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!

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, M4V

So you have established Facebook is where your organization needs to be. You did your demographic research, determined how you will engage your fans and allocated the time and resources to truly be interactive. So the logical next step is to create a page. But how do you build a page that will be most appealing to your audience? Start with a few of the basics to get a good foundation, then listen to what your fans are asking for and how they are spending most of their time on your page.

Start with the tabs
The wall – this is your landing page for fans and your life stream. It’s all of the activity and interactions with fans. Devote most of your attention here as your page gets going.

Info – this is all about your organization. Be sure to be descriptive, but concise, punchy and appealing. Don’t forget to post links to any of your Web sites or social networks here too. Use this information and the links in the small box under your icon too.

Photos – consider opening this up to fans, allowing them to post, tag and comment on photos. Photos create another level of interaction and can spark dialogue. Post photos of your customers here too (with their consent of course) and tag them. Again it’s creating more activity on your page.

Boxes – you can add various built in boxes like “links” and “notes,” but they also afford you the ability to customize your page. (More on this in the next blog).

Notes – use this to post articles, press releases, anything…get creative. You may find though that you don’t even need this tab. Most of the other tabs get the job done and are more useful.

Events – use your creativity here too. You don’t have to limit it just to in-person events. Think outside of the box. Maybe host online event or some sort of contest or special promotion on your page that is contained within a set number of days.

Landing page – for fans the default landing page is the wall, but for non fans and non Facebook members you can direct them to a different tab with a call to action. Mashable and Victoria Secret’s Pink do this effectively with their landing pages.

Post no bills
Will you allow fans to post comments, photos and videos? You would be wise to leave it open. You can always moderate any inappropriate postings. Keep in mind the more people post the more it will show up in streams, which means more of their friends see it. Not allowing this level of interaction could potentially have a negative effect.

How will you kick start these conversations and postings? Think like a blogger, unravel stories over time and engage your fans with questions.

One last tip, be sure to grab your vanity URL. Not only does it help you retain your brand identity online, but also there are talks that Facebook may be launching an email platform. The platform would use your vanity URL as your email address. You don’t want to get stuck with one that doesn’t fit your organization.

Couple questions:
If you have a page what is one strategy you’ve used to successfully build your fan base? Could running a promotion to get new fans and not extending that offer to existing fans have a negative impact?

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

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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.

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, M4V

This is slightly different from my usual posts…it’s actually a story I wrote a while ago about the fragmenting effect social media can have (warning: it’s a bit long). What do you think? Does social media fragment its users? If so, how long do you think this trend will last? 

On Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, Viddler and countless other social networking sites he’s known as “iboughtamac.” Offline he’s known as Brent Spore and his life is an open book to those that know him – and even those that don’t. He prides himself on living honest and out loud and believes the world would be a much happier place if everyone lived this way.

Brent is 34, a husband, a father of a 9-month-old, owner of a design and brand management firm, a youth group leader at his church, and a social media zealot, or as he calls it a “geek.” Like many, he is a time-starved multitasker who won’t give up Tweeting, blogging and posting photos and videos.

He loves sharing his life with people. In fact, when his wife Michelle was in labor with their daughter he blogged on Twitter, uploaded photos on Flickr and posted videos on Viddler, giving his followers a play-by-play of the delivery – nothing too graphic of course.

“She was an ‘iBaby’ as people referred to her,” Brent says, motioning towards their daughter Cadence – Cadie for short – who is dressed in a white onesie with a pink Apple logo on it, which he and Michelle created.

“For me it wasn’t about let’s do this Internet thing and be famous,” Michelle says. “We have family in California and his parents are in Seattle. We have friends all over the country, so it was more about including them in on the experience.”

“It was just letting people be a part of the joy we were experiencing,” Brent says. “I wouldn’t say I’m addicted. I am a big fan and I do think they really are a natural way for people to connect and that’s one of the reasons why people flock to them.”

For the majority of social media fans like Brent, it’s about sharing an experience, communicating, and being in control of the news they disseminate and consume. But the sheer number of social media sites has created even more opportunities for addiction.

Despite his burning desire to be everywhere all of the time, constantly creating, sharing and living out loud, which the social networks give him the platform to do, Brent often feels “fragmented.”

“We go to MySpace and check our messages. We go to Facebook and check our messages. We go to any number of social networks that we’re a part of, and there are thousands of them, where people hang out, play games and message each other,” Brent says. “Instead of it being about us, it’s about us having to go somewhere to check our messages. We’re all getting fragmented again.

As the demand for user-generated content grows and more sites continue to be created, will the time-starved social media devotees like Brent become even more fragmented? Or is there change on the horizon for the world of social networking? 

Fractured Communications
Dr. Alisa Cooper, an English professor at South Mountain Community College, uses social networks because she likes the ability to connect with other educators around the globe, but she says time management can be an issue so she forced herself to make a choice.

“I picked the one that I found the most connection with people and I don’t visit any of the others,” Cooper says. “If you don’t control your usage it can be time consuming and it can result in a lot of wasted time. So I wouldn’t call that fragmented because I made a choice.”

Cooper doesn’t believe any one social network will take over, rather more programs like FriendFeed, which allows users to make one post that is then submitted to multiple networking sites, will begin to connect the fragmented networks.

Some believe the decline in the number of MySpace users, though it is still widely popular, may be a sign of things to come. Meanwhile, however, Facebook, with more than 200 million active users; LinkedIn, with 40 million members; and Twitter, with an estimated 55 million monthly visits – the company won’t disclose the number of active accounts – continue to gain momentum and are among the most trafficked social media sites in the world. And consumers still haven’t completely turned their backs on sites like LinkedIn, Brightkite, Flickr, YouTube, and the countless blogs and RSS feeds.

Will social media users find solidarity in one information aggregator or will the online world become more saturated? 

Screaming for a revolution
Brent explains that before the Internet, the nightly ritual of the “geek” was to dial into a bulletin board system, or BBS, to play games, check their messages, read news and whatever else that particular BBS offered. Then hang up and dial into the next system and do the same thing. Since there was no email, or centralized place for messages, users would have to check their messages on every system.

These were extremely popular, but there was one problem; the system fragmented its users. Fast forward to 2009 and many of the social networks are creating the same dilemma. 

“The revolution that is coming, that I believe the internet is screaming for is individuality,” Brent says. “I think, social networks like what we have today, Facebook and MySpace, are going to reach the end of their life spans, because people want to be their own social networks.”

For social media users and generators, this means instead of having to visit a Facebook or MySpace to check  messages or disseminate information, they would become the hub – their own social network of sorts. They would post and receive messages, hangout and interact with their friends all in one location.

Piecing the fragments together
Until the revolution comes, Brent works to create communities, to bring people together to get things done. He still has faith in the ability of social networks to build communities. He loves being connected and the idea of synergy, so much so he even named his design firm Synergy.

“Community is powerful,” he says. “I think many minds make things better. It’s the spirit of social networking and what’s happening on the net today.”

In 2007, in an effort to unite the fractured social media community in the Valley, Brent and his wife Michelle took on the responsibility of bringing PodCamp, a social media “unconference,” to Arizona. The response was overwhelming. Hundreds of social media users and creators showed up to connect, learn and share. 

“It seemed to me that there were a lot of people involved in social media, but there’s nothing in Arizona that pulls them together,” he says. “There’s synergy, which I’m all about. That’s what really attracted me to PodCamp – it is the attitude of synergy embodied. It has that spirit and I just love stuff like that. I love being part of a team.”

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).