Here we go! I’m going to share 5 ways to use Facebook tabs to drive business:

1. Put YOUR BEST website page—the one with a strong call to action– on the most visited site on the internet. 
Facebook surpassed Google as THE MOST VISITED site on the internet this year. With this statistic in mind, it behooves businesses to take their website content to Facebook like we’ve been doing with Google for years! I’ve done it and you can too!  Using the Facebook app, FBML, I’ve created a new wall tab, Daystar New Media,  and I’ve copied the HTML code from my website to the app so my facebook page visitors can follow my “calls to action” without leaving Facebook.  Think about this: ANY webpage on your company site can be “installed” on facebook by using the FMBL app. Which page on your site drives the most business? Get more out of it by moving it on facebook!

2. Introduce a new product or service with a special offer.   You can use an app called Promotion-there are many others-or you can copy html from your product page on your website and use the FMBL app again.  Think creatively and strategically and these tools will become a profit center rather than a time drain or cost to your business.

3. Build trust and strengthen client and prospect relationships by consistently offering valuable content to your target audience. Do this on Facebook  by flowing your blog content into your Facebook page with the app, Social RSS.  Your blog will have a tab AND every article you add to your blog will be posted to your facebook wall and included in the Blog tab. See the Social Media Explained Blog on flowing onto my facebook page.

4. Grow your email listfrom within Facebook. Add a tab for your email list sign up form. There are many ways to do this.  I’ll show two examples. I use MailChimp.com so I have installed the MailChimp App. I have client who uses ConstantContact.com so I’ve installed the Constant Contact app on the client’s Facebook page.  Because most email list management systems provide the form code in HTML, you can also use the FBML app to grow your email list on Facebook.  Search FB App directory or visit your email list provider website to find the best choice for your company.

5. Get your FB community engaged and viral by sharing your latest video.Using the Youtube for Pages app from Involver.com, you can load your Youtube Channel into your page as a tab and offer your latest business video to your audience. What’s great about this app is that it makes it easy for your community to share it with their friends. Think viral exposure.  Here is an example of this app in action on the  HomeCare Association of Louisiana facebook page. HCLA keeps membership informed about events, homecare industry news, healthcare reform issues (ie. report from Capitol Hill) and more using Youtube and the Facebook page.

 Now, I’ve just scraped the surface of the beau coupways you can use fb page tabs to drive business. I hope these ideas have inspired you to think of some new ways you can use facebook for your business.  Next week, I’m going to show you how to get even more action from tabs by making one of your new tabs your landing page on Facebook.  Stay tuned next week for Driving the Facebook User Experience.

1. Tab Page Width Allowances are changing from 760 pixels to 520 pixels. 

The Tab page width changes began rolling out yesterday.  The old page width of 760 An example of the 760 page width is the McDonald’s  McCafe tab, while the Happy Meal  tab page complies with the new 520 width requirement.  Apps such as FBML, Profile HTML and Welcome tabs, allow users to copy HTML code from a website into facebook. These apps are the ones to check for width compliance because the width is controlled by the code an user copies into each instance of the application rather than by a developer who manages the width inside the application itself. 

2.  The Boxes Tab is going away. Wall tabs will serve apps instead. 

The Boxes tab has historically been a container for facebook applications to flow content from multiple applications. 

 For example, Facebook  apps like  Social RSS, Slideshare, Discussions, Photos and Favorite Pages have stored content to the Boxes Tab on a page or profile.  More recently, applications have provided the option for a Wall tab for each application. So, pages or profiles will have a Tab for Social RSS, another one for Slideshare, another for Favorite Pages. You get the point. Anyway, Boxes are leaving. In preparation, add the Wall tab in your Application Settings for the apps on your page or profile. 

 According to Facebook Developers blog, these updates are designed to simplify navigation for users, reduce complexity for developers, and enable Facebook to build the next generation of tools for business with Facebook.

If you aren’t sure how to use Page Tabs for business, stay tuned for next week’s article: 5 Ways to Use Page Tabs for Business Growth.

If you have other questions about facebook or social media for business? Ask Michelle at facebook.com/socialmediaexplained. 

 Presented by: Michelle Cullison, President

Daystar New Media, Inc.
DaystarNewMedia.com
Twitter.com/mcullison

Please Note: Seating is limited to the first 30 pre-registered guests.

Subway is offering lunches for this event at a cost of $5.00. 
Includes 6″ sandwich, 2 cookies and a bag of chips. 

Fax order to Janine @ 985-359-9778 – 1 day prior to lunch n learn. 
Lunch will await you at the event and payment will be due at the lunch n learn.

Profiles

The personal profile is the core of facebook. Everything that is done on facebook revolves around it.  People with profiles create and join groups. People with profiles create pages and become fans of pages.  While you can administrate a page on facebook and no one can see your personal profile, you still must have a profile to create a page with full-functionality. (Note: You may create a page first and then connect it to a profile, but without a profile, you may not add applications to the page which limits its functionality.)

Pages

While personal profiles are strictly for individuals, pages are for organizations, products, services, bands celebrities and public figures to have a professional presence.  Pages must represent a real organization, business, celebrity, or band, and may only be created by an official representative of that entity.  Pages allow people to maintain a personal-professional distinction on facebook. Pages are public websites that extend content to the web at large. Pages are not limited to facebook members, as is the case with most personal profile content. Pages are indexed by search engines and rank well. Pages are great for web marketing!

Groups

Groups can be created by any facebook member and about any topic. Groups are used for sharing opinions and interests in a particular subject. Groups can be kept open to anyone, closed to a select group or secret (not findable except by invitation). If you’re a group admin, your name will appear on that group. Additionally, when you take actions on your group, such as posting on your group’s wall, these actions will appear to come from you as an individual. However, if you post or take other actions on a Page you own, it will appear to come from the Page. Group content is not indexed by search engines and are not good for web marketing. They can be good for relationship marketing if you commit to building relationships in the group and engaging in discussions.

How are you using your profile, pages and groups for business? I’d love to hear from you.

Ian Griffin, Freelance Speechwriter of Executive Communications, attended our session and asked for an interview afterward.

Read Ian’s article and hear the interview on Ian’s Blog, Professionally Speaking

Did you know that next Wednesday, June 30th, is the first official Social Media Day?
I’m celebrating and inviting you to do the same!

Join me for
Business on the Social Web-Where should you be in 2010?

Date: Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Time: 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM CDT

Location: Web Meeting

Register Now

We’ll look at the top 4 social sites (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter & Youtube) to see what new features they offer for business and how your company can benefit by using them! From sales 2.0 to relationship marketing, this webinar will reveal which social networks are best for specific business processes. Don’t miss the chance to discover the best web location for your business.

Then, we’ll open up the lines for you to take the mic so you can share your questions, favorite new features, apps, success stories, stumbling blocks and hopes for the future of social business communications.

Hope to see you on the webinar on Social Media Day!
This is an open, no cost event. Invite your friends to attend this Social Media Day Celebration.

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/424459515

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 7, Vista, XP, 2003 Server or 2000

Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.4.11 (Tiger®) or newer

Follow these 5 steps to create your own Youtube Channel:

1. Decide on your Youtube Channel Name. This name will entered as the USERNAME in the account creation process.
2. Go to Youtube.com and click Create Account.
   Username becomes Channel name. For corporate branding, you will likely make the username your business or brand name.For personal branding, the username should be your first and last name.
3. Develop your profile.
   Enter your website,  company name, first and last name.  Fill your profile with details about the contents of your channel. Consider how people will search for content like yours and include those keywords in your profile. Always match your text content to your video content.
4. Develop Your channel .
   Customize your channel by entering a Channel Title, Description, keywords and colors.
5. Post your first video! You can use existing professional video, create one with a webcam or utilize a simple camera like the FLIP.

Grab your Youtube Channel now even if you aren’t ready to post video.  You don’t want to lose rights to your branded Youtube Channel URL.

With a free account, you can manage and post status updates with one-click on these social sites:

• Twitter Profiles
• Facebook Profiles and Pages
• LinkedIn Profiles
• MySpace and FourSquare Profiles
• WordPress.com sites and
• Ping.fm account (a multi-account management tool that accesses numerous networks.)

HootSuite, one of my favorite One-Click Social Media Management tools, can help you manage your social presence effectively so you can spend more time doing whatever YOU want to do!  Not only can you post in multiple places, you can also schedule posts.  Scheduling your posts allows you to manage your time more effectively.  You can set up the posts when it is convenient for you yet schedule them to go out at the most convenient time for your target audience.

HootSuite continues to add functionality that makes social media more manageable.
You can get a free account by signing up at HootSuite.com.

To learn more about social media management and productivity, check out the Social Media Management Seminars at Social Media School in New Orleans.

Unfortunately, there isn’t a merge feature yet!

So, you will need to decide which profile to keep and which to delete.  Decide based on number of connections and/or how developed your profile is.

Tip: I would keep the one with the most connections and move the profile data.

Here are some steps to help you successfully move to a single profile:

1. Login to the Account you want to delete.
2. Export the Connections to an csv or excel file. (See link at bottom of Connections)
3. Save all profile info into a Word Document.
4. Delete the account.(Go to Account & Settings and Close the account.)
5. Login to the account you want to keep.
6. Import the Connections stored in file from deleted account and re-invite them to connect on the correct profile. Offer an explanation since they were already connections on the other profile.
7. Update your profile as needed.
8. Associate multiple email addresses with your LinkedIn account so that people can find you by any of your email addresses. (Go to Account & Settings and Add Email under Personal Info.)

I hope this helps!  For more social media tips or to ask your questions, become a Fan on Facebook.com/SocialMediaExplained