Archive for Facebook
How to Encourage People to Share Your Posts on Their Social Networks
Posted by: | CommentsEva Marie Everson, a writing colleague, e-mailed me a question about her Blogger blog:
How can I encourage readers of my blog to share my posts on other social networks?
I asked Eva Marie whether she wanted to add a “widget” so people who like a particular blog post can re-tweet it or post it to one of their social networks OR whether she wanted to add social media icons to her blog’s sidebar (when people click an icon, they’re linked to Eva Marie’s Twitter or Facebook account, so they can begin following her).
Many people don’t realize these are completely different functions, so I needed to make sure I was answering the right question.
Eva Marie did, indeed, want her fans to be able to re-tweet her blog posts on their own social media sites.
To do this on Blogger, you add a “gadget.”
- Click the “Layout” tab from within your Blogger admin area.
- Then click “Page Elements”
- Click “Add a Gadget”
- In the upper righthand corner of your screen, you’ll see a “search for gadgets” form. Enter the search term “share”
Here are several sharing gadgets you can experiment with:
TweetMeme Retweet – useful for people who want to re-tweet your post.
UpTweet - does the same as TweetMeme.
Share it – a helpful gadget that allows your fans to share the post on either Twitter or Facebook.
Sociable – allows users to share your blog and posts on social networks and social bookmarking sites like Google Bookm arks, Del.icio.us, Digg, Reddit, StumbleUpon, Technorati, Facebook, Twitter and others.
Facebook Share – allows your fans to share your post on Facebook.
- Once you’ve selected the gadget you want, click the big “plus” sign on the right side of your screen.
- A pop-up form will offer you some configuration options. Configure the gadget, click Save, and then drag and drop the gadget where you want it to appear in your blog’s sidebar.
Eva Marie went through the process, and e-mailed me:
I DID IT!!!!
You have no idea how BIG this moment is.
Do you have a question for the Blogging Barista? Ask away; I regularly feature reader questions on my blog.
How to Link to Your Facebook Business Page From Your Profile (Tutorial)
Posted by: | CommentsSometimes I think Facebook is out to get me. Functions that should be a no-brainer – such a way to link from my Facebook profile to my business or “fan” page – are either non-existent or are difficult to find and implement.
So when I discovered Dan Ronken’s post on Pullnotpush.com about how to link from my Wall to my fan page, I instantly tried it. I experienced a couple of challenges, which Dan graciously walked me through.
Here’s a step-by-step tutorial so you can do it yourself – it takes less than 5 minutes (if you do it right!).
1. Log in to your Facebook account.
2. Click this link to install the Custom Profile Box application.
3. Insert a link to the logo you use on your Business Page (or another image of your choice that’s already uploaded – more on this in a minute). To grab the link to your logo, open your Facebook Business page (in a new tab or new window). Right click on your logo, and then click “Copy Image Location.”
4. Go back into the Custom Profile Box and click “Insert/Edit Image.” In the Image Properties popup, paste the URL for the image you just copied. You can customize the height and width of your image now or later (Dan suggests resizing the image to 125 x 150 px so it’ll display correctly. (Hang in there; I’ll explain how you can resize your image once it’s on your Wall).
5. Click “OK” and your image should display in the Custom Profile Box. You can click once on the image and drag the handles to resize it if you want. You can also add text, hyperlinks, and can change text colors and background colors, just like you’d do in any word processing or blog interface.
6. To make your image link directly to your Facebook page, you need to create a hyperlink. Copy the URL of your Facebook page, then click once on the image of the logo you just added to the Custom Profile Box. Click the Insert/Edit link icon and paste in the URL to your Facebook business page.
7. When you’re finished tinkering, click “Update Custom Profile Box.”
8. Here’s where I ran into a glitch. The Custom Profile Box is supposed to appear in your Facebook “Boxes” tab by default, but it wasn’t displaying on mine. To get it to display, you have to turn it on (who woulda thunk it?). Go to the “Applications” button at the bottom lefthand corner of your Facebook profile.
9. Click “Edit Applications,” find the Custom Profile Box app (it should be right at the top), and click “Edit Settings.”
10. You’ll see three tabs labeled “Profile,” “Bookmark,” and “Additional Permissions.” Under the “Profile” tab, you’ll see two settings: “Box” and “Privacy.” Next to “Box,” click “Added.”
11. Whew! Almost done. Now go back to your Facebook profile and click the “Boxes” tab. Your new Custom Profile Box should display. But who wants to bury important info on your Boxes page? Why not move it to your Wall, where everyone will see it?
12. To move it, click on the blue pencil (“Edit Box”) in the upper right corner of your Custom Profile Box. Select “Move to Wall.”
13. Your Custom Profile box will appear on your Wall, in the lefthand sidebar right below your “Friends.” Is your image displaying correctly? If not, click “Customize.” Click once on your image, grab a handle, and drag to re-size it. Click “Update Custom Profile Box” and zip back to your profile to view the changes. Keep tinkering until you get it exactly the way you want it.
The cool thing about this application is that you can use it to create links to any page, Web site, blog post, etc. I haven’t yet found a way to use the Custom Profile Box more than once on my Facebook profile, but at least I now have a way to direct visitors to my Blogging Bistro business page.
Try it and let me know how it works for you.
Facebook’s NetworkedBlogs – Is Your Blog Listed?
Posted by: | CommentsI’m forever brainstorming ways to ramp up my site’s SEO (Search Engine Optimization). This week, I’ve been playing with Facebook pages, and I ran across an app called NetworkedBlogs, which allows you to:
- Add your blog to their directory
- Import your blog’s feed so your posts show on your Wall and in the News Feed of your friends and fans (they’ll do this once your blog on Facebook gets 6 followers)
- Invite your friends to follow your blog (of course!)
- Add other networked blogs to your profile Wall and Info tabs
- Put a NetworkedBlogs widget on your blog (see my sidebar for an example)
- Rate other people’s blog posts
As with all things Facebook, the interface isn’t very intuitive or user-friendly, but it’s not too challenging to add your blog to the directory. And if it helps people find your blog more easily, why not?
I added my blog to my personal Facebook profile, as well as to my Blogging Bistro page (yes, I believe in overkill).
Here’s a preview of what the page looks like (it includes my blog as well as the blogs I’m following):
My "Boxes" page on Facebook shows thumbnails of my own blog, as well as others I've favorited.
But in order to get the feed of my latest posts to display, I need six generous people to follow my blog on Facebook. Please take pity on this poor, friendless Facebooker, visit my new Blogging Bistro Facebook page, and click ‘Follow.” Thanks!
Create a Branded Facebook Username
Posted by: | CommentsFacebook is adding a much-needed feature to its interface this Friday, June 12 at 9:01 p.m. PST.
You’ll be able to choose a “vanity” username to replace the cumbersome string of numbers that no one can possibly remember, noless find.
The vanity usernames will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis for both your profile and your Facebook pages.
The Facebook blogger writes:
Facebook usernames will be available in basic text forms, and you can only choose a single username for your profile and for each of the Pages that you administer. Your username must be at least five characters in length and only include alphanumeric characters (A-Z, 0-9), or a period or full stop (“.”).
Think carefully about the username you choose. Once it’s been selected, you won’t be able to change or transfer it.
They also note:
If you signed up for a Facebook Page after May 31 or a user profile after today at 3 p.m. EDT, you may not be able to sign up for a username immediately because of steps we’ve taken to prevent abuse or “squatting” on names.
Where do you go to get your new username?
Or, you can just login to your Facebook account and you’ll see a notice on your Home page instructing you what to do.
In anticipation of this momentous event, I created a Facebook page for Blogging Bistro. This page will be my new Facebook home base (I use my personal Facebook page to interact with extended family and friends).
Sooo… I’m contemplating what to choose for my vanity username. Since Facebook is allowing only one name for your profile and all your pages, I’ll probably use my own name. Regardless of which I choose, it’s going to make it easier for search engines to index my Facebook account.
