What is Facebook?
Facebook is a social-networking site, a social media tool that has a great variety of options, settings, and applications that every web designer should learn and remain current so that they can customize a Facebook Page for their clients in a way that will grow their business. Facebook is more than a personal communication center; it’s also a way for fans to follow their favorite businesses and other marketable icons when used properly. Web designers need to know about Facebook because there are over 500 million active users who interact with as many people as they wish and are able to write posts everywhere, “like blog comments on steroids;” 3 Reasons Facebook Trumps Twitter for Business.I think the wave of the future is for every business to have a Facebook Page to supplement their business website and other social media tools.
Facebook - A History:
Facebook was founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg while he was an undergraduate at Harvard University as a way for college students to socialize online. Within months the allowable users were extended to other universities and then to high schools; Facebook – The Complete Biography. Then on September 26, 2006, anyone could register as long as they had a valid email address; Kellie Parker. In July, 2009, the big news was that the number of students on Facebook dropped while the number of parents rose as shown in the pie chart from 10 Key SEO Strategies Every Facebook Page Owner Should Know.
Caroline McCarthy, a CNET News staff writer, describes a brief history of the mistakes and recoveries of Facebook. 2006 was when Facebook initiated the News Feed, which releases comments and “Like Button” submissions to everyone on the friends list. The default was for everyone to get the personal information on the profiles. After a backlash, privacy controls were added to manage who sees what information. Based on Facebook’s history, I think that there have been so many changes in these past few years that a web designer would be negligent to ignore the most recent modifications and concerns, whether they are negative such as the attack on privacy or whether they are positive like the constant development of new applications. By the way, there is a movie out now about the life of Mark Zuckerberg and the development of Facebook called The Social Network.
Facebook Rules:
The first thing everyone should do is learn the rules; for instance, you can only have one account. If you already have a personal account, you cannot create a business account. If you convert a business account into a personal account, you cannot revert back to a business account. A business account cannot view the profiles of users; it cannot send or receive friend requests; and it cannot be found in a search. All of these things are available on a personal account and you can manage who sees what on various Pages and Social Ads that you create; Facebook Help Center.Facebook Pages:
A Facebook Page is the arena for businesses. You can only have one account with a maximum of 5,000 friends; but you can have an unlimited number of Facebook Pages with an unlimited number of fans. As the administrator of your account, you would want to separate your friends into lists each with their own privacy settings to allow or disallow particular kinds of content such as personal information. “You can have up to 100 lists, with up to 1,000 friends in each list” and “you can also add Facebook Pages to Friend Lists,” which is useful for reading News Feeds; Facebook 101 Business Guide. Realize that News Feeds are updated constantly every time someone in the list posts a comment or presses a Like Button so you would only want to see the relevant information on each Page by adjusting the settings.Facebook Groups:
It’s still okay to search for Facebook Groups to find niches of people with common interests; but for businesses, they are clearly outdated because they do not support the newest features that make Facebook Pages so appealing, such as Facebook Apps and most importantly the Static FBML App (Facebook Markup Language); How to Use Facebook for Business and Marketing. Every designer needs to know FBML which is similar to HTML. I will discuss its value throughout this report.
Facebook versus a Website?
A Facebook Page may look like a website if you know how to use all of the application tools but it should never be considered a replacement; “it should be considered a subset of your overall online marketing efforts;” How to Use Facebook for Business and Marketing. You as a designer can use the Static FBML App to create tabs that link back to the website. Since spamming can get a Facebook account revoked, you don’t want to force sales efforts onto the friends in other lists. Instead, ask customers to follow the business on Facebook and the word will spread via News Feeds.
Every action that a fan makes on a Page will be announced on their News Feed which is visible to all of their friends. A News Feed is the center column of the home page and it updates constantly with Top News or Most Recent news depending on the settings. The Facebook Help Center is a great source to learn more about News Feeds and how to change the settings to show or reveal the incoming or outgoing information as you wish. It is possible to block having to see the comments of people you’re not interested in viewing.
Another good thing to do with the Static FBML App is to make use of the available vertical space on a Facebook Page because it will remain visible through scrolling and tab changes. It can be used as a side navigation, logo placement, and/or a vertical ad; 5 Essential Apps for Your Business’s Facebook Fan Page.
The Wildfire App can also be used by designers as a way to set up an easy access for running contests and promotions that engage readers to interact even more with the website. You just need to learn which apps are free and which ones you have to pay for. For instance, the content for Promotions via the WildFire App lives on the developer’s website and its use is subject to small fees – even though the account at wildfireapp.com is free; 5 Essential Apps for Your Business’s Facebook Fan Page.
Facebook Identity:
A web designer should think carefully when helping a client develop their identity on a Facebook Page because the Facebook username will become the business vanity URL and it can NEVER be changed. Facebook requires that a Page have a minimum of 100 fans before it becomes eligible to select a username so there is time to think. One rule to keep in mind is that generic names are forbidden, so choose the actual name of a person or business with or without the addition of a generic keyword; 10 Key SEO Strategies Every Facebook Page Owner Should Know.Another aspect of identity that all Facebook users should consider is their Avatar, the image of self that brands your identity everywhere you post a comment. You can advise your clients that somewhere along the line, you may be presenting yourself to people of importance like potential employers or customers; so the best option is to use a nice photograph of yourself that will engender a feeling of trust; 6 Tips for Better Branding Using Avatars.
For a business, a designer needs to consider the Facebook identity of the Landing Page. The Static FBML App can be used to create a tab with a great graphic design that leads the first time visitor to click on the Like Button in order to become a fan that can then receive News Feeds and spread the word to their friends. This image from Red Bull is a great example; Top 10 Facebook Pages. It should be noted that since applications can only be used in Pages, this design that mimics a webpage is not available in Groups or personal profiles; How to Customize Your Facebook Page Using Static FBML.
More Facebook Applications:
Several other Facebook applications that should be studied include Social RSS, the Poll app, YouTube for Pages, the Like Box, Facebook Ads and games. With Social RSS, you can eliminate the process of republishing information manually. Updates pulled in through an RSS of your client’s favorite Facebook Pages can be updated automatically. It is recommended that a separate tab be relegated for this so that the readers can choose to view them or not.The Poll app is simple, easy to use, and is managed in the settings panel. “A poll can be a casual way to get a read from your fans about a new product, a new page design, or your business in general;” 5 Essential Apps for Your Business’s Facebook Fan Page.
It’s also recommended that a business dedicate a Page tab to the business YouTube channel. Videos can be displayed as most recent or as favorites. Since the videos play directly on Facebook, fans never have to leave the business Page. Mari Smith with Social Media Examiner says “You could do a video tip per day or per week. Make sure to keep the length short and the content concise. The ideal length for videos is up to 1 minute and 40 seconds;” How to Better Engage Facebook Fan Page ‘Fans’.”
The Like Box goes well with the Like Button because it shows the pictures or avatars of the people that are known to the viewer and this can be a further enticement for them to “like” the Page and become a fan; 3 Reasons Facebook Trumps Twitter for Business.
In June 2010, “Facebook revealed that businesses who advertise their Facebook presence off the social networking site get at least 20% more fans;” 15 Facebook for Business Tips. This is where the business vanity URL comes in handy to put on business cards, the Twitter account, and the business website. In turn, Facebook Ads can be used to drive the fans back to the website for more information.
According to the source listed above, Facebook Ads “send more traffic to their website than Google ads, and they’re cheaper.” I recommend reading about the rules and suggestions about Facebook Ads on the Facebook Help Center page.
GAMES. Need I say more? People love games and will happily “like” a business that invites them to play games, and designers are always needed to develop new games and new ways to play old games.
Example of a Facebook Business:
Peter Fletcher shares a story in his article How to share property listings on Facebook about a realtor friend who uses Facebook to share property listings. The realtor has a personal profile that he keeps separate from his business and then he has a business Page where he lists properties. The properties are linked to his website where more information can be found. He “asks the seller to click the Share button for their property on the Page and post the property listing to their personal profile.” Then the listing goes to all of the seller’s friends with the realtor’s Page name on it and in effect giving their endorsement. The property ad goes viral and everyone wins.Example of a Facebook App Developer:
BYT Social is a web and Facebook application development company from India and they give outstanding descriptions of what a web designer should know and do for business clients. They are an example of how fast Facebook Apps can be developed and tailored to fit individual business needs and how fast things change. This company developed a memory game called Basics Matchup Challenge for a client that offers prizes to winners. The development company says that “it’s one of the best ways to promote brand awareness, and increase users’ familiarity with your logos, models, graphics and brand.”
The Video Guide to Facebook Places for Businesses:
Here is my favorite video for this blog segment. Mari Smith is a regular contributor for socialmediaexaminer.com and offers a whole series of video tutorials on how to use Facebook and other kinds of social media tools. This video touches on the game Foursquare and talks about the Facebook equivalent Facebook Places. Both of these are location-based services that “are great for brick-and-mortar businesses because they can use these services to encourage people to come into theirlocation;” The Video Guide to Facebook Places for Businesses.
Resources in the Order of Appearance:
1. 3 Reasons Facebook Trumps Twitter for Business:
http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/3-reasons-facebook-trumps-twitter-for-business/
2. Facebook – The Complete Biography:
http://mashable.com/2006/08/25/facebook-profile/
3. Kellie Parker:
http://blogs.pcworld.com/staffblog/archives/002842.html
4. 10 Key SEO Strategies Every Facebook Page Owner Should Know:
http://www.insidefacebook.com/2009/07/13/seo-facebook-pages-10-key-strategies/
5. Caroline McCarthy:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13577_3-20004853-36.html
6. Facebook Help Center:
http://www.facebook.com/help/?page=721
7. Facebook 101 Business Guide:
http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/facebook-101-business-guide/
8. How to Use Facebook for Business and Marketing:
http://www.techipedia.com/2010/how-to-use-facebook-for-business-and-marketing/
9. How to Use Facebook for Business and Marketing:
http://www.techipedia.com/2010/how-to-use-facebook-for-business-and-marketing/
10. 20 Essential Facebook Apps For Creating Successful Business Fanpage
http://savedelete.com/20-essential-facebook-apps-for-creating-successful-business-fanpage.html
11. 5 Essential Apps for Your Business’s Facebook Fan Page:
http://mashable.com/2010/03/28/facebook-business-apps/
12. wildfireapp.com:
http://www.wildfireapp.com/
13. 5 Essential Apps for Your Business’s Facebook Fan Page:
http://mashable.com/2010/03/28/facebook-business-apps/
14. 10 Key SEO Strategies Every Facebook Page Owner Should Know:
http://www.insidefacebook.com/2009/07/13/seo-facebook-pages-10-key-strategies/
15. 6 Tips for Better Branding Using Avatars:
http://gigaom.com/collaboration/6-tips-for-better-branding-using-avatars/
16. Top 10 Facebook Pages:
http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/top-10-facebook-pages/
17. How to Customize Your Facebook Page Using Static FBML:
http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/how-to-customize-your-facebook-page-using-static-fbml/
18. 5 Essential Apps for Your Business’s Facebook Fan Page:
http://mashable.com/2010/03/28/facebook-business-apps/
19. How to Better Engage Facebook Fan Page ‘Fans’:
http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/how-to-better-engage-facebook-fan-page-fans/
20. 3 Reasons Facebook Trumps Twitter for Business:
http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/3-reasons-facebook-trumps-twitter-for-business/
21. 15 Facebook for Business Tips:
http://www.mrlukeabbott.com/marketing/15-facebook-for-business-tips/
22. Facebook Help Center:
http://www.facebook.com/help/?page=856
23. How to share property listings on Facebook:
http://therealestatemarketingmaven.com/2010/04/sharing-property-listings-facebook/
24. BYT Social:
http://www.bytindia.com/index.php
25. The Video Guide to Facebook Places for Businesses:
http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/facebook-places-business-guide/
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