Showing posts with label Facebook Traffic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Facebook Traffic. Show all posts

Thursday, August 1, 2013

i Web Design by Easy Way, iWeb for Ur Mobile, iPhone, Android &Mac


Now the Web is on your digital phone. The i-Web service allows you to retrieve Internet content from your digital phone. Assuming that you're looking to construct a basic website, for yourself or your minor business, your new Mac makes it extremely simple with "iweb." It's even simpler provided that you have a .Mac record, in light of the fact that with one, you can distribute the website to the Internet with the click of a catch. Obviously, provided that you would prefer not to pay for .Mac i Web  or you recently have a site you'd get a kick out of the chance to redesign, its not exactly so evident how to distribute. In this article, you'll perceive how to fabricate your the website utilizing the iweb, and different approaches to distribute it. 


The fundamental thought with the iweb is that you begin with Apple planned patterns (which are top notch) and change them to your taste and needs. the iweb is flawless provided that you need to stay inside the handful of generally prominent the web page sorts that the patterns give you. Provided that you need a custom look and structure, you can do it, however you are not playing to the iweb's qualities and might meet some thwarted expectation with the breaking points of the system. 

One profit is that you can do everything by not knowing any HTML, yet you might as well know in light of the way Apple conceals the unpredictability of the websites inthe iweb, the destinations you make won't effectively decipher to other HTML altering programming down the line provided that you move on from the iweb. So on account of that, how about we begin… 

Building Your Site 

The iweb accompanies ilife '06 and ilife '08. Provided that you purchased your Mac at whatever time after January 2006, its very nearly a surety you have the  iweb on your machine. When you open the iweb, you'll be welcomed with a sheet asking you what "model" you might want to utilize. Pick the arrangement that is generally like how you need your site to look. Don't stress if there's something over it you don't prefer. iweb pages are just about totally customizable. 

When you have picked your pattern, you will see the web page, with some default pictures and message on it. This is the way generally Apple arrangements begin. They have a few placeholders in the outline and you are to displace the content and pictures with your own particular stuff. Only click inside the content to begin altering it. 

To change the pictures, click on the "Media" bind on the bottom toolbar. You'll discover that this media browser truly proves to be useful. You can drag any iphoto picture onto the default picture to trade it. In this design, the  iweb is pretty simple for those of you who need a great looking the website and don't worry about it being the careful pattern. At the same time for those that need their the website to be exceptional, there are bounty more alternatives. 

A standout amongst the most profitable choices in the web is the Insert menu. You can embed essentially anything. In the event that it isn't on the menu, simply click "Choose…" at the lowest part and pick any index. When picked, it will drop onto your webpage for resizing and impacts. 

Significantly more customization hails from the "Inspector" window. Down on the bottom bar with the media browser, this is the place all the propelled photograph and the webpage alternatives are. The distinctive tabs at the highest point of the Inspector window permit you to alter your content styles, picture embellishments, for example drop shadows and impressions, and to alter the program informative content for your  webpage. The "Adjust" bind permits you to alter your photograph exactly as though it were in iphoto, incorporating immersion, brilliance, and contrast. Investigate around the bottom column of catches for a tiny bit, and you'll have the iweb's energy at your fingertips. 

Getting Your Site Online 

Building the site is the simple part. Getting it online could be unreliable. In the event that you have .Mac, then it is truly simple. Only head off to the "File" menu and select "Publish to .Mac." If you don't have .Mac, its a bit harder. 

Thus, the first thing you must do is to pick where you will have your the webpage on the web. There are numerous free hosting choices, for example freewebs.com, and geocities.com. The downside to free hosting locales is that there is a restricted measure of space you need to transfer documents to, and its ordinarily low. Additionally, the website location is typically more drawn out, for the most part in the configuration of "webhost.com/youraccount" or "youraccount.webhost.com." There are approaches to get around this, however, which I will discuss later on. For a free host, I suggest Freewebs. Despite the fact that its inherent  the web page developer is bad, they offer to a great degree high index restricts for a free hosting the website. Additionally, they are promotion free. 

The following steps apply regardless of where you want to transfer your documents, be it to a free hosting site or your own particular yourname.com area. 

In the File menu, click "Publish to envelope." Follow the on screen bearings, making a point to both distribute to another or unfilled organizer and to sort in the precise address of your the website. For example, when I made my the website, I sorted in www.freewebs.com/adamfishercox since that is the page that individuals will visit to get to my homepage. 

When the iweb is carried out preparing, head off to the organizer it distributed to. You will recognize that there is an index.html record and a "Site" envelope. Inside the site organizer will be more html documents and other relating document organizers. The way the iweb pages are situated up, you should transfer the envelopes and indexes in the same request that they show up in the envelope on your PC. 

In this illustration, I will distribute to an organizer called "My Website." The "My Website" envelope relates to the fundamental envelope of my real online website. I will go online (I will utilize Freewebs) and transfer the "index.html" index from the "My Website" organizer on my machine to the principle envelope of my website. At that point I will make another envelope on my web space, called "Site," which will compare to the "Site" organizer in "My Website" organizer on my workstation. At that point I will go into the "Site" envelope and transfer all the records from my workstation's "Site" organizer, and make new envelopes all named literally the same things as the ones in the "Site" organizer on my machine. I will press on to transfer all the indexes to literally the same organizer and area on my web space as on my PC. When the greater part of the indexes are transferred, the site may as well work superbly b

Friday, July 26, 2013

WORK AT HOME OPPORTUNITIES JOBS


The point when individuals consider telecommuting, numerous envision resting in late, relaxing around in their night robe and long relaxed snacks. "In any case what individuals need to acknowledge is that in spite of the fact that telecommuting offers an incredible measure of adaptability, it is still an expert work and it ought to be treated as being what is indicated," says Holly Reisem Hanna, the originator of The Work at Home Woman, a recompense winning online journal committed to helping ladies and mothers satisfy their dreams of telecommuting or coming to be independently employed.

"People need to study best work at home polishes, such as setting available time, having a committed office space, evading home-bound preoccupations, and truly dressing as though you were heading off to an office," she says. "This will help keep your outlook sharp and centered."

I'm telecommuting today and its no simple accomplishment. I woke up, got dressed, controlled on my smart phone, and got to work—yet its once in a while troublesome to stay centered with such a large number of diversions and enticements around me. I just telecommute under extraordinary circumstances—perhaps five or six times each year—however some do it all the more as often as possible, and others work out of their homes forever. It's not for everybody, however, and some do it more efficaciously than others.

"I suppose it depends practically completely on the distinct," says Jenny Foss, a scout, profession mentor and author of the vocation site Jobjenny.com. "As somebody who made the transition–first to working low maintenance in an office and low maintenance at home, then afterward to being at home full time, and now, once again to a part schedule–i comprehend direct that telecommuting is much not the same as a nature's turf. The individuals who are set conform well to it, and be content with telecommuting, will be the individuals who are self-trained with their time, don't depend on up close and personal chitchat with colleagues for the duration of the day, and the individuals who are free in terms of authoritative issues that will perpetually spring up all through any given week."

Hanna concurs. "It truly relies on upon your temperament," she says. "I've discovered that to be an adequate work at home singular, you have to have superb basic considering, organizational and correspondence aptitudes, in addition to having the ability to shut out diversions."

As a home-based representative you don't have the richness of associates sitting right beside you–so you'll regularly need to resolve issues for yourself. In the event that you're the sort of individual who favors a mess of direction or is effortlessly diverted, working at home may not be a perfect scenario for you, Hanna includes. "Also regardless of the fact that you are persuaded and can stay on undertaking in a home office, in the event that you're a social butterfly that requires a great deal of social stimulation, working at home might make you become blend freaky or it make even make you socially discouraged." By knowing your nature and ability sets, you can verify if working at home is the right decision for you.

"Telecommuting furnishes you incredible chances to interface with some of your center qualities, for example family and neighborhood, while even now giving quality administration to your organization," says Shawn Mason Spence, a business person coach, radio host and creator of The Work From Home Bible (to be discharged November, 2012). "It requires discipline, center and duty, yet the adaptability to characterize that yourself. You can make a work society at home that speaks to you, not simply the society of your conglomeration."

Three of the most amazing profits of telecommuting are its adaptability, money related reserve funds and health favorable circumstances, Hanna says. Numerous folks revel in telecommuting since it permits them to docket their day around their family, which takes into consideration better work-life equalization and more quality time with their friends and family. Additionally, there are the special rewards of safeguarding cash on things like transportation, dry cleaning expenses, snacks consumed out and kid mind costs.

Different explanations representatives may need to telecommute: there's no drive, no manager approaching over your shoulder, no collaborators to intrude on you, and no clothing standard, says Lisa Kanarek, a home office master, creator and originator of Workingnaked.com. Anyway it might be troublesome to go from a corporate office to a home office on the grounds that there are no colleagues around, no backing staff and no IT division to help you, she says.

"It is regularly a test initially on account of the sudden absence of buzz that epitomizes a conventional the earth," says Lynn Taylor, a national working environment master and creator of Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant. Anyway once you're on the telephone, occupied with your business, going to gatherings, utilizing videoconferencing and endeavoring to make your own particular business group, that segregation is regularly succeed, she says.

Hanna accepts a percentage of the most amazing tests that home-based specialists face are studying how to dodge diversions, managing social seclusion, and others not considering your work at home status important. "Fortunately, with a couple of minor conformity to your outlook and some legitimate conveyance with those around you, these can effectively be settled," she says.

Kanarek says assuming that you're not considered important, its essential to let loved ones realize that despite the fact that you're telecommuting, you're as of now living up to expectations. Furthermore provided that you're feeling bereft or unmotivated, work from a bistro or a restaurant a couple of hours a week. "While you may not cooperate with anybody, being around others can propel you to work," Kanarek says.

You may additionally have inconvenience drawing limits between your particular and business life, Taylor includes. You won't dependably have control, however by being parti

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Why You Shouldn’t Integrate Facebook, Twitter, & LinkedIn

Twitter, FacebookSocial networking is a huge part of the Internet, providing the means for us all to connect and communicate quickly and easily. There are both positive and negative aspects to the very act of social networking, but most of us take part in the activity on at least a part-time basis. Most of us doing so on more than one site.
This complexity of connectivity makes it very tempting to combine the various social networks we use. The mindset being that by integrating them all, one update posts to all of my family, friends, colleagues, and followers. It’s a nice idea in principle, but in practice it’s a potential road to ruin that could result in, at the very least, a severe case of foot-in-mouth disease.

Different Networks For Different Groups

To understand why integrating these three social networks isn’t such a good idea it’s crucial to first understand the differences between them. There is obviously a certain amount of crossover between the three, in terms of userbase, connections, and appropriate updates, but generally speaking Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn exist in their own bubbles with their own separate rules of engagement.

Facebook

Twitter, Facebook
Facebook is the biggest of all the social networking sites, with somewhere between 900 million and 1 billion user accounts. Not all of these are active, of course, but it’s an impressive total nonetheless. Facebook is about as mainstream as you can get now, with the userbase veering upwards in age as the number of older people joining makes up for the younger generation moving onto pastures new. Such as Twitter. 
Facebook requires you to use your real name when joining, making it a place for real people without the comfort of anonymity afforded by other social networks. Facebook is extensively used as a resource for real family and friends to keep in touch. So much so that people I know online have rejected my Facebook friend requests because I don’t know them in the “real” offline world.

Twitter

Twitter, Facebook
Twitter is big and growing ever bigger. It went from a niche service to a mainstream behemoth in the span of a few months at the start of 2009. This was when traditional forms of media starting dropping the name into conversation and using the service as a news source. Twitter now boasts 500 million active users, who between them push hundreds of millions of tweets out every single day.
Twitter doesn’t require you to be your real self. It’s an optional extra whether you have your account verified or not. Twitter is therefore something of a Wild West in the world of social networks. There is no mutual friending either. You follow who you’re interested in, and people will only follow you if you’re interesting to them. This means you’re communicating with mostly strangers most of the time.

LinkedIn

Linked
LinkedIn is a social network with a focus on the networking rather than the social. It’s aimed more at a niche set of users than either Facebook or Twitter, if you consider the act of networking in a professional context a niche activity. The smallest of the three, LinkedIn boasts at least 150 million users at the time of writing.
LinkedIn has brought to the online world the idea of business cards and introductions that have prevailed in the offline world for many years. LinkedIn is your professional presence on the Web to show to potential clients or partners. And through its network you can make new contacts that may share mutual friends. This is much more about building professional relationships than fostering personal ones.

Sending The Wrong Message

Twitter, Facebook
Now that we’ve established the very real differences between these three social networks, it should be obvious to all reading this why integrating your accounts on all of them is not necessarily such a good idea. Writing an update or posting a link/picture/video to one and having it send to all three is a potential disaster waiting to happen.
On Twitter you may want to gain followers by posting a tweet intentionally designed to get a reaction. While random people will love the snark, the less tech-savvy family members may take it seriously, and business contacts may balk at the controversial nature of it.
On Facebook you may have some personal news that needs sharing with your nearest and dearest. While friends and family will be keen to hear the news, Twitter people won’t care and LinkedIn people may resent what they’ll undoubtedly consider spam and/or utter gibberish.
On LinkedIn you may have some important work-related gem to share with like-minded contacts. While those in your direct field of employment will express interest, it will likely go over the heads of all those on Facebook and Twitter. And rightly so too.

Conclusions

To sum up in as simple a way as possible: not all social networks are interchangeable, so integration isn’t always the best policy. We all have those off-days where our mouths (or in this case, fingers) engage quicker than our brains, and on those occasions it’s far too easy to send a message that won’t go down well with your contacts on at least one of these sites. Think of this as a public service announcement.
Have you already integrated these three social networks? If not do you intend to do so in the future? Let us know your thoughts on the subject, whether you agree or disagree, in the comments section below.

Thursday, June 21, 2012

How to Make Traffic Through Facebook

Facebook can be an excellent way to drive traffic to your website. No matter the purpose, scope or intended audience of your website and any business associated with it, Facebook presents the opportunity not only for you to share content from the site directly with your friends or fans, but for others who see the content to share it with their own social networks with the click of a button.



Step 1

Create a Facebook fan page for the site if you haven't already done so. Sign in to Facebook and select "Create a Page" from the bottom of the screen, then choose a category -- and, if applicable -- a subcategory for your website. Choose "Get Started," then upload a profile photo and input profile details to launch your page. Click the "Invite Friends" link on the right side of the page, then choose members of your Facebook friend list whom you think would want to become fans of the page.

Step 2

Send out bulletins on other social networking sites -- LinkedIn and Twitter, for example -- promoting the page to solicit fans. Since someone need not be your Facebook friend in order to "Like" your page, any registered Facebook user who comes upon the page can become a fan.

Step 3

Post regular, high-quality content not only to the Facebook fan page, but also by cross-posting it to your own personal Facebook profile. Sending updates to both your personal and professional networks maximizes the potential traffic increases you get from Facebook.

Step 4

Select "Developers" from the bottom of any Facebook screen, click "Add Facebook to My Site," then click "Social Plugins" from the heading "Core Concepts." Select "Like Button" or "Like Box," paste the URL to your fan page in and select "Get Code." Copy the code, then log in to your website and open the HTML file for your home page. Paste in the code and save the file. Now people who visit your website see a box that allows them to "Like" the page with a single click; this sends all updates you post to their news feeds, further maximizing the quantity of traffic you generate via Facebook.

How to get traffic from Facebook


Facebook is not the first social network but it is the most popular one. There have been many other social networks before Facebook and while some of them were popular at some point in time, none could reach the popularity of Facebook. In addition to keeping in touch with your friends, Facebook can be (and is) used for business. You can use it to promote your products and services, to acquire new clients, or to get traffic to your site.
Like Twitter, Facebook is just one of the many ways to get some traffic to your site. Many marketers believe that it is just a matter of time for the traffic from Facebook, Twitter and the other major social networking sites to surpass the traffic their sites get from Google.

While this time might come, don't take this as a promise that even if you do everything right, Facebook, Twitter, or any other similar site will do traffic miracles for you. For some people Facebook works like a charm, for others it doesn't work at all. The same applies to Twitter. You can't know in advance if Facebook and/or Twitter will crash your server with traffic. Just try both and see which one (if any) works for you.
Unlike Twitter, which is very simplistic, Facebook offers more possibilities. Yes, you might need more time in order to explore all the possibilities and take advantage of them but hopefully these efforts will have a great return in terms of traffic. Here are some tips that can help you turn Facebook into a traffic monster:

1=Your profile is your major weapon

As with Twitter and any other social network, if you don't make your profile interesting, you will hardly become popular. Give enough background information for you and don't forget to make your profile public because this way even people, who don't know you, when they encounter your profile, they might become interested in you and become a supporter of yours.

2=Include information about your site on your Wall and in the photo gallery

Facebook gives you the opportunity to write a lot about you and your endeavors, as well as to include pictures, so use all these opportunities to build interest in you and your products. It is even better to post videos and fill in the other tabs, so if you have something meaningful to put there, just do it.

3=Build your network


As with other social networking sites, your network is your major capital. That is why you need to invite your friends, acquaintances, and partners and ask them to join as your supporter. You should also search for people with interests similar to yours. However, don't be pushy and don't spam because this is not the way to convince people to join your network.

4=Post regularly


No matter how interesting the stuff in your Facebook profile is, if you don't publish new content regularly, the traffic to your Facebook profile (and respectively the Facebook traffic to your site) will slow down. If you can post daily, it is fine but even if you don't post that regularly, try to do it as frequently as you can. If nothing else, updating your status regularly is more than nothing, so do it.

5=Be active

A great profile, an impressive network, and posting regularly are just a part of the recipe for success on Facebook. You also need to be active – visit the profiles of your supporters, take part in their groups and other initiatives, visit their sites. You are right that all this takes a lot of time and you might soon discover that Facebooking is a full-time occupation but if you notice an increase in traffic to your site, then all this is worth.

6=Arrange your page

Unlike other social networks, Facebook gives you more flexibility and you can move around many of the boxes. If you put the RSS feed with the links to your blog in a visible space, this alone can generate lots of traffic for you.

7=Check what Facebook apps are available

Facebook apps are numerous and new and new ones are released all the time. While many of these apps are not exactly what you need, there are apps, which can work for you in a great way. For instance, MarketPlace widget/plugin or Blog Friends widget are very useful and you should take advantage of them. You can also use the widgets for crossposting (i.e. posting directly on Twitter from Facebook) because this saves you time.

8=Use Facebook Social Ads

If you can't get traffic the natural way, you might consider using Facebook Social ads. These are PPC ads and starting a campaign is similar to an Adwords campaign.

9=Start a group

There are many groups on Facebook but it is quite probable that there is a free niche for you. Start a group about something related to your business and invite people to join it. The advantage of this approach is that you are getting targeted users – i.e. people, who are interested in you, your product, your ideas, etc.

10 =Write your own Facebook extensions

While this step is certainly not for everybody, if you can write Facebook extensions, this is one more way to make your Facebook profile popular and get some traffic to your site.

11=Use separate profiles

Unfortunately, social networks do expose a lot of personal information and you are not paranoid, if you don't want so much publicity. Many people are rightfully worried about their privacy on social network sites and that is why it is not uncommon to have one personal profile for friends and one business profile to promote their business. You can have one single profile for both purposes, but if you have privacy concerns, consider separating this profile in two – you'd better be safe than sorry.
Facebook is changing all the time and no matter how hard you try to follow these changes, there will be new and new possibilities for you to explore. That is why it is not possible to compile a complete list of all the tactics you can use in order to drive traffic from Facebook to your site. Anyway, if you try just the basics for Facebook success we listed here, chances are that you will see a considerable traffic increase.

10 Important Tips To Increase Fans On Your Facebook Page

The first direct marketing tool that one can think of today is Facebook. It’s gone from being just another social network, to being ‘The social network’. No just that, it’s now great medium for business.
Simply speaking, this is because facebook is where people are. And if they are there, why not get them to notice who you are and what you do? These virtual profiles belong to real people, with real needs. So, here’s some quick ways to increase the number of fans on your business page:
1. Cater To Your Target Group
The first rule is to know and target the people who could be interested in your products or services. So, everything you do should be for the people who will actually be your clients.
2. Start Activities
Once you have your TG in mind and you obviously know all the plusses of your products, so start activities promoting the same.
You need to start interacting or creating activities that people enjoy and like to participate in. A way to encourage participation could be to run contests, give our freebies, or gift vouchers and coupons.
Some of the most common activities are those to add more people to the group or get more friends to like the page; the person to get most friends on the page wins prizes. The tried and tested way works with all age groups!
3. Create An Identity
Your brand needs an identity to survive. Your brand identity represents you. From the brand colors to the ‘tone’ of conversation with fans, it’s all a aprt of an identity. You should know what perception you want to create.
4. Relevant Content
If you are a fashion mag, you need to have related content; if you are an ice cream dealer, you need to have relevant content. There’s a difference. Content like they say, always rules. You compromise on content, and somewhere down the line, people lose interest and stop supporting. In a way, Content Writing and presentation becomes vital in influencing the audience.
5. Regularity Counts
You need to be regular with status updates, information, activities, events and other such content. Whatever you are ‘up to’, make the most of it by updating your facebook business page.
6. Interact
Make it a two way communication. If you are the only person posting and talking, it makes no sense to have a page. A page should act like a medium for people to reach you. Treat your audience with respect!
7. Listen To Feedback
Taking the previous point one step further, listen to what people have to say. Take the feedback seriously, act upon it or simply just reply. There are somehtings that you can’t relaly control, but the least you can do, is be approachable
8. Plan
Nothing happens without planning! Cut down the randomness – yes, replying to people and what you must reply cannot be planned, but the remaining activities can be. So go ahead and do that to make the most of the time.
9. Analyze
Finally, have a close eye on what’s happening; what’s working and what’s not. Analyze reports, study reactions and try to compensate and make up for segments or actions that aren’t going well.
10. Be Positive
And last but not the least, be positive. This doesn’t mean you simply look at your page ‘wishfully’ hoping for likes to improve; it simply means that you must highlight your positive points and strengths and leverage them to your advantage. Talk about what your brand’s up for, and see the fans growing!

How To Promote Your Business On Facebook

Facebook seems to be the buzz word among many small businesses. Online marketing is the main way for a new customer to find your business. Since ranking in Google is a slow process and paid marketing may be out of the question, Facebook does seem like a pliable way to get business from the internet.


The Fan Page:
The first thing you need is a Facebook presence in the form of a Fan page. You can create this page from the homepage of Facebook. Before logging in, at the bottom of the sign up form is a link that says, Create a Page. Click this and fill out the information.

An important tip before you name your fan page. Once you choose a name for your page you cannot change it. So pick carefully. You may not want to name it just the title of your business, but choose a name with keywords in that people may find you with. For instance, if you own a garage door install company, you may not want to call it Jim’s Doors. Think of what keywords people are searching for in Google when they are looking for a garage door installation company, such as, Garage Door Installation Dallas.
Once you get 25 fans to your page you will get what Facebook calls a vanity url. So your fan page will be facebook.com/name-of-your-fan-page. This is where the keywords come into play. Since Facebook is such a huge authority site to Google, your Facebook page may actually rank higher than your actual website for keywords. So choose that title carefully.

Making Your Page Stands Out:
Once visitors arrive at your fan page designate a new tab just for first time visitors. There are many services available online that allows you to build a free Facebook fan page by moving you through a series of templates than helps you install as well. Consider giving a gift to those who like your page, such as a few tips that pertain to your business. A short ebook that again, somehow compliments the service you offer them.

Getting Fans

Of course, having a Facebook presence doesn’t really work out if no one likes your page. The biggest way to get people to become a fan is to offer quality service to them. Once they like you and the service you provide, they will be more likely to visit your page and become a fan.  Include your Facebook fan page link in all your publications. Add the LIKE box to your website. Don’t be afraid to create a banner for your store that invites your customers to your page.
It’s also a good idea to offer special incentives for Liking your page. You can offer coupons or coupon codes just for fans of your page. If there are special promotions, make sure your Facebook friends know first.

Your Return

Having a Facebook page doesn’t just mean inundating your fans with coupons, promotions and sales. This is a place to include information about what you do on a daily basis. Include tips to help your customers. Add pictures so they get to know you and your employees. Make sure to do this on a daily basis.
Slowly, your customers begin to regard you as a friend. When they need something you offer, they will remember the Facebook friend they have to get just what they need.
And that’s what Facebook can do for your business; create loyal long term customers because you allowed them to know you on a daily basis and personal level.

Sunday, May 27, 2012

How to Create A Facebook Page

How to Create a Facebook Page

Facebook Pages get a lot of search engine respect. Even "big business" takes them as seriously as they do with their own corporate websites. Learn what the big deal is about, and how you can make your own from scratch!

There has never been a better time to get your online business going with a Facebook page. Make it your 2012 New Years Resolution to tap into that *MASSIVE* Facebook population to get noticed, get selling...or just get attention!


Facebook page What is a Facebook Page?

Getting started by actually finding the section

A Facebook Page, sometimes referred to as a "Fan Page," is a single page that you can create off of the Facebook.com domain for anything you want...a particular subject you like: a celebrity, a business profile, whatever your heart desires (as long as you have the legal rights to do so). Think of it as a one-page meeting place, with information, links, a message forum box, RSS and anything else you want. Best yet, anyone can create them. All you need is a Facebook account!

These days, it seems like everyone and everything important, famous or notable has one...from President Obama, to Coca Cola and Lady Gaga. The obvious question is "how do I get one for myself?" That's what this resource is all about!

Facebook Pages are important for a few reasons. They've been showing up high in search engine positions. Also, you can get unlimited "fans" for your Facebook Page, unlike the limit of 5,000 friends that your regular Facebook Profile is capped at. They're visible to search engines and visitors, too. So, unless you want to create a social networking site the hard way, a Facebook Page is almost like a specialized social networking mailing list that you can reach out to at any time!

How Do I Find Facebook Pages?!

Getting started by actually finding the section
Facebook Page location on a Facebook profile
How I found Facebook page

At first, it can be confusing to remember how to find Facebook Pages. Facebook changes its appearance on a regular basis, and things tend to get re-named or move around.

The Facebook Page icon looks like a little orange flag. It should be a default icon on the left-hand side of your front page (see screenshot on right) after you've created and used a Facebook Page. If it isn't...I'll make it even easier on you: click here for the Facebook Page creation screen - but make sure you're signed in to Facebook, first.

With the new design and layout in April 2011, Facebook Pages now has its own dedicated section, and is no longer lumped in with Facebook Groups and Ads.

If you'd like, visit the official Facebook Page for Facebook Pages (no joke), a place where Facebook Inc. updates the community on Facebook Page upgrades.

The New "Pages" Dashboard

Your general overview of all of your pages

Facebook create a new page
New Facebook page

Facebook came to its senses in Spring 2011 and made this helpful Facebook Page dashboard. Since you're a Page newbie, it will probably look pretty barren, but it will eventually fill up with the pages you create, as well as their Likes & Activities statistics.

Each page will also show the number of notifications (fan posts) that have been made since you've last visited them. Best yet, this is where you can create a new page (go ahead, click that button on the upper right!)

Create a New Facebook Page

Categorizing and naming your new page

Create a new Facebook page

Go ahead - pick one of these 6 categories for your new page. When you do, the image flips up and reveals a drop-down box where you can choose something very specific to that category.

Once you've found a category that's similar to whatever your Page will be about, you can then type out the "Name" for your page. If you don't know what to pick, believe me, you'll have a more clear picture once you administer the Page for awhile. Once again, you can always change the category in the future if you believe something better should have been used.

Be extremely careful in naming your page, as it is PERMANENT and will be seen within the actual URL of your Facebook Page (for all of you SEO professionals, you'll immediately see the importance of this). Here's a warning from me to you:

Once you choose your Facebook Page name, AND, if you have 100 or more fans for that Page, the name is set in stone and can never be edited...not even if you contact Facebook directly and beg/complain/demand them to do it!

Your Page Is Ready...to get modifications!

Customize your Facebook Page

That was easy. Technically speaking, you now own a Facebook Page! As you can see, it's bland and needs some serious modifications. Let's move to the next section for the customization of your new page:

Customizing Facebook Pages


Major Parts of a Facebook Page

This is what we'll review in this resource!

Facebook Pages

The image above shows a typical Facebook Page - it's from a Facebook Page Tutorial I created for you, which will remain in-tact so that you can see what I did.

In this resource, we'll go over each part, and what it means to you as a Facebook Page administrator. While everything looks simple enough, there are a lot of things you'll really need to know about each section of your Page. Using the numbers on this screenshot, here are the sections in this guide:

  1. Profile Picture: This picture is a permanent fixture on the upper left corner of your Page. It also represents you whenever you post information or links on the page.

  2. "About" Section: This small area allows you to include a very brief description of what your page is about, and should be used as a greeting for brand new visitors.

  3. "Likes" Showcase: This often overlooked area is actually a big way to promote your other pages (or those of other Facebook Pages).

  4. Page Title & Category: Your page is as good as what it's named. Once you reach a certain number of users, it's permanent. The category, however, can be edited anytime.

  5. Page Body: The main event of your page. This is where you post new information or calls to action, and where your Page fans respond to them.

  6. Administrative Links: As an admin, only you can see everything within this region. This is where you'll be able to edit how and what the page displays.

1) The Profile Picture

The Facebook Page's "face"

Upload a Facebook Page picture 
 Your Facebook Page picture is important. Think of it this way: its the image representation of your page and everything in it. When people search Facebook and look for Pages, one of the first things that will attract their eyeballs is the Page icon you chose.

Now that you can see how important this image is, make it count. Create a great image that represents what the Page's subject matter is about! Facebook Page images are displayed at 120x120 pixels, and will also generate a miniature 50x50 pixel version (the mini version appears next to every post and reply you make on your Page, and also shows up in Facebook search results). In the example above, I've uploaded a custom image for the example Facebook Page I'm working on.

2) The "About" Box

Write one or two sentences & a link to summarize the Page
Facebook Page about section

The little "about box" you see below your Facebook Page profile picture is what you'll need to give first-time visitors the scoop on what the entire Page is about - make sure it's short and sweet!

With the new changes Facebook made in early 2011, a few things changed. First of all, this area is invisible unless you edit your page's "Basic Information" (Edit Page » Basic Information) and input something into the "About" field. Secondly, Facebook no longer auto-converts a typed out hyperlink into a backlink like it used to.

Take a look at my example. I've included a short description of what the Facebook Page is about in one sentence. If you've gotten accustomed to communicating in 140 characters on Twitter, you'll surely be able to sum up your page in this little box. When you're done typing, click the "Save Changes" button, and you're done.

3) "Likes" List

It's how to associate other Pages with yours!

Facebook Page "Likes"
Looking at #3 on my large screenshot a few paragraphs above, you'll see a little section on the left-hand sidebar of the Facebook Page that says "Likes." There's a link under it that says "Add to My Page's Favorites." Basically, this section allows you to "showcase" any other Facebook page within this section of your Page's sidebar. Or, better yet, your page can be featured on someone else's Facebook Page in this area.

This is how to do it: visit a Facebook Page that you really like (maybe one of your other Pages) and click the link on the left-hand side that says "Add to My Page's Favorites." A dialog box pops up, and you can choose which Page of yours that you want it to appear on. Make a selection, save, and it's done. This is also how other Page administrators can add your Page to their Page's "Favorites." In the above example, I added my 2nd Facebook Page for my personal website to the new Facebook Page Tutorial Page that I'm building for you.

4) Facebook Page Title & Category

It's all in a name...and a category

Change Facebook page name
As previously discussed, changing the name of your Facebook is a problem once you've already saved it. Facebook remedied this. Kind of.

If, and only if you have 100 fans or less, you're now able to edit the name of your Facebook page by clicking its "Edit Page" link, clicking the "Basic Information" tab and changing its name in the "Name" field. Note that this only changes the name of the Facebook Page, which is also called the "title," since it appears at the top of the page and in every post you make on it. It doesn't change the Page's URL if you've set a vanity URL - that's permanent.

The bad news about this is the 100 fan cutoff. You have a major issue if your page has 100 fans and you desperately need to edit your Page name. It can't be done - the only option would be to re-start the Page from scratch (not an option for most).
If you REALLY need to change your Facebook Page's name and you have over 100 fans, the only way to do it is to delete fans until you hit 99 fans. It's not only a disrespectful thing to do to your fans, but it's also counter-productive. Then again, this is all a dumb punishment that Facebook gave to its long-time Page owners who were around before this rule went into effect.

As for your page category, you can always edit this by simply clicking "Edit Info" to the category of your Page, which is located directly under the title at the top of the page.

5) Facebook Page Body Area

Get the conversation started...add some content!

The Facebook Page body area
You can add anything you want to your Facebook Page. Copy and paste a Youtube URL into the "Write something..." bar, and it will convert to a thumbnail with a play button, and a mini-description of the video. Paste a URL, and it will grab the top-most image on that website and display it, along with the page description. Or, just type whatever you want, as you would with a Tweet. In other words, the functionality is identical to that of your Facebook Profile.

When you post something on your page, it's available to every single person who is a fan of that Page. Therefore, make sure that your spelling is correct, and that everything looks the way you want it to look. Also, note that people will be able to comment on whatever you're posting unless you've changed the default permissions to block them from doing so.
How do I get Facebook to display a thumbnail picture when I submit a link on my wall? This is a common question amongst bloggers and webmasters. The truth of the matter is that Facebook displays a little preview picture if it finds one within the body area of your article (Digg.com does this, too). You might notice that it will sometimes display multiple images it found on the page, that you can cycle through with a left & right arrow.

If you are a blogger or are running a website, make sure all of your pages has a postage stamp-sized image somewhere at the top of your article if you'd like it to appear when people share your stuff on Facebook!

6) Facebook Page Administration Links

Only you can see them!

Finally, the last major part of your Facebook Page is this set of administration links. They're on the top right-hand sidebar of your Page. Here's what each of these links do:
Facebook page

  1. Use Facebook Page As [Your Page Name]: This strange new feature lets you "change roles" on Facebook. Click it, and you will no longer post or interact as yourself, but as your Facebook Page, even off your page and on Facebook.com itself. In other words, your posts will use your Facebook Page name and
    avatar. You can always change back to yourself
    if you select it.

  2. Notifications: These are basically snippets of new events that have happened on your page, at the action of your fans. The purpose is to provide a quick way for you to see what new interactions were made.

  3. Promote With An Ad: This takes you to Facebook Ads, a pay-per-click program that you can opt into.

  4. View Insights: Think of this as your "Google Analytics" of Facebook Pages. Here, you'll get a bunch of metric counters, charts and other things that tell you how your pages are performing on a time spread.

  5. Suggest to Friends: This allows you (the individual) to suggest your friends to "Like" your Facebook Page. Click it, and you'll get a dialog box where you can pick and choose which friends to suggest it to.

Publishing A Facebook Page

Why won't my Page go public?

Publish a Facebook PageLots of new Facebook Page administrators often see a list of "to-do"s when they visit their newly created page (see the image on the right) and get frustrated. Why isn't the page showing? I thought I had done everything necessary?

Here are two things you should check in this case:
  1. Did you "fan" your own Page?: Seems obvious, but if a page has "0 fans," it's not going to get published. Give it a little jumpstart.

  2. Did you add any content?: Facebook won't see you as being a serious Page owner if your Page has no content in the body area. Add a handful of things - a few posts, a picture, a video, etc.

Facebook Page FAQs


"Should I Create A Facebook Page Or Group?"

Which is better?

Facebook Groups vs. Facebook Pages The foremost question of anyone looking to get their feet wet in Facebook promotion: "Should I go with a Facebook Page, or a Facebook Group? What's the difference? What's more advantageous?"

Here's the deal: a Facebook Page can be seen as a one-stop shop for a particular subject. It's static, like a web page, and is traditionally used as the venue to bring a "voice" (YOUR voice) about a particular product or service to Facebook for other people to read and react to. That's why you see TV commercials where a company will actually advertise "Facebook.com/CompanyName". That's a Facebook Page.

People tend to "fan" things on Facebook because it adds to their persona and further defines who they are. It's also human nature to represent yourself for the things you find interesting, funny or relevant, and that's what Facebook Pages do in every sense of the term.

Here's a comparison, to make things easier:
  • A Facebook Page is kind of like a blog. It gets updated by you, just like a website would. Use it to promote your small business, your personal website, or something else you have tangible or intellectual/legal rights to.

  • A Facebook Group is kind of like a message board. It gets moderated by you, and its focus are the conversations that are posted to it by you and other members. It is central around calendar events and updates. Use it for: a cause (anti or for something), a local community (your town's baseball league), a discussion forum (religion and politics always fits the bill), a meet-up spot (think: your World of Warcraft clan, or something to that effect.)

Advantages of Facebook Pages over Groups

Undeniable pros for FB Pages!

Pages and Groups both have their own individual functions, but one shines over the other for several different reasons (I'm talking about Pages, if you hadn't guessed!)
  • Pages Get Internal Promotion on Facebook.com
    Facebook Page updates will show up on your fans' page feed when they "Like" it - Facebook Group updates will not. They are promoted on the right hand "suggestion" column when your friends join them - Facebook Groups don't get this treatment.
  • Pages Have More Options for Customization
    Groups are basically chat rooms, there's no real "look and feel" to them. Their primary focus is for live discussions that can be continued at any time. Pages, however, act more like a blog with actual content pieces and the ability to add new tabs, static information, and the like.
  • Search Engine Visibility
    When it comes to getting visibility off of Facebook: Pages can be seen by non-Facebook users, and can be crawled by search engines as any other static page would. Facebook Groups cannot! It's also important to mention that Facebook Pages can have a "vanity URL" (Facebook.com/MyPage), where as Groups do not have this feature.
  • Anonymity
    The creator of a group is forever immortalized on the group itself, with your linked Facebook avatar, stating that you are the group's admin. There is no way to remove this, which is bad news for those who wish to remain anonymous. Pages, on the other hand, are completely anonymous - nobody will know that you own it, unless you make a public statement!
  • Groups can be really, really annoying
    Know how you'll comment on a friend's status, and then get an email every time someone else comments under your comment? Groups do this. Just imagine this happening on a very large scale since the posts in Groups are more like chat posts. Groups that have many members = a lot of these posts, on a constant basis. This is a default setting, and many find it to be annoying.

"Can I Have More Than One Facebook Account?"

Against the TOS or not?

"I have a good idea: I'll just create several different Facebook accounts so that I can organize my Facebook Pages amongst each one."

Bad idea! According to Facebook's terms of service, creating more than one personal Facebook account is NOT allowed. This is stated several times, and Facebook takes the issue seriously. In other words, I wouldn't attempt to create more than one account for the purpose of organizing Facebook Pages:

"Please be aware that managing multiple accounts is a serious violation of Facebook's Terms of Use. If we determine that an individual has more than one account, we reserve the right to terminate all of their accounts.

Maintaining multiple accounts, regardless of the purpose, is a violation of Facebook's Terms of Use. If you already have a personal account, then we cannot allow you to create business accounts for any reason."

"Can I Create Business-Related Facebook Pages In My Personal Account?"

One of the most frequently asked questions ever!

Most people are leery over the prospect of creating a Facebook Page for their home business, affiliate business...whatever business...within their personal Facebook account. Long story short - yes, you should create your Facebook Page in your personal account. The Facebook Page will then be in the possession of that account, and only you can access it (unless you appoint other administrators).

Don't worry about being showcased on your Facebook Page - you won't be. In fact, nobody will ever know of the owner of a Facebook Page, unless they went out of their way to let it be known. Your profile name, picture, etc. will never be visible on the page. Not even when you post things on the page (when you do, the Facebook Page's avatar and name appears as the poster, instead of yours).

Here's another scenario, though. Let's say your boss at work asks you to create a Facebook Page for the corporation. In this case, you would not want to create it within your personal account, but you'd want to create a new Facebook account entirely, for the business. Then, you can convert the account to a Facebook Business account (a warning on this: once you elect in to switching the account to a business account you can never undo it). Business accounts are stripped-down Facebook accounts that can only 1) manage Facebook Pages, and 2) manage Facebook Ads. That's all. Nothing more.

"How Can I Transfer A Facebook Page to Someone Else?"

It's slightly tricky but definitely possible

Transfer a Facebook Page to someoneFacebook says that you can't transfer a Facebook Page to someone else. Well, that's not entirely true.

You can set someone else as the administrator of the page, and then you can be demoted to a regular fan. Once that happens, they become the new "owner" the page.

This process can also be used if you want to delete your entire Facebook account, but not lose your Facebook Pages. Simply appoint your relative or best friend as the Page administrator. Then, delete your account...and create a new Facebook account. Visit the pages you transferred to your relative/friend, and "like" them. Then, have your relative/friend set you as the administrator. Finally, remove them as the administrator. You're now the Facebook Page owner, again!

"What Happens If A Facebook Page Is Cybersquatted?"

If it's trademarked, don't take the risk!
A Facebook business pageIf you didn't already know, a "cybersquatter" is someone who knowingly registers a domain name of a trademarked product or company name.

Back in the old days of the 'net, it was a good way to blackmail that company into paying you a large sum of cash for the name. Then came the Anti Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act of 1999. Now, it's a great way to get a company to force you to hand it over, or else.

Just like how you should never register a domain name with a trademarked company or product name in the title, you should never create a Facebook Page to represent one. In other words, don't create a Facebook Page called "Coca-Cola" or "Ford Trucks." This is something that Facebook takes seriously, and will either delete your Page or entire Facebook account for trademark infringement when spotted. Here's the official statement:

"Only the official representative of an organization, business, celebrity, or band may create a Facebook Page. If you would like to create a Facebook presence for a celebrity or organization and you are not officially authorized to do so, we suggest you create a Facebook group instead, as these may be created and maintained by any user."

Facebook also cracks down on anyone attempting to "sell" a page, or use their page as a way to solicit affiliate links or spam a list of fans. I've heard more than one case where people who have posted a single affiliate link on their Facebook Page have gotten their ENTIRE account banned.

"What Happens When Facebook Disables My Facebook Page?"

Psst, your account may follow, too!

With the inception of Facebook Community Pages (explained below), Facebook has been cracking down on what they believe are un-warranted usages of Facebook Pages.

More than likely, if your page isn't about a brand or company that you legally represent, it will either be converted to a Community Page or it will be closed. Depending on how badly you've violated the Terms of Service, your account could be banned, too. This is the message that Facebook will send to you if they've banned one of your Facebook Pages:

You created one or more Pages that have been removed for violating our Terms of Use. A Facebook Page is a distinct presence used solely for business or promotional purposes. Among other things, Pages that are hateful, threatening, or obscene are not allowed. We also take down Pages that attack an individual or group, or that are set up by an unauthorized individual. If your Page was removed for any of the above reasons, it will not be reinstated. Continued misuse of Facebook's features could result in the permanent loss of your account. If you need further assistance with this issue, please visit http://www.facebook.com/help/contact...=page_disabled. The Facebook Team

As you can see, there are two terms here that will trigger the disabling of a page:
1) hurtful/threatening/obscene content, and 2) unauthorized usage or representation.

"What is a Facebook Community Page?"

When your Facebook Page gets usurped by Facebook

Facebook Community PageBack in the Spring of 2010, Facebook rolled out "Community Pages." Basically, they are generic Facebook Pages maintained by Facebook for very broad topics. To see an example of a Facebook Community Page, check out this one for "Small Business Owner."

The characteristics of a Facebook Community Page are the generic gray-and-white "molecule" logo (seen on right) with a dashboard purely of "related posts," which are nothing more than recent posts containing the page's main keyword that are pulled from public profiles in the Facebook universe. Community Pages also have this disclaimer at the bottom of the page:



"Community Pages are not affiliated with, or endorsed by, anyone associated with the topic."

Facebook Community Pages sparked controversy when they first came out, because Facebook Inc. started to commandeer people's Facebook Pages if they became "too popular" (I put that in quotes, because there was no benchmark defining that term) and would convert the Page to a Community Page against the owner's will.
Hello,

The Page "[PAGE NAME HERE]" has been recategorized as a Community Page. Community Pages represent causes, topics and ideas (as opposed to official entities such as businesses, bands and public figures). This change has not affected your Page's presence on Facebook.

If you think your Page has been miscategorized, please use the following link to let us know.

[LINK]

The Facebook Team
Above: This is the email that Facebook sends you if it 'takes over' your Facebook Page and converts it to a Community Page. It only happened to me once, back on April 7, 2010.

Points to note about Facebook Community Pages:
  • Facebook Inc. "owns" and "operates" them.
  • There's no telling if or when one of your Pages could be converted into one.
  • In other cases, they are auto-generated when you type things into your profile's "likes and interests" section. These words get auto-hyperlinked. If one of these hyperlinks doesn't exist yet, Facebook will hyperlink it and create a Community Page about it.


Getting Ranked in Facebook's "Search Engine"

SEO within Facebook - who would have known?

Facebook search results - it's like a search engine!

If you hadn't noticed, Facebook has its own search engine. Go ahead - try it out and search for something. Above, I tried "Toyota." See how the results are all Facebook Pages at the top? It just goes to show how important Pages are! Anyway, Facebook lists results that have seemingly no rhyme or reason. For instance, why is a page with nearly 70,000 fans listed BELOW another one with almost 49,000? Facebook uses an algorithm just like how all search engines do. If you create a new page, it gets an instant boost in Facebook search rankings, to give you a chance to be seen. There's more to it, though:

You'll want to make sure your Facebook Page is all ready to go once you hit "publish." Unless it's a truly one of a kind topic, make sure you have your title, content, pictures, links and everything else ready to go. With some luck, your initial broadcast on Facebook.com will give you a few Fan adds, which will get the ball rolling. Remember: Facebook Pages that are constantly updated and continue getting fans (especially ones who interact with the page) will appear higher in Facebook Page search results! The more your Page "picks up steam," the more it will become glued to the top of a search result for the keyword you've set it to in your Page title. Maybe that's why the Prius page is doing better than the Toyota USA one!

Create a Facebook Page Tab

Add a "splash screen" that people see first
A "tab" can be used as an introductory screen with graphics, links text or other things that visitors see before they even get to your Facebook Page wall. Here's a separate tutorial I've put together for creating one:

 

 

Bookmark Your Facebook Page

Traditional SEO as a part of your back linking strategy

Use social bookmarking to build links to your Facebook Page

Submit your Facebook Page to social networking or bookmarking sites like Delicious, Faves.com, Diigo, Mixx and all the rest. Don't forget to send out a Tweet, too. I've also written a Squidoo page about dofollow social bookmarking services - be sure to check it out for some other great recommendations. Don't forget to advertise your new Facebook Page in your e-mail signature!

Suggest It To Your Friends

The best way to widely promote your Facebook Page

Suggest a Facebook Page to your friends

Here's the logical way to promote your Facebook Page: click the "Suggest to Friends" link on the left-hand menu under your Page picture, and manually select friends. Here's a few things to keep in mind, though: you can't select all friends, it can only be done one by one...also, when you suggest a Page to these friends, Facebook doesn't allow you to attach a personal message to it. So, your friends will only see a notification on their dashboard saying "[Your Name] suggests you become a fan of [Your Page]". Of course, they might not know that this is your page unless you tell them ahead of time, and many of them might click the little "x" and dismiss it. Therefore, tell your friends ahead of time that you're inviting them.

Don't make the mistake I first made: I once invited about 500 people to become a fan of my page. I literally sat there and clicked 500 profile icons one by one. I had no idea that we couldn't attach a personal message, and was pretty upset after sending the request. As a result, only 35 of 500 friends had fanned the page. It was an epic fail.

Put a Facebook Like Box on Your Blog

Even major corporations are doing it!

A Facebook Fan Box widget

One of the coolest ways to promote your Facebook Page is with a Facebook Like Box. It's a widget that you can access through the administrator menu of your page (click the "edit page" link on the dashboard), and the option for it is on the right column under the "Promote your page" title.

Facebook Like Boxes display random fans from your page (all of them are represented by their icon and first name, and are clickable, bringing your to their profile page). It lists the number of fans for your page, and also includes a link going to the page itself. You can toggle the "Facebook" stripe on top of the box, the random fan icons, and a "news feed" of recent posts. Overall, these Like Boxes are widely recognizable as many major companies are putting them on their pages to boost their social networking campaigns. You can further tweak how the Like Box works, too.

Want to get one? Go here, enter the URL for your Facebook Page, and tweak a few settings. Then, put the code on your blog or site!

Do Nothing. That's right, be lazy.

Hey, it could just promote itself!

There are pages I've created that have amassed 1,000 fans in less than a month, just by simply existing. That's right, I didn't do a damn thing. I just created a page that hadn't been thought of yet, and it wound up being the first thing that showed up if you searched for its keyword.

Sometimes, pages don't need to be promoted. If you've found that niche that nobody else has, 'Facebook search' is all that's needed to eventually get noticed. This is a really crappy method, though. However, there is one way to start spreading the "virus": simply be a fan of your own page.

Facebook will then automatically post on your/your friends' wall that you've become a fan of [whatever your page is called]. Some of them might be curious, and click the link. Some of them might also fan the page. Then, their friends will see that they are now a fan of that page. THEY might get curious, and fan the page, too. These are the only scenarios where being lazy pays off as a Facebook Page administrator!


Intro to Facebook Page Statistics

Marketers, are you paying attention?

Facebook Page statistics help you see how your page is performing

If you're a marketer or are creating pages for any kind of promotional or corporate purpose, you are probably wishing that your Facebook Page had Google Analytics. Well, here's something that's close enough: Facebook has built-in analytics for Facebook Pages!

Based on my screenshot above, here are the 5 main components of these analytics:


  1. This week's statistics: This is a brief run-down of what happened this week in terms of Page fans liking, commenting and posting on your Page wall. The more engaged you are with your Page's community, the more these numbers will rise. Post a question, poll or anything that entices someone to give an opinion, and you'll continue to see higher stats here.

  2. Interactions graph: This graph takes your weekly statistics and puts them in graph form, for those who need a visual. The drop-down gives you options for interactions, interactions per post, post quality, posts, discussion posts, reviews and mentions.The graph will display a 1-year spread.

  3. Demographics: This very important bar graph gives you a rundown of male vs. female interactions on your Facebook Page in regard to the information within the "interactions graph" mentioned above, along with their age brackets. It lets you see which gender and age group is most engaged with your Facebook Page.

  4. Fan Data Chart: This chart gives you a visual representation of total vs. unsubscribed fans (people who lurk on your page but don't fan it). The line will give you the number of fans on a given page when you hover your mouse over it. Additional drop-down options include new/removed fans, top countries, top countries, demographics, page views, unsubscribes/resubscribes and media consumption.

  5. Fan Data Demographics: This bar-chart version of the data mentioned in the Fan Data Chart gives you the same data, but in numerical format. It also includes gender and age bracket data.

My Facebook Page Has No Analytics...Why?!

It's not available at default...you have to unlock the option!

Facebook Pages don't get analytics until they're popular enough.

Your Pages' analytics option will unlock once you have what Facebook considers to be a significant number of fans and interactions. This exact number is never truly defined, but don't worry: you won't need a ton of interaction, just an ample amount. You can get the ball rolling by posting interactive questions, pictures, videos and other things that will prompt your fans to leave comments or click the "like" link.

If you don't fit the requirement, your bar charts will not display, but will have the notification seen in the screenshot above appearing in their place. That "Learn More" link will open up a pop-up box that says:


When you create compelling content, your fans may choose to interact with the material by commenting, liking, or writing on your Wall. These fans help to spread your content virally throughout Facebook, as their engagement leads to organic stories being published in their friends' News Feed.

Your Post Quality is determined by the percentage of your fans that engage when you post content to your Page. It is calculated on a rolling seven-day basis. The number of stars depends on how your Post Quality compares to similar Pages (for example, Pages that have a similar number of fans.)

To increase the number of Interactions and improve your Post Quality you may consider:

* Making sure that your posts, whether they are Status Updates, photos, links, or videos, are relevant to your fans. Posting engaging content is the best way to get people to interact with your Page.

* Posting frequently, but not posting an overwhelming amount of content that users may find spammy or burdensome to consume.

* Increasing your total fan base to generate more interactions:
Promote your page with an ad

Facebook Page Statistics...Via eMail!

Free reports sent to you each week

Facebook Page email statistics 
Facebook has been sending its Facebook Page owners a brief rundown of their Pages' analytics for quite awhile, but let's face it - it was always pretty ugly, with plain text and no eye appeal. In August 2010, Facebook redid these emails and included a few graphics to jazz up the look and feel of the report, as seen to your right.

These emails are great for the lazy Facebook Page webmaster - if you fail to log in on a regular basis to check your stats, don't worry about it! They'll just get emailed over to you. All of them, in one long email.

On these reports, you'll see info about your monthly users, likes, number of wall posts and visits for the week...as well as last week's numbers in comparison, along with eye-catching green up arrows and red down arrows. It's a great way to peer at the entire week of activity without having to do it the hard way.

Facebook Page Vanity URLs

Rename pages to "Facebook.com/YourPage"

Set a username for your Facebook Page

On 12:01 A.M., June 13, 2009 - Facebook opened up the option of allowing users to name their Facebook Pages with a vanity URL, in the same fashion of how they were allowed to create a username (Facebook.com/username)...and boy, were a lot of internet geeks up late, frantically attempting to "register" Facebook Page names.

However, Facebook put a hefty requirement for vanity URL registration. Since then, it has changed quite a bit. In the current day, all pages need to fulfill the requirement of having at least 25 fans in order to have a vanity URL. Read on to learn how you can name your pages:

How to Name a Facebook Page

Got at least 25 fans? Register your Facebook URL!

Facebook Page Username

This process is strangely difficult to figure out, as Facebook never posted the link for naming a Page on the Pages dashboard. To get started, visit the Facebook Page user name dashboard. From there, you'll see a list of every single Facebook Page you run in a dropdown list. Every Facebook Page that is eligible for naming will have a text box appearing to the right of it when selected. Pages that are not yet eligible (i.e., ones that don't have 25 fans yet), will simply show a message saying that it is not ready at this time.

Vanity URL eligibility
Only pages that have 25 fans or more are eligible to have a vanity URL. If you have the ability to advertise your Facebook Page on your website or e-mail footer, it would be in your best interest to attain that number of fans as quickly as possible.

The Vanity URL for your Facebook Page needs a minimum of five characters - but you'll be hard-pressed to ever find one that short, since Facebook seems to restrict them for future purposes. One thing's for sure: it is not possible to register generic, single-word Facebook URLs (like facebook.com/diamonds or facebook.com/cars). So, you're limited to compound words or phrases, only (as you guessed it, those short, generic word URLs are probably being reserved for "Big Business" purposes, or who knows what else).

If your Facebook Page is not eligible for naming, you will get the following message:

(pagename) is not eligible for a username at this time. In the future, (pagename) will be able to set a username. Learn more.

Using periods in your Page name
When naming a page, you can only use letters, numbers and periods. Usernames that have periods essentially count both as a "period" and "non-period" version, making it worth your while to use them. For instance, "facebook.com/my.page" also counts as "facebook.com/mypage" - in essence, it's like having two usernames in one. Nobody else will be able to register either, too! If you want to use periods in your Facebook Page name by default, know that you're limited to only four periods total.

Facebook page username
Facebook shows their seriousness about Page name legitimacy

If You Own a Trademark - You're In Luck!

Skip to the front of the line and get your FB Page name
Here's some great news, if you own a registered trademark: Facebook will be extremely helpful in assisting you with a custom URL on a page. All you'll have to do is create a page for your business or trade name (or, if you already have one - that's fine, too)...then, fill out a Username IP Infringement Form.

This form requires you to have your trademark registration number ready. Remember, that number is in the form of "01/234567" - simply input it in the "Trademark Registration #" field. Trademark owners are exempt from the "minimum 25 fans" rule for pages! If you don't have a registered trademark for your business, I highly recommend getting one if you can afford it. LegalZoom Online Trademarks is a reputable service that will do it for you.

In the description field, tell the Facebook representative that you are not reporting an infringing user, but you are a trademark owner, and would like to secure the name of your company as a Facebook Page. The representative should reply to you rather quickly - usually within 24 hours, and assist you with getting this task done. I've done it twice - once for the company I work for, and another time for a registered trademark I own, and Facebook has been nothing but helpful and speedy in both situations.

Facebook Page Resources

Official Facebook documents and tutorials

Facebook Pages Official Page
This is an official Facebook Page about Facebook Pages, created by, well, Facebook! Use it to look for tips and tricks about how to get the most out of this service.
Browse Facebook Pages
Out of ideas? Look at what other people have created. Here's a directory of all Facebook Pages. You just might learn something new!
Facebook Pages PDF Manual
You won't want to miss this one - a downloadable, all-inclusive PDF created by Facebook to help you create a great Facebook Page!
Facebook Page Usernames
Facebook's official FAQ about setting usernames for your Facebook Page.