TJ Chapman: How To Add A Custom Landing Tab To Your Facebook Fan Page

How To Add A Custom Landing Tab To Your Facebook Fan Page

Posted on January 21st, 2010.

Let’s assume you have your Facebook Fan Page up and running now. (If not, see FANtastic Fan Pages
for ideas and help). Some of the basics include adding a custom graphic, installing apps – particularly Static FBML, adding custom content including a landing tab, and ensuring you’re adding relevant, quality content on a regular basis. I’ll be covering all of these subjects and more on this blog and also on SocialMediaExaminer.com
.

If you have visitors to your Fan page and they are not yet fans, I call them non-fans, you ideally want those visitors to be directed to your custom Welcome Tab rather than your Wall.

The idea behind this is you want to have a clear and inviting page that provides these visitors with an immediate sense of who you are, what you do, why they should become a fan, AND you want to provide a call to action with a nice visual to your Become a Fan button.

If the visitor is already a Fan they’ll automatically be directed to your Wall as the landing page so they can read your updates, see what your community has to say and share their thoughts.

Before you can set up your fan page to make the distinction between fans and “non-fans” you’ll need to create a Welcome tab:

Add the Static FBML App

FBML stands for Facebook Markup Language. It’s Facebook’s own version of HTML. You want to install this application because it allows you to configure your Fan Page with custom tabs. If you are good at traditional HTML you will pick up FBML very quickly.

If you don’t have any experience with HTML you are not alone and I highly suggest you work with a web developer who can quickly and easily add all of the custom apps you want without the headache and frustration of learning this new language at a time when you are trying to grow your business and fan base. But, if you love that type of challenge, more power to you!

Here’s how you add the Static FBML application so you or your web designer can start configuring your landing page:

In the master Search box at the top right corner, type in FBML.

Click on the square Facebook FBML icon to go to that page. Under the icon on the left side of that new page, Click on Add to My Page (as shown in the screenshot below).

You will then see a pop up window with thumbnails of any fan pages you’re an Admin for. Click on the button that says Add Static FBML next to the fan page you want.

Creating the Custom Content

After you install the Static FBML app, go back to your Fan page and click Edit Page under your image. You will now see new applications to choose from – click on the edit link for the FBML app.

There are essentially two simple, blank fields to this app and that’s it. It’s so simple, it seems complex! The first small field is where you enter the title of the tab you want. Then the larger field is where you paste in the raw HTML code. [NOTE: Something really cool to know about the Static FBML app is you can add additional iterations of the app for as many custom boxes/tabs as you wish!]

If you are fairly savvy about adding similar HTML text to a WordPress site then this will be a snap, but again, don’t be afraid to enlist the help of a web developer.

For do-it-yourself folks, try Windows Livewriter
(for PCs only) – it’s a free WYSIWYG desktop blog writing software (I use it for all my blog posts) where you can create the content you want, then view the raw HTML source code and copy/paste. Or, if you’re more advanced, software like Dreamweaver
will be a good choice.

Once you have created and added the content you want, you can add this new tab to the list of tabs on your fan page by clicking on the double arrows that appear on your tab bar on the far right.

To “lock” the positioning of your first several tabs in place, click on the tab itself and you can actually pick it up and drag and reorder. Once you’re finished reordering, this new order will remain “set.”

Adjust the Settings

Now that your Welcome tab is set up, it’s time to adjust your settings for the appropriate landing page for your fans and your non-fans. There are a couple places to do so; here’s the simplest:

On your Wall tab, look just below the Share button of your Publisher and you’ll see a tiny link for Options. Click on that, then click Settings.

Use the drop-down menu next to Default Landing Tab for Everyone Else, and select Welcome so that all non-fans are directed to your Welcome page first.

Custom welcome tab – your Welcome tab is for non-fans and the key objective is to provide the call to action so that people become a fan. The really fun trend with Welcome tabs is to make them multi-media – a short (1 minute or less) welcome video, an audio post, etc. This is such a great personal way to connect with your new visitors. Of course, you can name this landing tab whatever you wish; it doesn’t have to be “Welcome.”

Add an Opt-In box

An Opt-In box on FB is much the same as one on your website. It is a way to offer free products or services to your visitors in exchange for their email address for future marketing purposes.

You may choose to use the same give-away product as your website or offer a different one. If you want to track where your contact list originates or you believe the demographics of your fans may be different than your website visitors, you might want to offer different giveaways for each opt-in box.

Otherwise, I would recommend sticking with the same offerings for both your website and fan page. Again, if you are good with HTML, it will be a breeze for you to use the Static FBML application to add your opt-in box, otherwise put this on your to-do list for your web-designer. (Note – this opt in box will be programmed just like the one on your website – using the same auto-responder program such as aWeber, 1ShoppingCart
, Constant Contact, etc.)

If you go visit my friend, John Assaraf’s, Facebook fan page (screenshot above) – you’ll find he actually has three different opt-in boxes on three separate tab: Welcome, Ask John (genius!), and RAK.
via whyfacebook.com

Every artist, dj, record company & everyone in business should have a Facebook Fan Page!