Customized Facebook Fan Pages – what and why

When someone comes to your Facebook Fan Page will they know immediately what your page is about?

Clicking onto a Facebook Fan Page can be like opening the door to a party that’s already started. You walk in and see groups of people chatting away about various subjects. At any one party, a small group of people may be talking about an upcoming charity event, others may be exchanging ideas on how to make a better spaghetti sauce, and still others may be talking about the weather.

If the person holding the party is a good host, he or she will greet you at the door, welcome you in, and maybe even show you around a bit. If the host isn’t all that great you may walk into a party where you don’t know anybody and feel a bit out of place. You might even leave without talking to anybody.

A Facebook Fan Page can be a lot like that party, with your wall as the main gathering place. It can be a bit confusing to newcomers if it’s not crystal clear what your fan page is about. When people land on your wall, they’ll see all the conversations going on but that doesn’t guarantee they’ll know exactly what your page is about. If people are talking about cats and dogs, they’ll get the idea that your Fan Page is probably centered around pets, but will they know for sure that you’re a pet sitter and that you take care of pets in Indianapolis, Indiana?  They’ll probably catch on sooner or later, but wouldn’t it be great if they knew as soon as they got there exactly what you wanted them to know about your page and why you’d like them to become a fan?

This is where a custom landing page comes in.

Your custom Facebook landing page serves the same function as that host (that would be you!) at the party. Since you can’t be there every single minute to welcome visitors and tell them what’s going on, your landing page does it for you. You can explain exactly what your page is about, let people know you’re happy they came, and give them a call to action. You might want them to download a free report, join your mailing list, or simply write on your wall. And, in order to write on your wall, that person is going to be required to become a fan of your page!

Unlike the standard info page on Facebook (which you do want to fill out), a customized landing page can be eye catching and include graphics, videos, and more. In fact, some people even use them as mini websites – sort of like a satellite office to their website.

Adding a custom Facebook landing page isn’t that difficult if you know html. You’ll create your page in something like Dreamweaver, install the Static FBML app onto your page, and then put the html code into the fbml.

See a few of the Facebook landing pages I’ve designed to get an idea of what I’m talking about.