In the previous post, I described what led me to create an “Offer” Tab on my Facebook Fan Page.
This is Part 2 of “Sprucing Up My Facebook Page.”
Well, after making the “Offer” Tab, I felt like I was on a roll. I was ready to make another Tab page.
By the way, isn’t it ridiculous that Facebook created the expression Fan Page for a collection of pages? It certainly makes it difficult to describe the place where the body of content appears beneath any given Tab. Fan Site? Fanbook?
Anyway, I wanted something a little “softer” as a landing page for most people that I refer to my Fan Page, even though the Offer Tab recommended by Schwind and Yaghi would be fine for PPC redirects. So this raised some new questions.
How To Create Another FBML Page:
| Step | Action | Pictures |
|---|---|---|
1 |
Once again, the following assumes that you are logged in to your Facebook account, and on your Facebook Fan Page.
It also assumes that you have already created ONE FBML page. That’s why the heading says… “Another FBML Page.” Click on “Edit Page.” (See Red Arrow on the right. This is located under your picture or logo in the left column. ) |
 Click "Edit Page." |
2 |
Scan the list of settings and applications.
Find your previously created “FBML” Tab (located under the list of “Applications.”) In this illustration, the Tab was previously named “Example.” Click the “Edit” link under the title. See the red arrow at right. |
 Find the Previously Created Page, Click Edit |
3 |
You are now looking at where you created your previous Tab.
Click the “Add another FBML box” link, located at the bottom of the editing area. See Red Arrow. After this, it should be fairly clear what to do next. It is pretty much the same as described in the previous post.. |
 Click "Add Another FBML Box" |
How Do Images Appear on the Fan Page:
If you look at my own new “Welcome” Tab, you will see four images in all. I created all of them using Photoshop. However, the first one is different from the other three. Do you understand why?
- My Logo Box – In the left column – Showing my name, photo, company name, and tagline.
- My Tab Banner – At the top – Starting with the words, “Glad you stopped by… .”
- A Little Check Mark Image – In the center – Used over and over as bullets in a list of items.
- My Newsletter Banner – At the bottom – Starting with the words, “Collaboration and Growth….”
What is different is this: The Logo Box image is uploaded into Facebook. Many people just use their Facebook photo, but having a bit of branding here is cool, right? However, the other images are NOT uploaded into Facebook. They must be hosted elsewhere and linked. You will see how it was done for the check marks in the next paragraph.
How to Make a List in FBML:
Did I already say that FBML is not exactly the same as HTML? Not that I would be able to tell all that easily. I have learned enough HTML to be dangerous. Not trained in it; I am a learn-by-experimentation kind of guy.
Anyway, I wanted to use a list of bullets on my new “Welcome” page but it took me quite a while since HTML would not work. Here is what did work.
Note how the link URL [changed for privacy reasons] is used to access the hosted graphic of the check mark. You can use the same mark up script to create your own similar list. But you will need to create a bullet graphic and store it somewhere.
One of the things I tried to do with the “Welcome” page banner at the top of the page, is to make the request to “Like” the page as clear, yet as smooth as possible. How do you think it works?
How to Get an Opt In Form on the Page:
I use MailChimp [affiliate link] as my email system provider. My reasons would probably be best saved for a different post!
However, since each of the different systems (Aweber, iContact, etc) vary somewhat, the following is only generic advice.
- Set Up Communication Between Your Email System Provider and Facebook. Generally this is done with an application created by your email service provider and uploaded into Facebook. This is necessary to establish permission for your email service provider to access information from Facebook – specifically, the form you will place on one of your Facebook Fan Page Tabs. Get the application from a link provided by your email service provider. Follow instructions to upload this application into Facebook.
- Place the Form on Your Page. As with other forms, your email service provider will have a section of its site where you can design the type of form that you like. It will then generate the HTML/CSS script for this. Copy and paste the script into the FBML edit area. It worked!
+++===+++===+++===+++
I hope that my discovery process will give you some ideas too!
You might also want to see these related posts:
Richard, Great tutorial on “Sprucing Up My Facebook Page | Add a Welcome Page”. You did a nice job explaining exactly what to do! Recently I have heard some talk that Facebook is going to make some changes to their applications. I have heard that we will not be able to add an opt-in form to our pages, but I don’t know what else these changes will apply to.
Hey, Thanks for the very useful information! ~ Joseph McDevitt
.-= Joseph McDevitt´s last blog ..HTML – Understanding The Basics =-.
Yeah – I knew there would be changes, this week in fact, that affect “boxes” and wasn’t sure whether it would impact this advice or not. But I had not heard about the opt in box block — we’ll have to see.
Some great content you have here Richard will revisit and look more closely and perhaps apply some of your info – neat looking header you’ve got too!
Cheers Kiaran
Wow, what an incredibly detailed, informative post you’ve given us here. I love the screen shots and code samples!
With everybody using Facebook as a marketing tool these days, it’s very beneficial for each of us to stand out among the crowd and brand ourselves on a higher level. Your tips and instructions here will help tremendously – great job, and thanks!
.-= Kathy Jodrey´s last blog ..Are You Drinking the Healthiest Water Available =-.
Hey Richard,
Thanks for the great information!
I am about to get my FanPage up and going and this article is right on target for me.Your explanation on how to do it is very easy to understand.
In Success,
Howie Perks
.-= Howie Perks´s last blog ..MLM Business – Are You A “New Kid On The Block” =-.
There is a lot to absorb here Richard. I will slip back in and work to figure all this stuff out. I know I want to spruce up my Business page and Personal Page. Thanks for taking the time to compile this post. Good stuff..
Thanks Kiaran, Kathy, Howie, and Nelson for visiting and leaving kind comments.
If I may stress, if you do come back to use this material, it will make a lot more sense after reading Part 1, the previous post. It was actually all one post but I had to split it in half to get it uploaded. If you have NO previous FBML personally created Tab on your Fan Page, you will need to start with information in the previous post.
Thanks again.
Oh boy Richard, Seems like I have a lot to do now. This is so awesome. Thank you so much for being the great teacher that you are. It is a blessing that you are in my group!
Donna Merrill
.-= Donna Merrill´s last blog ..Quality versus Quantity – Social Marketing Strategies =-.
Hi Richard, thanks so much for going into detail about how to create and/or “spruce up” your landing/welcome page on your business FB page. I have spent some time trying to figure it out how to do this, and your steps have definitely helped me with this
Christine
.-= Christine Casey´s last blog ..How do you use Facebook =-.
Hi Richard, as other people said, you’ve done a terrific job with this tutorial. I think I was working on my Facebook page at the same time you were doing this, wish I’d done it after seeing your tutorial.
Once thing I found that doesn’t seem to be mentioned anywhere – I had 3 blocks of code/images because I wanted to embed a video. And, at first there were 2 rather large spaces between the blocks of code. Took me ages (Duh:-) to work out why the spaces were there. It was very simple – I had used the code to center and they caused the big spaces.
FBML is a bit different from HTML.
.-= Julieanne van Zyl´s last blog ..Searching content on a Facebook page =-.
Richard…great tutorial. I will have to go visit part 1 to catch the first part. It will be interesting to see what FB does in their changes. I’m sure there will always be new and cool things to do that will be beneficial. It will keep us all on our toes. Thanks a ton and I will be back to see part 1 and then try and put this into practice. Blessings!
.-= Bruce Backman´s last blog ..How to Create Ebooks- Video Tutorials- Audio Series and so much more by attending Crushers College =-.
Great tutorial, as always Richard.
I have a Fan Page but I have not yet done anything with it.
You are making it hard for me to procrastinate any longer
.-= Peter Fuller MBA´s last blog ..Why Are You Making It So Hard For Me To Share Your Content =-.
Hi Peter, Appreciate your visiting here again. Isn’t it great that we can egg each other onward and upward?!
Ahh great info Richard! I have to agree with Peter here – time to get on the fan page wagon and get some activity rolling on my own
Hey question about your list picture up there – how’d you do that? Is it a spreadsheet?
Good stuff thanks!
Andrea
.-= Andrea Goodsaid´s last blog ..David Wood says “Flowers before Sex in the Bahamas” =-.
Thanks for stopping by Andrea. Yes, activity rolling helps…..
The step by step instructions were created with a “table” using HTML within the post itself. You can set it up with as many columns or rows as you want.
Great informational post!
I use an FBML page on my fan page to capture leads. It is incredibly useful, it’s nice too because fan pages are so viral it really helps promoting blog posts more.
To the top,
-Gregory Elfrink
.-= Gregory Elfrink´s last blog ..How to Find New Prospects for Your Business in 53 Seconds or Less =-.
Sweet!
Great information Richard!
I did create a welcome page for mine but have a lot of “sprucing up” to do so this will definitely help.
Very thorough tutorial. Thanks, Laura
.-= Laura Paulson´s last blog ..Cool Tip On Masking Your Affiliate Links =-.
Richard,
Great post and a lot of very good information. I know making this post took you some time to do it. WOW! How did you know its some info I needed
Anyway, I am sure this info will help many including myself, so thanks for taking the time to do it and I will be passing your teachings on!
Keep up the great work and I’ll be back for more
Wishing you all my best.
.-= Larry Bilich´s last blog ..Article Marketing Strategies That Will Get You More Traffic =-.
Great share Richard! I personally love FBML and use it already! It’s just one more excellent way to enhance your facebook page!
-Kyle
.-= Kyle McCauley´s last blog ..Are You Missing The Secret Ingredient For Online Marketing Success =-.
Hey Richard,
Wow thanks for creating such a detailed step by step post.
I thought Jim Yaghi’s template was awesome for people using a PPC but I love your softer approach.
Great tips on the Logo Box as I’m just getting started with pages.
Michaele Harrington recently posted..2 Simple Tools To Skyrocket Your Credibility Within Minutes
It’s cool to keep learning more and more about how to utilize and leverage Facebook, and this post was another good example of that. I really enjoyed it, and I have to say the indepth tutorial made it very easy to understand.
Mike
Mike Pedersen recently posted..How To Attract Referrals For Your Business
Hi Richard and Ruth,
What a great blog. Your sampler post has such great content it’s incredible what great resources you reveal. I was really impressed keep up the good work. Have a great day.