEVER sign up a new profile or click ‘create a profile’ while in the fan page
• NEVER create more than ONE account on Facebook. If you already have a personal profile, DO NOT create a business account or you may violate facebook terms of use.

Updated-1 (11/09/10): It seems like to create a business account without associating to a personal profile is no longer possible. Following a discussion we had at our fan page which confirmed by this post later on, a business page will be needing a personal profile for administration purposes.

Updated-2 (29/09/10): Business account is back again (tested on 28/09/10), the option that requires us to ‘log in’ has been removed, replaced by its previous business acc registration form.

Advise for Existing Users –

If you have connected both sides, be informed there is no way to separate a fan page from a personal profile with a different login. Here are some ideas on what you can do to tighten your profile visibility and manage contacts accordingly:

Limit Profile Visibility

#1  Hide Profile from Facebook Search

The highest level of security is to hide your profile completely from Facebook Search, shield off all possibilities for business contacts to find you via Friend Finder:

Go to Account > Privacy Settings > Basic Directory Information (View Settings) > Customize ‘search for me on Facebook’.

#2  Select a Unique Username or None at all for your Profile’s Vanity URL

So you cannot be found on Facebook Search, your business contacts may still able to locate you via Username – ‘http://facebook.com/yourname’ just may give you out. Do not set one for the profile or modify it if necessary. You only have one chance to edit the profile username before the option will be hidden from you so use it cautiously:

Go to Account -> Account Settings -> Username -> Change to other username

Limit Profile Info-Sharing

#3  Protect Profile Information from Public Viewing

There are several information you can hide from strangers. Modify them properly as instructed by going through your Account -> Privacy Settings -> Basic Directory Information > View settings:

a. Hide your Friend List

If you are to protect private contacts such as close friends or family members, customize your Friend List to ‘Me Only’ or ‘Friends Only’. Be alerted that your business contacts may still reach out to your real life friends so advisable to tighten the option as suggested.

b. Hide Your Education/Work; Hometown

Unless you are using personal profile to enhance your fan page networking with other facebook contacts, otherwise better to protect the info or not fill up your Info tab unless really necessary.

c. Hide Your Interests & Other Pages Joined

If you have liked a page, most likely you will be displayed as a fan on the page via random thumbnail display. You can delete or unlike the fan pages anytime via:

Info Tab -> Edit (Likes and Interests) -> Remove.

If you insist on following these pages, hide them from you Info tab.

Sharing on Facebook:

d. Hide your Contact Information

Go to Account -> Privacy Settings -> Sharing on Facebook -> Customize Settings-> Contact Information, set the visibility to ‘Friends’ or ‘Me Only’.

Note: If you have set a vanity URL for your username, it will appear in Contact Information and there is no setting to hide it.

e. Hide your Birthday and other Personal Information

Check through the settings:

Go to Account -> Privacy Settings -> Sharing on Facebook -> Customize Settings-> Things I Share

And Info Tab -> Edit

#4  Limit Contact Ability to Your Profile

Below options require you to be selective in whom you are friend-ing on your profile.

a. Send Friend Requests

The highest level of security is ‘Friends of Friends’. It is an option set so to encourage friends to find one another. Strangers will not see the ‘Friend Request’ button until they become friends of your friends first.

b. Send Messages

The highest level of security is ‘Friends Only’. Strangers won’t be able to contact you individually.

#5  Limit the ability to be tagged or shared by friends

You cannot control what your friend is sharing, but you can certainly avoid been tagged by going through the below settings. This will prevent your profile link been exposed to public while making sure no outrageous videos or images attached to your profile:

Go to Account -> Privacy Settings -> Sharing on Facebook -> Customize Settings -> Things Others Share

Your friend my still able to use status-tagging on you, at least you can remove the tag as soon as you found it on the wall:

#6  Check and Remove Unnecessary Facebook Applications

Make it a regular habit to check on your Facebook Applications. Remove the game apps by clicking ‘x’ to avoid intrusion or hacking. Be skeptical in all games and quizzes sending your way. Ignore or block the apps for good so they won’t appear on you Wall posts. Go through each section as most of them are opt-in by default:

Go to Privacy Settings -> Applications and Websites -> Edit Your Settings

a. Game & Application Activity

To prevent your recent activity been shown on the app’s dashboard, customize the visibility to ‘Only Me’.

b. Info accessible through your friends

You can set which information you allow to be shared by applications/games/websites when your friends use them. For the info you preset as ‘Everyone’ in the Privacy Setting, the app can automatically obtain the info unless you remove or turn off the platform applications.

c. Instant Personalization

Untick the checkbox if you do not want to be included in the relevant information shown to your friends when they land on Facebook partner websites and vice versa. If you still wonder why we make such a big deal out of this, read this article ‘Facebook’s Instant Personalization Is the Real Privacy Hairball’.  

d. Public Search

This involves Public Search where things you have approved to be shared with ‘Everyone’ can show up on and off Facebook, this including showing a preview of your profile as search results (see below). Do not conflict this option with the ‘Facebook Search’ in Basic Directory Information, synchronize them both.

Updated:

#7 Avoid Tagging and Exposing your ‘Places’

Facebook has announced a new geotagging feature called ‘Places’. By allowing integrations with other location-based services such as Foursquare, Gowalla etc, it enables facebook friends to tag and check in for each other. It may be a good feature to discover interesting places and claiming business premises, even so you should know there are several privacy settings that could protect you from unwanted exposures.

Go to Account -> Privacy Settings -> Sharing on Facebook -> Customize Settings -> Things I Share, and look for below settings:

• Limit visibility of Places you checked in;
• Prevent your profile from showing up with other checked in users;

Go to Account -> Privacy Settings -> Sharing on Facebook -> Customize Settings -> Things Others Share

• Disallow friends to check you in without consent.

Suggested Read: A Field Guide to Using Facebook Places

Quite a lengthy procedure in protecting a personal profile right? Precautions can save you from major headaches. Watch out for the next post in which we will be discussing part 2 of separating business pages from personal profile – 11 Things You Should Know when managing them both.

Other Suggested Read : 7 Facebook Changes You Must Know in New Profile (about profile-tagging in Employers and other privacy/application settings for added features)

Now Is Your Turn…

What is the Major issue you faced when managing a facebook page connecting to a personal profile?

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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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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?

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

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

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

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

 

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 pages – Facebook Pages you’re an admin of.

b. Fan Pages – Pages you followed.

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

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

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

 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

 

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? ^^

Request: “Hope you can write about FB applications to promote blog in future ! Thanks !”

Do you own a Facebook and a blog? If so, think you’re going to enjoy this week’s discussion. Thanks to S.Pradeep Kumar for bringing up the question during his visit at 16 Social Bookmarking Plugins to Promote Your Post. I’ve started a little journey digging through Facebook in past weeks, hoping to find some relevant ideas on how to promote your blog using Facebook applications. Before we’re getting into any of those, make sure you fill up as much information on your Facebook Profile as possible — digital name card for first timers:

13 Facebook Applications To Promote Your Blog

There are ways to frequent your blog’s visibility within Facebook network. Do bear in mind you don’t have to use ALL of them or keep your Wall busy with all the blog updates – especially if you are a productive daily-blog-poster. It may get a little annoyed and your friends may secretly switch off your news feed reminder so be smart on picking the ones that suit your network.

Basic Features:

1. Links & Updates

- Share your blog / post link with your friends to have them feedback or comment on it. Or easier, announce an update to have them all aware of the blog launch. Just a snap!

2. Notes

- Copy and paste your individual blog articles or import the entire blog feed into Notes so your friends can read them, either through link sharing or by tagging them. They can spread the notes on your behalf or comment on it as well. The notes can be viewed in Full or Compact (shown in pic) mode.

Blog/Posts Exposures via Additional Applications:

3. Facebook Pages

- Facebook Fan Pages can be a good idea for blog promoting when:

a. You plan to keep your personal Facebook account separated from your blogging community.

b. You can have discussion board, customized applications while sending email updates to ALL fans, as I like to call them supporters instead.

I have just setup my blog’s Facebook Page. Hope to see you guys there!

Social @ Blogging Tracker

Suggested Read: you may be interested in 16 Facebook Applications to Boost Popularity of Facebook Fan Page

.

4. Networked Blogs

- The most-used application to promote your blog on Facebook with the ability to network with other blogs easily through ‘follow’ option. Followers can post comment, rate the blog and enjoy meeting other followers. Not to mention it equips the ability to autopost from multiple blogs to your Facebook Page too! I had my Social @ Blogging Tracker all fixed up in NetworkedBlogs. It’ll be a privilege to see you there!

You can have your networked blogs visible at the sidebar, underneath your Facebook Profile or on your Facebook Pages. Displaying yours and other blogs you’ve joined or liked, served as an active blogroll apart from blog promotion.

5. Social RSS

- Provide RSS feed subscription for your blog through Facebook. Make your Social RSS visible by setting it appeared as box tab or at the sidebar. Tag the RSS with a familiar name like ‘blog’ so others will notice. Configure and fill up the required fields before activate it. The feeds will update automatically in accordance to your latest post.

6. Simplaris Blogcast

- Display your latest or chosen posts with or without graphic on your Facebook Profile (box tab or sidebar) or on Facebook Page. Normally latest posts will be displayed on your Facebook Wall as well if you preset it. Visibility is what Simplaris Blogcast do best, however the updating is quite slow sometimes and require manually setup (free version).

Indirect Methods:

7. Blog

- How about a little indirect method to promote your main site via ‘Blog’ on Facebook? This application allows you to blog directly on Facebook – by unmark the ‘private’ option you can make the post public in ‘Explore’ section to whoever is using the application. Extra audiences, why not? An idea I picked up from those who are using Tumblr and Posterous to promote their main blog.

8. Blog Box

- The efficiency of writing a post on Blog Box (similar to no.7: Blog) or import from your existing blog. If for the latter, it will update every 6 hours checking for new post on your main site. Unless you prefer to spend some dime on Pro version that may save time on the updating, for me that’s unnecessary. Blog Box is said to be visible outside Facebook too, so people can add your blog to Google Reader freely.

9. Blog It

- Ability to inter-posting between your social media sites and Facebook. Choices ranging from microblogging to various types of blogging platforms. I’m more into using it for microblogging instead of blog posts but that’s just the matter of preferences. Some similarities shown as Mirror Blog application.

10. Tumblelog

- The ability to display content from your Tumblr blog on your Facebook profile. If you own a Tumblr blog this application is worth a shot.

Extra Facebook Features:

11. Create Facebook Groups

- Create a group that you’re passionate about and have like-minded people to join in. Have on-going and active discussions, connect with members often. You may even find some new members interested in your writings too.

12. Facebook Ads

- If you’re willing to pay for publicity, another idea is via Facebook Ads. You can create a campaign to drive in traffic to your website or your well-known Facebook Page and more. The idea of reaching out to targeted readers varied by age, location, interests is what Facebook Ads do best.

13. Social Media Integration

- Ever since Facebook has decided to open up and willing to integrate with other social media and microblogging sites, sharing a blog post or promotion has never been easier. Through a well-written post you can gain massive exposure on Facebook when blog readers submit your post to:  Digg, Stumbleupon, Delicious, Twitter and have it shown on their Facebook Wall ! As you’ve noticed I’ve tried a few on my Facebook, along with LinkedIn account info and Twitter updates:

a. Social Twitter

b. LinkedIn

Now It’s Your Turn…

If you have any experience gaining popularity to your blog using Facebook applications, feel free to share in the comment section. If it’s relevant I’ll be including it in the post and credit you a mention.

If you like this post, kindly share it with your networks: