With so many other brands to compete with on Facebook, it’s crucial that you customize your Facebook Page. Your best bet for making your content stand out and get shared is to customize every aspect of your Page—from your name and URL to the specific landing tab for new visitors right up to every last status update that current Page members see in their newsfeeds.
Facebook is not as simple to customize as your own site, but you can do a lot even when playing by its rules. Many other brands are not taking full advantage of the free tools and Facebook-provided functionality available to them, so a little extra effort on your part can go a long way. Because Facebook is always changing the exact tools and methods of customization, this chapter explores strategies to make your Page stand out from the rest and become a favorite destination for fans without relying on specific functionality.
Page Icon
The Page icon is the first thing current Page members see every time they come to your Page. Its thumbnail image is also how you will be represented in the Facebook Newsfeed, where many other Pages and friends are also clamoring for attention. Your Page icon must stand out but also clearly represent your brand and be easily distinguishable in the fast-paced environment of the Newsfeed.
A Page icon is most often a company logo or some variation of it. The perfect size is 200 pixels square,
which shrinks exactly into the thumbnail without cropping. You can also experiment with an elongated icon that is 600 pixels high by 200 pixels wide. In this case, a third of your icon (200 pixels square) should be something that can serve as the thumbnail, and you can specify how Facebook crops the icon. Maintaining a connection between the Page icon and Newsfeed thumbnail will help you increase interaction, engagement, and click-throughs; Page members will immediately recognize your brand in the Newsfeed and respond to your content.
Because the Page icon is such an important representation of your brand and of your Page, you should take full advantage of the space Facebook allows. A longer Page icon gives you more real estate to revamp your Page’s look right on the Wall tab, while a consistent logo area within the icon prevents confusion in the Newsfeed. Many fashion brands use a static logo and timely redesigns of the rest of the icon to showcase new looks.
Designing Assets and Media
Your Page icon now makes a good first impression, but don’t stop there. Take advantage of one of the biggest tools for customization: Facebook tabs. Display tabs host custom content using Facebook Markup Language (FBML), and are purely informational. Custom applications tabs offer interactivity through media players, forms, quizzes, and games.
Facebook’s downsizing of tab widths to 520 pixels made a lot of Page admins nervous, but it still leaves plenty of space to get your message across. Hire a designer or devote in-house resources to developing a few custom Facebook tabs. At this writing, tabs are created using FBML, but Facebook has indicated it might shift to iframes soon.
Either way, you’ll need a little bit of coding ability to get your Page up and running, but nothing too strenuous for display tabs.
If you plan to push the limits of Facebook customization, you may need to hire someone to build a custom application that runs your tab. This is different from a user-facing application like a game; this app simply provides additional interactive functionality on the tab.
Although a custom application tab may look cool, it’s also a lot more work, especially as Facebook changes guidelines for Pages. If you’re just starting out in Facebook marketing, stick to a simpler tab initially and consider a more custom solution as an option for down the road once you see how your Page performs.
Content
Next chapter delves into content optimization and development thoroughly, but the topic bears mentioning here as well. Adding and updating content, both in static tabs and as status updates, is one of the easiest ways to customize your Page and help it stand out from the pack.
Think about your brand and your business. Does it have a voice? Maybe it’s a serious older sister with lots of wise information to impart. Or it could be the wise-cracking sidekick who’s always ready with a laugh. Your brand has a tone—a personality—and Facebook is a great place to put that personality to use.
Content is the most malleable piece of a Facebook Page, so you should really make it count. No matter what you are offering on your Page or the tone you want it to take, content customization is key. Find someone who can write well, and not just in lengthy emails and web pages. It takes a special finesse to make a Facebook update interesting, informative, and noticeable in just 50 words or less.
If you’ve invested in a few general or all-purpose Facebook tabs with room for static content, you can swap out this text and keep your Page fresh without going to the trouble of a full redesign. This will help you customize your tabs and your Page whenever you need to, even if you don’t have a full suite of design resources at your fingertips.
Branded Patterns and Days
Ideally, you should be posting new content every day on your Page. Status updates are the easiest way to customize and brand your Page. Page members may see them in their newsfeeds or by clicking to visit your actual Page. Each post is a simple, quick way to customize your Page through content.
To bring even more personality to your Page, establish patterns and themes for each day. These overarching topics allow for flexibility in specific content, while also setting expectations for Page members.
It gives them something to look forward to, without giving the entire post away. It will also help them
very quickly recognize your posts in their newsfeeds.
You may have seen the user-generated incarnation of this on Twitter with Follow Friday. Many brands have caught on and found great success with the idea on their Facebook Pages. Themes can be very overt and consumer facing or more subtle. For example, Fan Friday might highlight an active Page member, while Trivia Tuesday offers fun facts about your brand or industry. You could also try using the theme to guide your content creation. Perhaps Thursday is always the day you give out tips, and Wednesday is for contests. Of course, you don’t need to name every promotion as part of Win It Wednesday, and the actual terms and prizes can change. Either way, themes can make developing content much easier and help your Page members choose their favorite days to check your Page.
Exclusive Stuff
You want people to visit your Facebook Page and, ultimately, to visit your website or physical location to purchase your product or service. Unless they’re already customers, however, you can’t jump in with the hard sell. You need to convince Facebook users to click Like for your Page and then to keep coming back.
Customizing your Page design and content will draw in new visitors, but offering exclusive content will keep them coming back. This is also one of the best ways to stand apart from your competitors, who either can’t or won’t offer what you do.
Think about what your current customers like. Discounts and secret sales are an easy opportunity for
retail Pages, but don’t be afraid to think outside the box. Could you give away a special gift to Facebook Page members only? Or offer an off-menu entree they need a secret password to order at your restaurant?
It may sound a little cheesy, but people love to feel special. Exclusivity feeds that feeling and is also a very simple way to customize your Page. Your exclusive deal could change every week or rotate once every few months. Hide it on a custom tab that requires liking to view, and then promote it sporadically through status updates. Most importantly, make sure it speaks to your brand and your Page and offers something no one else can.
Custom Tabs
Facebook has tried very hard to stay away from the overly customizable options that MySpace offers, but it does allow you to create your own custom tabs. Tabs are currently restricted to 520 pixels wide and cannot contain autoplay content; any interactive functionality must be click-to-engage. Although you are constrained to customizing just a few tabs, you can do quite a bit in that limited area.
If you don’t have much coding experience or the resources to hire someone who does, start with a basic tab with a few static images and text. Many free applications provide the basic shell of a tab and enable you to customize within it. Static FBML is the most popular of these, but as mentioned previously Facebook has indicated that it might move toward iframes in the future, so keep that in mind.
Other apps help you create a tab by repurposing existing content. Social RSS is great for pulling in a blog or other RSS channel. The app creates a tab that requires you to enter only a little intro text, a headline, and an RSS feed. Involver, a paid service, also offers a suite of Facebook tab tools that require little to no coding ability.
Of course, if you want a fully customized tab, you can build your own application to run the tabs on your Page and have total control over the content display and functionality. This may need to be outsourced, as it requires design and development knowledge.
User Applications
Building an application to fully customize your Page tabs is great—for you. But you can also build a more functional and engaging tab that users will enjoy. Creating an application that is fun but relevant to your business can be challenging, but once you have an idea, it can be a great way to market your company on Facebook.
Applications designed for users need to be fun. Often, they are downright silly. Many people use Facebook to kill time, so games and trivia apps are popular. Look at FarmVille, Mafia Wars, or Brain Buddies for inspiration on what you could add to your tabs. Photos are also a big part of Facebook, so applications that allow you to design or decorate photos are usually a hit. Apps like Funny Photo Widget and Picture Frame display albums in cool, unique ways. They also get a lot of traction because people enjoy posting photos to their Walls and newsfeeds, promoting the app for free.
At the heart of it all, Facebook is about people’s unique likes and interests, as represented by their Profiles. Applications that capitalize on the often narcissistic tendencies of frequent Facebook users, and create an experience tailored to them, work well. Discovery Channel’s Shark Week app made a minimemorial out of information pulled from a user’s Profile, as did a CSI crime scene application.
Whether it’s photos, games, or personal experiences, all these apps have one thing in common: they are made for the users, not the brands. That makes them fun to use and quick to spread, which in turn helps the brand.
Summary
Some say that Facebook’s rules for users are too rigid, in particular those for brands managing Pages.
While the site does impose some restrictions, Facebook actually offers marketers a wealth of possible opportunities for customization and interaction with fans. You may not always have the freedom you desire, but Facebook’s decisions are based on careful scrutiny of how users navigate and interact with the site and will help you reach your goals.
You don’t have to compete with all of the big brands, just know that they are there. Take cues from what they do and find ways to make those things work for you. Keep on top of the latest trends and updates on the site, and never stop listening to your Page members. They are the most valuable asset you have and will let you know how and where you can better customize your Page to meet their needs.
