Top Web Resources » Facebook http://www.iyiz.com iyiz.com Thu, 09 Feb 2012 11:14:51 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Facebook Fan Page Optimization Tips http://www.iyiz.com/facebook-fan-page-optimization-tips/ http://www.iyiz.com/facebook-fan-page-optimization-tips/#comments Sun, 10 Jan 2010 09:07:23 +0000 admin http://www.iyiz.com/?p=237 The best place you can place your brand on Facebook is through a Facebook Page. As of the time of this writing, over 10 million users become fans of Fan Pages every day. This number should be no surprise — when people “fan” your Page, their friends see it, and your brand spreads organically. What most don’t know is that you can customize this experience for your users. With just a little work, and either some knowledge of simple HTML or the ability to hire a developer to do the work for you, you can have a custom Page up for your business in no time. Here are some tips you can apply to your Facebook marketing strategies.

Maximize Your Avatar Visibility

Profile pictures on Facebook can have a maximum size of 200×600 pixels. This applies to Pages as well. Facebook Pages do not allow background images like Twitter, Myspace, and other services. What you can do, however, is take advantage of that full 200×600 real estate and get your brand in front of the eyes of your fans. This will make sure, regardless of what part of your Page they are on your brand is front and center.

Install the Static FBML App and Add a Custom Tab

Do a search for “static FBML” on Facebook (or just click here), and click “Add to my Page” in the upper-left. A dialog pop-over will appear with a list of Pages you administer. Select the Page you want to customize by clicking the “Add to Page” button next to the Page, and when you click the button it will disappear from the list. Now click “Close”.

Now what you want to do is create your tab. To create the tab, just go to your Page and click the link, “Edit Page” in the upper-left below your main Page image. Now when you scroll down you will see a subsection called “FBML”. Click on the “Application Settings” link for that subsection, and another popover dialog will appear. Click “add” next to the Tab field and click Okay. You’ve now just added a blank Tab called “FBML” to your Page. Now you need to customize it.

Add Content to Your Custom Tab

If you go view your Page now, you’ll notice when you click the “>>” tab there is now an “FBML” option in the drop-down. If you click on it, that tab appears in the list of tabs at the top, and you can drag it around (to the extent that Facebook allows you). You’ll notice the tab is completely blank. Let’s add some content to it.

To add content, click on “Edit Page” again on the left below your Page image. Go to the “FBML” subsection again, but this time click the “Edit” link. Now you’ll be taken to a very simple form with a “Box Title” field and an “FBML” field.

Let’s start by changing the title of the tab. As I mentioned earlier, the tab, by default gets called “FBML” when you add it. You probably don’t want to keep that name, so I recommend changing it to something productive, like “Welcome”, or “Introduction”. You can name it whatever you like, depending on your purpose!

Now you’ll want to enter some content. The “FBML” field will take almost any basic HTML. You don’t need to include any <html>, <head>, or <body> tags, as the HTML you enter will only take the place of that whitespace you just saw. All the header stuff is taken care of for you. Play with it and see what you can do.

Customize Your Tab With FBML

Beyond simple HTML you can also enter very simple FBML tags to simplify some of the process. FBML stands for “Facebook Markup Language”, and is meant to be a shortcut for use in Facebook applications. Facebook has also enabled the use of a subset of FBML in the Static FBML application. FBML can be a great way to reduce the amount of HTML you need to enter, while at the same time keeping Facebook’s own look and feel. The format is very simple, and if you are familiar with HTML or XML you’ll pick it up very quickly.

To learn FBML you’re going to want to check out Facebook’s documentation and reference on FBML tags. There is a large reference of these tags on their developer wiki. I recommend you look around and see what’s available, then try them out and see how they work. You can also purchase my book, FBML Essentials, which will give you a little more details on FBML (as well as the Facebook developer platform in general).

Keep in mind that the Static FBML application only supports a subset of what the full FBML reference indicates is available. Unfortunately there is no documentation stating what is, and isn’t supported. Tags that have been confirmed working and are my favorites are:

– displays a specific user’s name in the standard Facebook format

– displays a specific user’s profile picture in the standard Facebook format

– allows you to include Flash applications in your tab

– posts a Facebook live stream widget on your Tab (you must create a new application to do this)

– adds a Facebook comments box to your Tab

If you read the Facebook wiki documentation keep in mind that “loggedinuser” does not work for the uid on the Static FBML App, but “profileowner” does. Beyond that, if you specify the specific user id in that field it should show properly.

Set Your Page to Default to Your New Tab

Now that you’ve created your custom tab using the Static FBML App you may want to set your Page to default to the new tab. This can give you a nice welcome message for your fans. To do so, just click “Edit Page” as I mentioned above. Under “Wall Settings”, click “edit”, and under “default landing tab for everyone else” select your new tab in the drop down. You’re done! Keep in mind that this default tab is only visible as a default landing page for those that are not yet fans of your Page yet.

SEO for Facebook Pages

Your Page is visible to search engines! Now that you’ve created your custom landing page, keep in mind that search engines see the page layout in the same way that someone who is not a fan of your page would see.

If you haven’t yet created a Facebook Page, you should also keep in mind that the Page title can be one of the best places to create a search-engine friendly title for your brand. Be sure this is something that describes yourself and your brand, and that you think others will be searching for. It should also, at the same time, be something familiar to other Facebook users, as this is what they will see in their News feeds as their friends become fans or you post updates. Keep in mind your Page name can not be changed once you create it, so get it right the first time! It can be a pain to have to re-create a new Page and re-establish months of work building your Page if you get it wrong early on.

]]> http://www.iyiz.com/facebook-fan-page-optimization-tips/feed/ 13 100 Cool Facebook Applications http://www.iyiz.com/100-cool-facebook-applications/ http://www.iyiz.com/100-cool-facebook-applications/#comments Thu, 15 Nov 2007 09:02:04 +0000 admin http://www.iyiz.com/100-cool-facebook-applications/ These apps are the most popular ones. But others are useful, innovative and praiseworthy. Whether you’re a Facebook veteran or newbie, you should find something worth adding.

1. Fantasy Record Label. Created by Music 2.0 firm Amie Street, this lets you discover music by bands you’ve never heard of, then add five of them to your virtual record label, getting points if other people like ‘em too. Get it

2. Super Smash Bros. Someone’s remade the classic Nintendo GameCube game for Facebook, just in time for the all-new Wii version to come out. Get it

3. WarBook (pictured). Another game, but this one’s exclusive to Facebook, and is a medieval strategy game, with monsters and gold and stuff. Nerdy, but ace. Get it

4. Bob Dylan. Celebrate the Bobcat’s new album with his official Facebook app. See, even gravel-voiced old fellas are down with the Facebook massive… Get it

5. LOLCats. Silly cats, sillier captions, ON UR PROFILE, MAYKIN U LAFF. Get it

6. FunWall. Because a boring old un-fun Wall won’t cut the mustard any more. Get it

oktoberfest.gif7. Oktoberfest Party (pictured). Invite your friends to a virtual Oktoberfest and get smashed on virtual beer. Yes, I’d rather do it for real too. Get it

8. My Music. Sync your iTunes library and history with your Facebook profile, so everyone can see how many times you’ve played Bucks Fizz’s Greatest Hits in the last week. Or is that just me? Get it

9. Champions League Predictor. Guess how wrong Benitez’s rotation policy will go, and win the respect of your peers. Get it

10. YouTube Video Box. Forget spamming friends with endless links to comedy YouTube vids. You can put ‘em in your profile instead! Get it

11. Free gifts. Why pay to send a frivolous Facebook gift when you can get them for free? Apart from seeming like a moany old Web 2.0 skinflint, obviously. Get it

12. Cities I’ve Visited. Another way to boast about how well-travelled you are. Get it

13. My Graveyard. Like the famous My Aquarium application, except with less fish, and more pumpkins, zombies and Satans. Get it

14. Beer Pong. No, this isn’t about how you smell when waking up in the gutter after a heavy night out. Instead, it’s a game involving a ball, and cups of beer. Waste of good beer if you ask me. Get it

15. Beastie Boys. They’ve got a new album out! It’s not as good as their old stuff! But they have a Facebook App anyway! Get it

16. Fmail. Access your Gmail from Facebook – an amazing idea, at least until Google get round to making an official Gmail app. Get it

17. The Official 100 Question Hipster Test. Are you a zeitgeist-surfing coolwarrior who spends their time in Hoxton bars looking jaded? This test is for you. Get it

18. BlogTV. Livestream webcam footage of yourself nerding at your keyboard to anyone who visits your Facebook profile. It’ll certainly stop them giving you a poke. Get it

19. Sketch Me. Genuinely awesome app that takes a photo of you, and turns it into a faux pencil sketch, for that arty look. Get it

facebook-simpsons-avatar.jpg20. Simpsons Avatar Creator (pictured). You’d look great in a natty shade of yellow. Get it

21. Compare People. Decide who’s the best dancer, the cutest, and the smartest friend. Oh, and the one who has most time to spend making comparisons on internetweb sites, obviously. Get it

22. GlitterBox. Send sparkly messages to your mates. Look, you may laugh, but there are millions of Claire’s Accessories customers who’d jump at the chance. Get it

23. My Solar System. Like My Aquarium or My Graveyard, but with planets and rockets and stuff. Brian May has this, I bet. Get it

24. Blind Date. Nothing to do with Cilla Black (sadly): instead, this lets you hook up anonymously with anyone on Facebook, have a short conversation in which you have nothing in common, and then stare awkwardly at the floor. Before poking them anyway. Get it

25. My Prison Name. I always thought it was ‘Bitch’, no matter what your sex / age / crime. Apparently not. Get it

26. Cute Horoscopes. They’re certainly a lot cuter than Mystic Meg. Get it

27. What I’m Listening To. Excellent application that updates live to show anyone viewing your profile what song you’re listening to RIGHT NOW in iTunes, Winamp or other music players. Get it

28. Photo Mosaic. Create nifty mosaics from your Facebook photo stash. It’s what the Romans would’ve done (if they’d had the internet). Get it

29. Nike+ Runs. If you use the Nike+ iPod software, this app lets you publish details of your recent runs on your Facebook profile. No more pretending you slogged through an 18 mile hike when in fact you got tired by the corner shop and sloped home with a packet of ciggies instead. Get it

30. Interactive Friends Graph. Because everyone’s friends look better as a colourful flowchart. Get it

31. Hatching Eggs. More gifts for friends, this time in shells. Get it

32. Friend Block. Create a big collage of all your friends’ photos, and display it on your profile. Will make you weep if you only have two. Get it

33. Define Me. Dangerous application that lets your mates choose words (anonyously) that define your character. There’s nothing more likely to cause Facebook Suicide than a box full of terms like ‘smelly’, ‘consistently dishonest’ and ‘fugly’. Get it

34. Boombox. Neat music-sharing application, especially if you sign a few friends up, as you can all browse each others’ collections. Get it

35. Jewel Quest. God’s own gem-based puzzle game. Be warned, if you start playing this in work time, you will be sacked six hours later. But you’ll at least have a high score. Get it

back-boris.gif36. Back Boris. Everyone’s favourite floppy-haired gaffe-prone Tory London-mayoral-candidate who they wouldn’t vote for, but quite like seeing bumbling about on the news. Get it

37. Beer Diary. Store your alcohol intake, then display it to the world. Remember to lie if your mum’s signed up as your Facebook friend. Get it

38. Social Chat. Forget poking, messaging and wall-scribbling. What you want is live chat. Well, you might. I’m still trying to work out what anti-social chat would be like. Get it

39. FFR Games. Dance Dance Revolution, but on Facebook and without a dance mat. Yes, I know that sounds rubbish, but this is actually fun. Get it

40. Bogglific. Play Boggle in your profile, and show off how wordy you are. It’s the new Scrabulous! Get it

41. Naughty Gifts. Your friends will thank you if you send them a filthy present. Even the prudish ones. In fact, especially the prudish ones. Get it

42. My Room. Create your own virtual room, then furnish it with the help of your friends. You can’t afford to do it in London, but you can online. Which is, er, possibly not a consolation, but anyway. Get it

43. Blackjack. Play 21 against friends live, while chatting. Get it

44. Scrubs. Mmm… Elliot… Get it

45. Yoga. A new pose every day, as well as the ability to add your own. At last, the world can see the full majesty of your Sideways Screwing Dog. Get it

46. Who Would Win. Pick two celebs, or indeed two anythings, and get your friends to decide who’d win in a fight. Isn’t this sort of thing supposed to be debated in a pub near to closing time? Get it

47. Capture The Flag. Facebook-wide version of the game for people too cowardly-custard to play paintball. Get it

48. Guitar Hero Tracker. Show your Guitar Hero II stats, so none of your Facebook friends can be in any doubt about your hot licks. Get it

49. If They Mated. Find out what the lovechild of two of your friends would look like. Bonus points if, after creating one, they ‘fess up to actually having a lovechild. Get it

50. Run For President! Campaign for supporters, debate issues, and try to wangle huge slush funds from the oil industry in return for Facebook favours once you’re in power. Just like the real thing! Get it

51. Sticky Notes. Put Post-Its all over your friends’ profiles. Because they’re not cluttered enough. Get it

52. Jetman. Cool game where you fly around a cave trying to beat your friends’ scores. Strangely addictive. Get it

53. Daily Babe. Does what it says on the tin. Get it

facebook-daily-hunk.gif54. Daily Hunk. Likewise. Get it

55. The Official 100 Question Sexual Purity Test. Are you more kinky than your friends? Than Paris Hilton? Than the Marquis de Sade? Prove it with this test (then give yourself up to police if the latter). Get it

56. Perez Hilton. Top gossip blogger has his own scurrilous Facebook application. Britney doesn’t have this on her profile, I’m guessing. Get it

57. Baby & Pregnancy Countdown Ticker. Let friends keep track of the countdown to your due date. Just be ready for lots of unwanted messages when you go past it and there’s no sign of the little bugger. Get it

58. FB Reviews. It’s an application that serves up reviews of Facebook applications! So you’ll never have to read a 101 Apps roundup like this again. Oh, hang on… Get it

59. My Heritage. Show off flags for the countries your ancestor came from. No, Americans, we require actual birth certificates before allowing you to put an Irish flag on. Get it

60. Yahoo Music Videos. Put a box on your profile serving up vids from Yahoo’s whopping great music collection. You can even send dedications to friends. Now, have they got any vintage MC Hammer… Get it

61. Nicknames. Give your friends silly nicknames. Then watch them remove you as a friend. Then cry. Get it

62. Send SMS. This neat app puts a box on your profile allowing friends to send you text messages for free (they have ads attached, mind). Get it

63. How Sexy Is Your Name Calculator. Forget your stripper name or prison name or any other name. How sexy is your actual moniker? You’ll never beat Engelbert Humperdink, of course. Get it

64. Bros v Hos. It’s war between the Bros and the Hos, so which side are you on? No, there isn’t a third option for ‘People Who Shun Racial Stereotypes’. Get it

65. The Dutch Oven. Virtually fart on someone. This, people, is what Web 2.0 was invented for. Get it

66. How Taboo Are You? The only application that lets you specify if you’d rather wear poison ant gloves, or pray with naked Christians. I see no barrier to doing both at once, but that’s why I was chucked out of the church choir… Get it

67. Greenbook. The more you use Facebook, the more this application saves the planet by takign sponsorship in exchange for CO2 reduction. I don’t really understand it, but I know it’s a jolly good thing. Get it

68. Quit-o-Meter. Given up the dreaded fags? Be smug to the world with this application, which also displays nice charts to show how you compare to other quitters. May lead to sadness when you fall off the wagon and have to remove it. Get it

facebook-music-mixes.gif69. Music Mixes. This one’s old-skool, letting you create a virtual mix-tape by adding tracks, then sending to your friends or posting on your profile. One for frustrated bedroom DJs (or indie anoraks still living in the (C)80s. Get it

70. I Kick You. Marvellous game that lets you kick your friends around, turning their photos into South Park Canadian types. Get it

71. Texas HoldEm Poker. The latest (and in my opinion slickest) poker game to hit Facebook. You’re no match for my bluffing. Get it

72. Rock Paper & Scissors. Complete with the ability to challenge a friend, or fight in teams. That’s right: Rock Paper Scissors clans. Way more hardcore than Unreal Tournament. Possibly. Get it

73. Chocolate Fantasy. Nothing to do with that recurring dream you have about Billie Piper and the 17 melted Toblerone bars. Although someone should turn that into an application too. This is about sending chocolatey gifts to friends. Get it

74. Jack O’Lantern. That’s American for ‘carved pumpkin head’ by the way. Anyway, this lets you make a virtual one, then send it to friends. I think good table manners means it has to go before the chocolate. Get it

75. ATTACK! The best name for a game ever, and an ace version of board game Risk, which lets you and a few friends compete to rule the world. If someone could do a similar thing for Diplomacy, the teenage nerd inside me would be joyful indeed. Get it

76. Booze Mail. Send virtual drinks to people. One of the most popular growing Facebook apps, which may mean people are buying their friends less drinks in the real world. For shame. Get it

77. Visual DVD Rack. Builds a virtual DVD rack of your collection, to win the admiration of friends (and give burglars time to make a wishlist before popping round). Get it

78. FotoFlexer v2.0. Nifty photo-editing application that not only does graphical editing, but also digitally boosts your muscles, shrinks your waist, or turns you into a cartoon. Or all three (‘the Jordan approach’). Get it

79. Shared Memories. A chance to reminisce with mates about happy times gone by. Or, in the case of boozy nights out, to try and remember how the hell you ended up naked, painted orange, and sitting astride one of the lions in Trafalgar Square. Again. Get it

80. StumbleUpon. Display your favourite websites on your Facebook profile. Extra ‘Web 2.0 Will Eat Itself’ credit if one of your Stumbles is your own Facebook profile. Get it

81. Fight Club. Why aren’t more Facebook users lovers rather than fighters? This fighty application lets you fight other fighters in fights. Grr. Get it

82. Hot Potato. Throw it at your friends. Watch as they ignore it. Feel a bit silly, then repeat. Get it

83. Profile Counter. Find out exactly how many people are visiting your profile with this counter. See, the more of these applications you add, the more visitors you’ll get. Don’t hold me to that, mind. Get it

facebook-frog.gif84. Lick My Frog. Come on. You know you want to. Get it

85. My Family. One of the best things about Facebook is the chance to see what friends’ family members look like. If they’ve got this app on their profile, it’ll be easier to figure out who to boggle at. Get it

86. Toilet Pro 2008. A wide selection of loos for your profile page, in case visitors get caught short. You’re right, it does sound like an EA console game. Get it

87. Blog Friends. One of the more genuinely useful apps in this roundup, as opposed to purely entertaining. Share interesting blogs and blog entries with mates. Get it

88. EquestrianLife. You love horses best of all the animals, you love horses, they’re your friends. And now they’re on your Facebook profile to prove it. Get it

89. My Dream Job. Share your workplace fantasies (no, not the ones about being stuck in a lift with your boss, Billie Piper, 17 melted Toblerones and some horses). Let everyone know you still want to be an astronaut. Real astronauts use this profile to outline their dreams of being a frustrated IT helpdesk supervisor in Putney, of course. Get it

90. Bush Countdown Clock. He’s nearly out of office, so count down to the day. Get it

91. WereWolves. The latest from the people who bought you Vampires and Zombies. I reckon Tax Inspectors should be their next effort. Get it

92. Tattoos. A chance to give a friend a tattoo without landing them in casualty (and with the chance to reapply it if you miss out a crucial letter). Get it

93. FaceDouble Celebrity Lookalike. At last, proof that you really DO look like Tom Cruise / Posh Spice / Grotbags. Get it

94. Pet Dragons. Hatch them. Rear them. Make them fight. Can’t the RSPCA do something about this? Get it

95. Resolution Tracker. A place to list all those things you’ve promised yourself you’d do, so that all your friends can rib you when you don’t do them. Hang on, who thought this was a good idea… Get it

96. The Legend Of Zelda. As a Facebook game! Truly, the world is a wonderful place. Get it

97. Polyvore. One for fashionable types, letting you clip outfits from online stores and see how they look together, before sending them to friends. Get it

98. I Am Green. Flaunt your eco-smuggery AND Facebook skillz in one fell swoop. I’m looking at you, Mr Cameron… Get it

99. Make A Baby. Make a cute little baby with a friend, except virtual, so you don’t end up paying child maintenance, losing visitation rights, and chaining yourself to a cabinet minister while dressed as Batman. For example. Get it

100. Windows Live Spaces. Update your Windows Live Space from within Facebook. If Microsoft does buy a 5% stake in the social network as rumoured, this unoffical app may be first against the wall. Get it

]]> http://www.iyiz.com/100-cool-facebook-applications/feed/ 23