How do you make your Facebook page more appealing? One way is to customize it through applications, and now there is bevy to choose from – everything from games to polls to blog/RSS feeds and video boxes. Applications not only enable customization, but if used correctly will also create a page that’s made to stick – your fans will actually want to hang out there, and contribute and share your information with their friends.

Relevant, rich content and regular interaction are imperative to attracting Facebook fans. Applications can help you push new content to your page, make it appealing and keep your fans engaged.

Five to get you started:
1.    Blog RSS Feed Reader – this will automatically feed your blog into your Facebook stream. If you don’t have a blog, there is no better time to start one. There are several blog and RSS reader apps out there and you can also do this with the built in Notes app. Two that work well are the Blog RSS Feed Reader and Social RSS. These can be customized to look like your actual blog.
2.    Static FBML – allows you to add a customized box to your page using Facebook Markup Language. Get creative – add images, videos, text – anything to customize it to your brand. This app was developed by Facebook so it won’t be subject to the problems third party apps sometimes encounter.
3.    Extended Info Box – allows you to fill in more information about your organization beyond the standard information categories. You can also choose the name of the box so it matches your brand.
4.   YouTube Video Box – allows you to import videos from your YouTube account and has an integrated search option, which is handy if you have a lot of videos. There are several YouTube applications on Facebook, but this one seems to be the easiest to use and only requires one step for adding your videos.
5.    Polls – this application makes it easy to create polls for fans. You can add pictures, videos and links to the polls. Again, use your creativity here.

Explore Facebook and all of the applications offered there. Be sure to read the reviews and check who developed it. There are tons of solid applications, but many of them can be overloaded with bugs and not worth the time. Check out the apps other organizations are using too. Zappos.com, for instance, has a very engaging page and more than 32,000 fans. Poke around see what they’ve done – their huge fan base shows they must be doing a few things right.

Question of the week:
What Facebook applications are you using to actively engage fans?

For more tips and tools check out JetPack Radio. Feel free to fan Wired PR too!

Enclosures:

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, M4V

Is your company on Facebook? Now, more often than not the answer to that question is yes. In fact, it may seem your organization is living in the dark ages if it hasn’t claimed a piece of the Facebook real estate.

But Facebook may not be for everyone or every organization. Before starting a fan page, every company should ask themselves a few key questions:

1) Is your target audience on Facebook? Bottom line, you have to go where your target market is. If they are not on Facebook don’t waste your energy and resources there. Go where they are.

2) If they are on Facebook, ask if you can dedicate the time and resources to truly interact and engage them in two-way communication. If not, then you may want to reconsider creating a page. Unless you’re willing to turn the reigns over to a couple of loyal brand ambassadors like Coca-Cola did with their page. (Read the Mashable post.)

3) Finally, why would Facebook users want to fan your page? What are you going to offer them?

Once you’ve established Facebook is where your company needs to be, what do you do to get started?

Begin building your page being sure to go through the tabs thoroughly and filling in as much information as possible. Include links to your Web site, blog if you have one, and other social networks you are a part of. Think of it as an extension of your Web site (information wise), but as a blog (content wise). Fill it with photos – if appropriate – and tag people in them. Upload your logo or whatever image you want to represent your company in your profile picture.

Before you hit publish, develop a plan for engaging your audience. How are you going to interact with them? What voice will you use? Is going to be more personal or from a business approach? Who will respond to comments, questions and other posts?

How often will you post? Some companies that really have it down typically post a few times a day everyday. Either through questions or relevant information their fans can use. If you go too long in between posts, you will lose your fans attention – staying top of mind is key. BUT you also have to be relevant.

Going through this process will take a little more work, but it will build a good foundation and help ensure the success of your page.

If you have a Facebook page, what tips and tools did you use in the building it? Did you go in with a strategy? What has been the outcome?

For more tips and tools check out JetPack Radio.

Enclosures:

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, M4V

My gratitude post came a little later than I would’ve liked, but as the saying goes, better late than never. I will try to keep this brief…if I tried to list everything and everyone I am grateful for I know I would miss at least one.

First and foremost, I am grateful for all of the mentors in my life. These are people who have guided and encouraged me either academically, professionally or personally. A few that instantly spring to mind are Terry Greene Sterling, one of my college journalism professors who taught me what true journalism is (and continues to show me), my mom of course, my grandma, J.C. Gobins, for instilling a good business sense in me, Winston Mitchell, who took me under his wing, toughened me up (well I still have some work to do) and let me see what it was like to be an on-camera reporter in one of the toughest cities…NYC. Today, I consider Patrick Harter and Brent Spore my mentors. I admire the way they see the world and their genius marketing minds. I’m grateful beyond measure for each one of these mentors, as they have helped me get to where I am today.

I am also grateful for my clients…for the mutual trust we’ve developed, the new adventures everyday and the opportunity to continually learn and grow with them.

Finally, I am thankful for my wonderful family, friends and amazing dogs who bring so much laughter to my life. Thank you for everything and thank you to @JayBaer for keeping #tweetsgiving going!

How do you build mutually beneficial relationships in social media? Be real, transparent, genuine and engage in the discussion. Social media is about the two-way street of communication. This goes for high profile celebrities, busy CEOs and time-strapped business owners.

With many avenues of social media going mainstream, many have jumped on board just to have a presence. They are there only to push their own information, compete in gaining tons of followers, and sell their product or service. Some use ghost bloggers and auto responders, completely missing the benefits and essence of social media. This powerful medium provides an opportunity to get real feedback direct from the source – your audience.

At the Blogworld New Media Expo, a celebrity panel including, Anthony Edwards, Jermaine Dupri, Matt Goss and Robin Antin, had a candid discussion about social media and how they use it. Each are prime examples of how individuals and organizations can tap into the social media world and use it effectively.

Another example is the General Motors Marketing Executive, Bob Lutz. David Meerman Scott posted a blog on how Lutz effectively communicates across several avenues.

Check out how these celebrities and executives are utilizing social media, or research other companies with a large online presence, and figure out what works best for your brand. Just remember to be genuine.

How is your brand using Facebook? While some companies are just figuring out how to navigate the space, some have learned how to tap into it and utilize it as a powerful communications tool. Regardless of where you stand, and your level of knowledge, don’t be afraid to jump in and start using it.

Last month Facebook made it even more vital for companies to be in this space via Pages. The companies leveraging it to its fullest have seen major traffic spikes on their pages. Facebook may not be for every company though. By that I mean, those that are only interested in using it as a one-way form of communication or an information push, and those that don’t make the time to get involved in the discussion on their pages. That said, I do believe almost any organization can and should benefit from it – with creativity, open-mindedness and embracing the idea of two-way communication.
The Advance Guard produced a 25-page white paper, and recently updated it. It’s a living, breathing document, so continually check back for updates. This is an amazing tool for getting started. 

Benefits:

• Community – build a community around your brand. Your updates will be aggregated in your fan’s newsfeeds. This gives you the opportunity to capture friends of your fans who will see their newsfeeds.
• Engage – utilize tabs to post updates, news and press releases; build buzz around events; post photos of fans (and tag them in the photos); upload videos; and start discussions (but be prepared to contribute).
• Google Juice – every post, photo, video, discussion, etc. increases rankings on Google searches and other search engines. Keep your content fresh and relevant, and be sure to link back to your Web site and other social networks you are a part of.

Check out The Advance Guard’s whitepaper and research the brands that are using Facebook and using effectively. See what you like, what you don’t like. Be creative and be open. Just plugin.

A shameless plug for a few Wired PR clients who have Facebook pages: Urban Oven, Skintinu, Big Bob’s Flooring Outlet, BRIDGES Camp and, of course, Wired PR has one (feel free to become a fan of all of these).