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While a personal profile can only get so much attention, a Facebook Fanpage allows you to expand your reach and your profile’s capabilities. While a business profile is ok, a fanpage for your company, business, service or product is the best approach on Facebook since a fanpage has significantly more options and is more flexible than a simple profile.
For this tutorial we’ll assume that you have a freelance service (and a product) which you want to advertise on Facebook. We won’t cover Facebook ads here, only the design and structure of a fanpage which will get people interested in your product and services.
If you already have a Fanpage, you can probably skip this first step.
Proper naming is important as it’s what attracts fans in the first place. It should be highly descriptive of what your fanpage is about. It doesn’t have to be witty, snarky nor down right silly, though it can be IF that is the point of your fanpage. Since in this example we are working on a business service and product fanpage, we need the title to be descriptive of what our business is about.
Let’s say that our example business is a freelance graphic designer. So you’ll probably want your name in there (or nick-name) since it’ll help identify you. If you happen to have a catchy unique nick-name that’s also a plus. For example if you nick-name is Chykalophia, a good choice for a fanpage name could be: Chykalophia Graphic Design
Here are some top tips when picking a name:
Did you know you can easily have a portrait sized profile picture? You can! It can be at most 200px wide and 600px high! Since there is that much real-estate available, why not use it to grab attention? Do you need to use all of it? No. It depends on your design, logo and what you want to do with it.
The Chykalophia Graphic Design fanpage used the 200px wide space, but not all the 600px height because everything was able to fit into a smaller size. There is also a small downsize of a taller profile picture, it pushes down all other boxes and information in the left column. So if you have some contact info in those boxes, they will go below the fold. Sometimes it’s not what you want, so make sure you know your large vs small benefits.
You can style these 200x600px picture any way you like. Though for maximum impact here some some top tips:
Static FBML is the defacto standard when it comes to creating custom tabs (with html) for your fanpages. What the Static-FBML application offers is a very simple way for you to add (almost) any HTML/CSS code you would want and stick it into a tab on your fanpage.
Better yet, is that you can make that tab the default landing page for new visitors and non-fans!
Now that you have added Static FBML to your page it’s time to customize it.
One great way is to add a opt-in page. This is a page which asks (or tells) people to opt-in! This isn’t a course on opt-in pages, so I’ll only go over this briefly. There are several important elements:
HeaderYou use the header to get your readers attention. This could be a header image, like a banner, or just some text that speaks out to the reader. Your message is crucial as this gives them a reason why they should sign up and what they’ll get once they do. The opt-in gift is just a nice little incentive for them to do so!
You of course need your input opt-in box which is where the reader will enter their name and e-mail address. Right below that should be your no-spam guarantee as it’s a proven fact that ‘that’ single line can improve the conversion rate.
The other type of quality landing page is a informative page. Or a ‘next step’ page. This type informs the viewer of something important going on with your product or service. It could also be, and is also largely used, as a ‘featured article’ area.
On Chykalophia Graphic Design Fanpage the landing page is a ‘next step’ page which encourages the viewer to go to the main website. Here the fanpage is used and a traffic source and is part of the sales funnel which ultimately leads to the main contact/sales page.
This is also a good place to showcase your current and best quality work.
Be sure to also give you tab an appropriate title. Such as “Welcome!”
Open the main page of the fanpage. Click on Edit Page. Then click on Edit Wall Settings. Change the Default Landing Page For Everyone Else to be the name of your new awesome tab.
On the left side bar you have a ‘note’ box, you can use it to include links and contact info. There is also a ‘Information’ box on Fanpages, so use that specifically for contact details like work phone number, main website and contact e-mail.
Be sure to also fill in all the relevant information in the default ‘Info’ tab. Many people will go there first to find where to contact you.
Last but not least: CONTENT & Interaction!
One of the reasons people use Facebook is for interactions. Thus use your fanpage NOT just to post your stuff, but talk to your fans. Encourage interactive in many ways, such as:
Though it may not seem like it, but people respect quality information. Thus after a little while you’ll see people joining your fanpage because they find it useless and great.
But how to get people to say ‘yes’ on your site?
The first step is this:
If you are a graphic designer, you need to interact with people and show them that YES! You can create awesome designs for them which work and make money for them.
While posting content on the wall is a great way to get people to connect with you, they won’t convert unless several factors are fulfilled:
You cannot go around screaming “Buy my product.” It is an advertising fact the people do not like to be “sold.” For online business ventures such as fanpages, the best way is to show them your quality work.
Here are some top tips to get people to say YES on your fanpage:
If you do run out of content ideas or are really swamped by other things, you can set a slow drip feed through RSS feeds that will post content regularly for you to your fanpage wall.
This should be a great starting point for your new fanpage. Those tips and a bit of creativity can make a successful fanpage in no time!
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Piotr Krzyzek is an avid young entrepreneur who loves to write about Linux, business, technology and self-improvement on his main website PiotrKrzyzek.com. He is a no BS type of guy whose answers get straight to the point and never include useless 'fluff'. His latest business venture is a Facebook Fanpage marketing product which helps people improve their Fanpages to gain users and authority. Check it out at Quantum Fanpages. Piotr is a very friendly and down to earth guy so be sure to connect with him on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook!
Wednesday, January 18th, 2012 01:48
Hi,
I just read your posting about fanpage design and enjoyed it very much. It will be helpful to me.
However, I am a proofreader: there are many grammatical errors in the article. I’d be happy to share them with you. No charge, of course.
Regards,
Scott MacKinnon
Tuesday, December 6th, 2011 22:34
The best way to double your fan conversion is to set up a facebook “reveal” fan page.
Friday, November 18th, 2011 18:10
FBML has been phased out so its no longer useful. No you must code using html, php
Just thought I would let anyone reading this know. Contact us by clicking on our name for a free quote and consultation for fanpages
Sunday, November 6th, 2011 14:26
Nice tutorial. May I also suggest some examples of Fan Page designs: http://www.fanpagecraft.com
Wednesday, October 12th, 2011 15:00
This article is a bookmark and ready to get started. Thx a lot
Wednesday, October 5th, 2011 07:31
Great article mate – definitely tips that I need to start employing…I am a little behind the Facebook times…
And you gave me a good laugh, too:
“Thus after a little while you’ll see people joining your fanpage because they find it useless and great.”
;-P
Sunday, September 11th, 2011 14:24
Hey, Love the valuable information….I found FBML app great, but someone else who was saying that Facebook will probably cease supporting such scripts by the end of 2011, because they have introduced IFrames?
Wednesday, June 29th, 2011 10:26
This is an excellent blog post and one I’ll certainly be doing. I have a fan page at the moment but I think it looks diabolical, I certainly need to do some tweaking on mine so will follow this post to (hopefully) create an awesome page.
Sunday, June 12th, 2011 02:36
This was one of the most helpful tutorials I have found! It really got me going and I finally finished setting up my facebook page today. Your directions are clear and to the point.
My only suggestion for non-coding types like myself – I used Pagemoto to make my welcome page. It was super easy. I spent a few hours looking for a wysiwyg to HTML editor that my puny brain could work out and this was the best option out there. The only drawback is it is a little expensive if you want more than one page or to remove the branding. But for a single page with a little bit of their branding, it was free!
Cheers for the help!
Monday, November 8th, 2010 23:57
Hey, great tutorial thanks for taking the time out of your day to help those less ‘techy’… however i’m having a problem trying to locate the ‘edit’ tab under the application… it’s just not there.
Is it possible facebook has made updates since this was publisheD?? Thaks!
Tuesday, October 19th, 2010 07:17
This is really nice share and thanks for valuable tips :)
Friday, October 8th, 2010 01:43
Would love some help creating useful side boxes
Thursday, October 7th, 2010 18:27
Great Post I always wondered what the dimensions for adding a larger profile pic were.
Wednesday, October 6th, 2010 04:09
Nice Post!
:)
Thanks
Monday, October 4th, 2010 18:02
Great article , used some tips in my fb page!
Monday, October 4th, 2010 14:43
Finally a “how-to” post that has solid, useful information! (So many how-to posts are merely rehashed tutorial info that anyone with common sense can figure out on their own.) Thanks! I can’t wait to implement these tips on my Facebook fan page.
Monday, October 4th, 2010 19:50
Thanks for the complements Mike! I’m glad you enjoyed it and found it useful. I try to teach everyone I work with in a non-bullshit type of way, so I’m glad I succeeded here.
Best of luck with your fanpage!
–PK
Sunday, October 3rd, 2010 09:41
Great article —will surely need this when I put up my online shop! :)
Sunday, October 3rd, 2010 00:04
Thank you SO MUCH~!! I completely revamped my Facebook page using this article~!!!
PS George, just go to someone else’s page, look in the bottom left corner at text links, one will say “Create A Page For My Business” =)
Monday, October 4th, 2010 20:12
Thanks Anita!
Thanks for the help in pointing readers to the right place to setup their own pages.
As for constructive criticism:
* Try using more of the real-estate you have on the Welcome! landing page. A bigger banner generally attracts more people.
* Possibly rethink the shadow-border on the main image, it looks very 90′s instead of Web 2.0-ish (which is what sells these days).
Other than that, don’t forget to put a Call To Action on that welcome page! Don’t just tell them to ‘ok, click here to go to the real page’. No, tell them: “Click here to find out more awesome info about XYZ”. Entice them to click on that link, make them want to ‘like’ your page and subscribe to your mailing list! Tell them do to so and they will :)
Best of luck!
–PK
Friday, December 9th, 2011 10:56
Piotr,
Thank you for sharing the great info, very useful tips! please keep sharing your articles, stay blessed!
Abe,
Saturday, October 2nd, 2010 22:22
Great post.
I’m just in the process of setting up a fan page and this should come in really useful.
thanks a lot
Saturday, October 2nd, 2010 20:23
Great tutorial — it’s too bad that FB keeps changing their policies. I really liked the fact that you could use Static FBML on the left sidebar to showcase different things – opt in boxes, Twitter/LinkedIn profiles, etc.
Monday, October 4th, 2010 20:05
Michael,
I completely agree: too bad they change it so much and all for the worse too!
The good ol days of ‘wide’ fanpage tabs and Static FBML sidebar boxes are over. Which makes NO sense at all from a user perspective.
Best of luck on your pages!
–PK
Saturday, October 2nd, 2010 12:57
article would be better if you provided user some URLs and screenshots on how to go on and create that fanpage first
Monday, October 4th, 2010 19:52
Howdy George,
I didn’t include that information on purpose. This is a how to structure and setup a Facebook Fanpage for success, not a beginners how-to get started manual. There are plenty of places to learn how to do that and would have been completely redundant to put it here.
Check out Anita’s comment for info on how to do it.
Best of luck!
Saturday, October 2nd, 2010 13:18
Great tips. How can I change the name of my page? I mean not the username (or URL name), but adding some keywords to it.
Thanks
Monday, October 4th, 2010 20:02
Hey,
Sadly it is currently NOT possible to change the name for various reasons. Facebook says that if you want to ‘change’ the name, “you can delete your current page and create a new one with the proper name”. This is complete B.S. if you ask me, though that is the wonderful world of Facebook ‘usability’ at the moment.
You might try contacting facebook help and see if they can change it for you. Other than that, no way as far as I can see.
Good luck,
–PK
Saturday, October 2nd, 2010 13:02
AWESOME! I just installed my fanpage and this article is head-on as to how I can step it up a notch. Kudos!
Monday, October 4th, 2010 19:56
Awesome Alf!
Great to know it’s being put to great use.
Cheers,
–PK
Saturday, October 2nd, 2010 12:14
Hey Piotr these are really nice suggestions, I’ll surely be working on them to make my Facebook Fan Page better. I guess it will surely help me in getting some more fans.
Cheers.
Monday, October 4th, 2010 19:56
Hey Akash,
Thanks for the kind words.
Best wishes to you and your fanpage!
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George Birbilis
Saturday, October 2nd, 2010 12:57
article would be better if you provided user some URLs and screenshots on how to go on and create that fanpage first
Piotr Krzyzek
Monday, October 4th, 2010 19:52
Howdy George,
I didn’t include that information on purpose. This is a how to structure and setup a Facebook Fanpage for success, not a beginners how-to get started manual. There are plenty of places to learn how to do that and would have been completely redundant to put it here.
Check out Anita’s comment for info on how to do it.
Best of luck!
João Cunha
Saturday, October 2nd, 2010 13:18
Great tips. How can I change the name of my page? I mean not the username (or URL name), but adding some keywords to it.
Thanks
Piotr Krzyzek
Monday, October 4th, 2010 20:02
Hey,
Sadly it is currently NOT possible to change the name for various reasons. Facebook says that if you want to ‘change’ the name, “you can delete your current page and create a new one with the proper name”. This is complete B.S. if you ask me, though that is the wonderful world of Facebook ‘usability’ at the moment.
You might try contacting facebook help and see if they can change it for you. Other than that, no way as far as I can see.
Good luck,
–PK
Alf Catadman
Saturday, October 2nd, 2010 13:02
AWESOME! I just installed my fanpage and this article is head-on as to how I can step it up a notch. Kudos!
Piotr Krzyzek
Monday, October 4th, 2010 19:56
Awesome Alf!
Great to know it’s being put to great use.
Cheers,
–PK
Michael
Saturday, October 2nd, 2010 20:23
Great tutorial — it’s too bad that FB keeps changing their policies. I really liked the fact that you could use Static FBML on the left sidebar to showcase different things – opt in boxes, Twitter/LinkedIn profiles, etc.
Piotr Krzyzek
Monday, October 4th, 2010 20:05
Michael,
I completely agree: too bad they change it so much and all for the worse too!
The good ol days of ‘wide’ fanpage tabs and Static FBML sidebar boxes are over. Which makes NO sense at all from a user perspective.
Best of luck on your pages!
–PK
Adie
Saturday, October 2nd, 2010 22:22
Great post.
I’m just in the process of setting up a fan page and this should come in really useful.
thanks a lot
Iamsheena22
Sunday, October 3rd, 2010 09:41
Great article —will surely need this when I put up my online shop! :)
Anita Nelson
Sunday, October 3rd, 2010 00:04
Thank you SO MUCH~!! I completely revamped my Facebook page using this article~!!!
PS George, just go to someone else’s page, look in the bottom left corner at text links, one will say “Create A Page For My Business” =)
Piotr Krzyzek
Monday, October 4th, 2010 20:12
Thanks Anita!
Thanks for the help in pointing readers to the right place to setup their own pages.
As for constructive criticism:
* Try using more of the real-estate you have on the Welcome! landing page. A bigger banner generally attracts more people.
* Possibly rethink the shadow-border on the main image, it looks very 90′s instead of Web 2.0-ish (which is what sells these days).
Other than that, don’t forget to put a Call To Action on that welcome page! Don’t just tell them to ‘ok, click here to go to the real page’. No, tell them: “Click here to find out more awesome info about XYZ”. Entice them to click on that link, make them want to ‘like’ your page and subscribe to your mailing list! Tell them do to so and they will :)
Best of luck!
–PK
Abe Kardoudi
Friday, December 9th, 2011 10:56
Piotr,
Thank you for sharing the great info, very useful tips! please keep sharing your articles, stay blessed!
Abe,
Jonathan Lear
Thursday, October 7th, 2010 18:27
Great Post I always wondered what the dimensions for adding a larger profile pic were.
Dennis
Friday, October 8th, 2010 01:43
Would love some help creating useful side boxes
Monika
Tuesday, December 6th, 2011 22:34
The best way to double your fan conversion is to set up a facebook “reveal” fan page.
Scott MacKinnon
Wednesday, January 18th, 2012 01:48
Hi,
I just read your posting about fanpage design and enjoyed it very much. It will be helpful to me.
However, I am a proofreader: there are many grammatical errors in the article. I’d be happy to share them with you. No charge, of course.
Regards,
Scott MacKinnon
Mustafa
Tuesday, March 6th, 2012 09:49
Static FBML is not working from your link
Diana Granados
Thursday, March 22nd, 2012 16:55
We’re about to put up an online craft/customized stuff store next month, and I’m glad I came upon your 101 on the FB fan page by chance. Keeping in mind your suggestions for Number 7 – I’ll definitely benefit from any sort of feedback from people. Besides, Facebook’s where everyone’s at, so I’m hoping to get my high school friends from our own mini-art club back in the day to spread the word around as well.
Thanks.
Kingsley
Wednesday, March 21st, 2012 18:09
Can one make money from creating fanpage for business,company
mchiel
Wednesday, March 7th, 2012 20:36
Great article bro keep it up
Chris
Friday, November 18th, 2011 18:10
FBML has been phased out so its no longer useful. No you must code using html, php
Just thought I would let anyone reading this know. Contact us by clicking on our name for a free quote and consultation for fanpages
Alex Flueras
Sunday, November 6th, 2011 14:26
Nice tutorial. May I also suggest some examples of Fan Page designs: http://www.fanpagecraft.com
Jaye
Sunday, June 12th, 2011 02:36
This was one of the most helpful tutorials I have found! It really got me going and I finally finished setting up my facebook page today. Your directions are clear and to the point.
My only suggestion for non-coding types like myself – I used Pagemoto to make my welcome page. It was super easy. I spent a few hours looking for a wysiwyg to HTML editor that my puny brain could work out and this was the best option out there. The only drawback is it is a little expensive if you want more than one page or to remove the branding. But for a single page with a little bit of their branding, it was free!
Cheers for the help!
Noam Sadovnik
Monday, November 8th, 2010 23:57
Hey, great tutorial thanks for taking the time out of your day to help those less ‘techy’… however i’m having a problem trying to locate the ‘edit’ tab under the application… it’s just not there.
Is it possible facebook has made updates since this was publisheD?? Thaks!
Manendra
Tuesday, October 19th, 2010 07:17
This is really nice share and thanks for valuable tips :)
Gavin
Wednesday, June 29th, 2011 10:26
This is an excellent blog post and one I’ll certainly be doing. I have a fan page at the moment but I think it looks diabolical, I certainly need to do some tweaking on mine so will follow this post to (hopefully) create an awesome page.
kate
Saturday, September 3rd, 2011 11:16
i want to beautiful maii page
Danny Wauters
Wednesday, October 12th, 2011 15:00
This article is a bookmark and ready to get started. Thx a lot
Russ Hudson
Wednesday, October 5th, 2011 07:31
Great article mate – definitely tips that I need to start employing…I am a little behind the Facebook times…
And you gave me a good laugh, too:
“Thus after a little while you’ll see people joining your fanpage because they find it useless and great.”
;-P
Greg Levett
Sunday, September 11th, 2011 14:24
Hey, Love the valuable information….I found FBML app great, but someone else who was saying that Facebook will probably cease supporting such scripts by the end of 2011, because they have introduced IFrames?