WebRev Blog

At long last!  Businesses and public figures who have accumulated more than the 5,000 friend-limit (or those who see that eventually becoming an issue) can convert that profile to a page.  The other main advantage of pages is that people can become "fans" without the owner of the page having to "friend" them back (which is a very time-consuming task for profiles with thousands of followers).

This can be done by going to the handy-dandy profile-page migration tool on Facebook.  There's more great information at Inside Facebook.

HOWEVER...

There are some things to be aware of before you do this.  First, this decision is irreversible, so you don't want to do this just to "try it out," to "see what happens."  The Facebook help center has more information on that and other important questions.

Mashable's Christina Warren tried this on Thursday, and says it was unintentional Facebook suicide.  She lost all of her prior posts, photos, comments and likes as well as the username everyone knows her by. 

Until Facebook gets more of the kinks worked out, I would say this is a good option to consider for those who have been maintaining parallel profiles and pages, and no longer want to do both.  But everyone else might want to wait for awhile before making the change. 

Jennifer Pointer (e-mail) is in Tulsa, OK. She promotes a simple, a low-tech approach to effective online profile management, search engine optimization and social networking. 
 

Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, has taken a page from Austin Powers, and tried to appear more personable by having photos taken of himself with his pet.

I personally think putting photos of your kids or current pets online is a bad idea - especially if you are a public or controversial figure. All you're doing is giving predators, adversaries, and stalkers ammunition to use to make your life miserable.  Double that if you've ever used that kid's or that pet's name as a password for ANYTHING, much less the site that you just posted the photo on.  I have posted photos of my former pets online from time to time, but not while they were alive.

But Zuckerberg has taken the whole showing off your pets thing to a whole new dimension, but giving his its own Facebook page.  The above screenshot was captured at 8pm on Monday night, and the page already had over 14K fans, proving that we've all lost our minds.  I remember the days when Facebook was only for college students.  Then, I remember the days when you had to be using your real name.  Now, you apparently don't even have to be human. 

For more info, visit Beast, the Dog.

Jennifer Pointer is in Tulsa, OK. She promotes a simple, a low-tech approach to effective online profile management, search engine optimization and social networking. 
 

Facebook finally started rolling out the long-awaited new page format. I've tried it out on three of my clients' pages, and I must say I really like the change.  Here are a few reasons:

1) The new pages look, feel, and function like a profile.  Before now, people who are a whole lot more popular than I am have been developing profile pages, and adding friends like crazy.  Then, when they get close the maximum number of friends allowed  per profile (5,000), they start a "fan page," and start all over - trying to get eveyone to switch to their fan page (which most people never do).  Then, the page has never functioned the same way a profile did, so the users had to maintain both, and it has been a big hassle.  No more - Facebook just fixed that.  Users can post to their own or other pages either as themselves, or as the admin of their page interchangeably (toggling back and forth from their page) without having to sign on and off.   Very cool.  I'm sure most of the more well-known users will now keep their profiles private, for their friends and family, and their pages for their fans.

2)  The new pages have their own feed.  This has been a much needed feature for a long time.  Now fans can add their favorite Facebook pages to their newsreaders.  How cool is that?

3) The new pages have the ability to "feature" up to five favorite pages and page owners.  This give much more flexibility for shared pages, and and more networking opportunities with peers. 

As you all know, I do not hesitate to criticize Facebook when I don't like what their doing over there, but this is one time I'm very excited about something they have done. 

Mashable has more on the redesign.

Jennifer Pointer (e-mail) is in Tulsa, OK. She promotes a simple, a low-tech approach to effective online profile management, search engine optimization and social networking. 
 

This week, we're pointing out website features that are used in a way that enhances both the aesthetics and usefulness of websites.  To do this, I explored the WebRevelation Portfolio, for inspiration.  Yesterday, we talked about choosing a website theme.  Today, let's address the flash page.

Let me start by saying that I'm generally not a fan of the flash page.  The flash page is that first page you come to on some websites when you type the sites main URL into your browser.  It's often an annoying graphic or video that seems to be there for no other reason than to fill space.  However, these flash pages can be entertaining, and for entertainment websites, they can be useful, if done properly.  The can also be used as a menu to simplify the site design.  Here are some examples I found.

City Brick Walk is a site focusing on an a multi-club complex in Oklahoma City's "Brick Town" district.  Since the theme is entertainment, it makes sense for the flash page to be fun and entertaining, and this one is.  It also effectively provides a menu to each of the clubs.

Park Avenue Grill has effectively used their flash page as a menu, and as a way to instantly familiarize new visitors with the ambiance of their restaurant.  Jazzy music, with photos of the chic, elegant decor of the restaurant instantly let readers know whether or not this is the type of restaurant they are looking for.

The Reef Shop is my favorite in the flash page category.  The audio is a simulated underwater sonar, and the flash page graphics are a convenient menu, with an aquarium theme.  Very pretty, and practical.  Well, done.

Jennifer Pointer (e-mail) is a trainer and tech writer in Tulsa, OK. She promotes a simple, a low-tech approach to effective online profile management, search engine optimization and social networking. Her weakness is the mocha frappuccino.

This week, we've been discussing Setting up a Facebook Page. Let's end the week by looking at some great examples of fun, cool, and successful Facebook pages.

Coca-Cola: This page has made great use of the HTML/FBML application, which allows page admins to add code to their pages.  These Coca-Cola fans have created their own application, and added that as a tab, and several other special-interest tabs related to the social activities of the Coca-Cola company.

 

Zappos: This online shopping site has done an excellent job of integrating with YouTube, and has added the ability to purchase a gift certificate right on the fan page.  Be careful with this one - you might get hooked on watching the videos! 

 

Starbucks: Starbucks has also developed a couple of very cool apps, and used the HTML/FBML to help potential fans find a coffee that fits their personalities, and find other Starbucks fans around the world.  A lot of talent went into this one.

 

Red Bull: Fans of this energy drink are treated on this page to a great use of video (Web TV), a list of atheletes on Twitter (useful for celebrity-watchers), a slew of online games, and downloads.  Glorious time-waster.

 

Krispy Kreme: This website does use the HTML/FBML on a couple of the tabs...to share recipies and their current promotion.  Most of their wall status updates, however, are questions to the fans, and the fans LOVE to answer questions (like, "What are you doing this weekend?")  This page has nearly 1.5 million fans - technology, or just awesome doughnuts? You be the judge. 

 

Notice that each page has been creative in choosing which "tab" the page opens on by default.  This is done by adjusting the "settings," of the page.  Page admins can choose any tab as the default.  If you've put a lot of work into an __ for your page, it might make sense to direct your visitors to that page, initially.  

Also see:

• Mashable: 5 Elements of a Successful Facebook Fan Page
• All Facebook: How to Develop a Facebook Page that Attracts Millions of Fans
• Slideshare: Top 50 Facebook Pages 2009
• WebRevelation: Why Facebook (See the list of celebrity fan pages).

Jennifer Pointer (e-mail) is a trainer and tech writer in Tulsa, OK. She promotes a simple, a low-tech approach to effective online profile management, search engine optimization and social networking. Her weakness is the mocha frappuccino.

This week, we've been discussing Setting up a Facebook Page. Today, lets talk about how to promote and track your page once you have it up and running.

Free Promotion*

 

Word-of-mouth (or keyboard) is a great form of promotion all over the web, including on Facebook pages.  Link to your page from your own profile, from your website or blog, and from your other social networks.  Invite your friends to your page, and encourage them to invite their friends.  Hold "events," for networking, and promotion.  All of this is free, and costs nothing but your time.

 

Paid Promotion

 

Facebook ads are purchased on a bid basis.  You can set a maximum bid per click and per day, and can target your demographics by location, age, sex, keywords, education, workplace, relationship status and interests, and by language. They can also be scheduled to run during certain dates.

 

Tracking with Insights

 

 
Click on the "Insights" box on your page in the left sidebar (visible only to page administrators) to track page traffic, and what percentage of your page's fans clicked on the items on your page.  It also tracks the demographics of your fans.  Note, the stats are run on a seven-day basis, so your stats will be a little sparse for the first seven days your page is active.  You will also be e-mailed updates about the statistics of your page.  If you are running a paid advertisement, you will also be able to track the success of that ad, directly through the ad site.

 

*Be sure to check out Facebook's official guidelines on what you may and may not do to promote your Facebook page.

Tomorrow, for "Friday Fun," we'll talk about some of the more fun and interesting pages on Facebook.

Also see:

• 13 Ways to Promote your Facebook Page by Rob Maguire
• 5 Ways to Promote your Facebook Fan Page - Social Media Examiner
• Facebook Marketing 101 by Ron Jones on Search Engine Watch

Jennifer Pointer (e-mail) is a trainer and tech writer in Tulsa, OK. She promotes a simple, a low-tech approach to effective online profile management, search engine optimization and social networking. Her weakness is the mocha frappuccino.