Feb

2010

Building a Facebook Fan Page

Do you have a Facebook fan page?

I do, I do! It took me way too long to build, but now that it’s up and running, I’m so glad that I took the time to put it together.

What’s so great about it, you ask? First of all, when people fan your page, it shows up in their updates. Their friends are then introduced to your page, giving you the opportunity to make them blog readers. There are no annoying friends requests to approve, and the growth seems to happen organically.

You’ll need to decide if you want to create a separate Facebook blogging account, so that your fan page can be linked to that one, rather than your personal page. I went this route and am happy that I did– you can still suggest all of your friends become your fans, but you won’t be bombarding RL people with bloggy stuff. Plus, if you want to keep your name private, this is a good way to do it. Otherwise, just link the page to your existing account. When you’re ready, create your fan page by clicking here.

Once your page is created, jazz it up by adding sidebar elements such as buttons, a blog roll or favorite posts. The options are pretty endless. You can also personalize your landing page. Play around with Facebook’s applications (found under Edit your page) to make your page as unique as your blog.

And, of course, don’t forget to visit my page!

{ 82 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Cheryl February 16, 2010 at 9:14 am

You are a doll, Jill! I love your new fan page, and was wondering how you did it! Generous and talented you are!

Looking forward to you your exploits there and here! :)

Stay warm!
Cheryl´s last blog ..Anarchy in the U.S.A.

2 Scary Mommy February 16, 2010 at 12:54 pm: You are the sweetest! Thank you!!
Scary Mommy´s last blog ..Building a Facebook Fan Page for Your Blog

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3 Christine LaRocque February 16, 2010 at 9:17 am

A fan page is in my future (just not the immediate). Have blog names issues and all that. At any rate, thanks so much for this tip sheet. I’m off to become a fan of Scary Mommy right now!
Christine LaRocque´s last blog ..Lessons on growing up

4 christy February 16, 2010 at 9:23 am

This is way too technical for me! hehe! But I’m sure it’ll be helpful to others – and I of course am a fan of yours, wherever, whenever you go!
christy´s last blog ..Would you like to be our guest?

5 Theta Mom February 16, 2010 at 9:31 am

Of course I am a fan – your page looks fantastic! Love that landing page girl! And these tips are amazing. I am somewhat code-challenged (actually, very) but I am learning. Took me forever to figure out some things, but this is such a wonderful resource!
Theta Mom´s last blog ..Build Your Following Through the Power of Social Media

6 SoccerMom February 16, 2010 at 9:55 am

I will give it a try. However, I cant even figure out how to do anything “special” on my blog page, so I’m not getting my hopes up on figuring out a “fan page”.
I know pathetic. I am in need of some serious help.

7 Tasha February 16, 2010 at 10:01 am

Thanks for this! I just set up my Facebook Fanpage a few days ago and I’m really excited about how quickly it’s growing, but every little bit of advice helps!

8 mamajoss February 16, 2010 at 10:05 am

This is awesome! Thank You for writing this and I LOVE getting your updates in my news feed – Rock On!
mamajoss´s last blog ..Obviously Some Renovations Happening…

9 Kmama February 16, 2010 at 10:12 am

Ohh, thanks for the info.!!
Kmama´s last blog ..Post It Note Tuesday

10 LoveFeast Table February 16, 2010 at 10:13 am

Thanks for the info! We set up our Facebook over a year ago and did it wrong! We have been working on building a “correct” fanbook page. Thanks! This info is timely!
~Kristin and Chris Ann
LoveFeast Table´s last blog ..Birthday Week, Part 1

11 Christine February 16, 2010 at 10:26 am

WOW! Great info…I have a fan page for each of my blogs and it looks NOTHING like that!! :P I am going to go mess with ‘things’ now. Thanks for this…I just became a fan.

12 Lolli February 16, 2010 at 10:53 am

I have zero tips because I am simply following in your footsteps. Thank you for your help!!

I know you know where my page is, but for everyone else, here’s mine:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Better-in-Bulk/119368374872?v=wall
Lolli´s last blog ..Aperture Explained – a Bloggography Tutorial

13 Shawntel February 16, 2010 at 11:04 am

That’s cool. I’m going to give it a try later tonight.
Shawntel´s last blog ..The Best Temper Tantrum I’ve Ever Had

14 WebSavvyMom February 16, 2010 at 11:06 am

–>I may not make the switch from blogger to wordpress but I think I can handle this one. Thanks for the tips.

http://www.WebSavvyMom.com
WebSavvyMom´s last blog ..Flashback Friday (Part 48) – Eatin’ Good in the Neighborhood

15 Stephaine @ Geezees February 16, 2010 at 11:13 am

I have a facebook page too..i would love to add you as one of my friends!
http://www.facebook.com/people/Geezees-Custom-Canvas-Art/1745929820
Stephaine @ Geezees´s last blog ..New Web Design for Geezees Custom Canvas Art – Something good to say??

16 dawn February 16, 2010 at 11:30 am

how you do this all woman is beyond me and scares me; i think you are superwoman at times.
dawn´s last blog ..chocolate mousse on puff pastry w/ raspberries

17 TheKitchenWitch February 16, 2010 at 12:05 pm

I love it that you post these wonderful, informative pieces for we techno-challenged bloggers. It’s very nice of you. Because dang, I need HELP.
TheKitchenWitch´s last blog ..Valentine’s Day: Then and Now

18 Keyona February 16, 2010 at 12:12 pm

You’re so full of knowledge and smart and cute and…oh ok, I’ll stop now.

19 DaniGirl February 16, 2010 at 12:30 pm

I’ve been meaning to look into this forever — thanks for making it easy!
DaniGirl´s last blog ..A new perspective on the Canadian War Museum

20 Heather February 16, 2010 at 12:33 pm

This rocks, thanks for taking time to put it together. I love finding really useful resources like this. Love your fan page!
Heather´s last blog ..“Not me” Monday

21 Julie February 16, 2010 at 12:33 pm

I’m having an inner struggle w/ my blog right now. How far do I want to take this thing? Do I really have time to try to make it “a big deal”? *sigh* I don’t know. But now b/c of friending you and Brittany on FB I am getting friend requests from chica’s that I don’t know, but who are bloggers. I don’t know if I want to get MORE into Facebook while I just talked myself out of cancelling my account…

I just don’t know what to do with my bloooooooooog. Don’t know just what to do with my bloooooooog.
Julie´s last blog ..Waiting Game.

22 Scary Mommy February 16, 2010 at 12:53 pm: Oh, I hear you. It’s such a time suck, I know!!

Brittany was the one who inspired me to start a separate bloggy account. It was a really good decision– I hated having the two worlds collide and it just seemed like such a mess. It’s much better now, but, yes those friend requests get crazy once you start with the bloggers!
Scary Mommy´s last blog ..Building a Facebook Fan Page for Your Blog

Reply

23 OHmommy February 16, 2010 at 12:58 pm

GAH. You are awesome. I just stumbled your
How to Personalize Your Facebook Landing Page
and now I have my work cut out for me. My fan page sucks and I need a facelift: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Classy-Chaos-Blog

THANKS!
OHmommy´s last blog ..the day I spend money on Disney will be the day Louboutins are on clearance at Target

24 Amy February 16, 2010 at 1:12 pm

Thanks for the helpful tips! I may need to use this in the future!

25 nycgirl0501 February 16, 2010 at 1:53 pm

This post is a GOD SENT…now if only I could get over my struggle to share my blog with coworkers or not via Facebook. Thanks for putting together such a wonderful guide! I’m gonna read all of it to help me decide!

26 Lori February 16, 2010 at 2:11 pm

Bajeezes, I’m saving this page in my favorites. Then when everything else is done on my “to do” list for today, I’ll play with it. I’ve got a facebook fan page for my business, but not my blog. Hmm… Here’s the one for the business anyway:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Waterstone-Jewelry-by-Lori-Plyler/82121324715

Thanks a bundle!
Lori´s last blog ..ode to coffee and wine

27 Lynn from For Love or Funny February 16, 2010 at 2:12 pm

Jill, I’ve been meaning to do this, but I didn’t know how! Thank you!!
By the way, I see that you will be one of the guests at the SITScation conference in Baltimore. I’m going, and I can’t wait to hear you speak!
Lynn from For Love or Funny´s last blog ..Help for baffled spouses.

28 Scary Mommy February 16, 2010 at 9:16 pm: I didn’t know you were going!! I’m so excited!!!

Reply

29 Christopher (AKA: CaJoh) February 16, 2010 at 3:12 pm

I got to get a band and a wagon so I can get on the bandwagon. I think my first hurdle will be creating a clever picture to use on my landing page. I have the skillZ, but not the toolZ. Kind of hamstrung at the moment without any graphic editing tools so the most I can use is Paint or Power Point (Ugh).

Love the advice. Thanks for sharing,
Christopher (AKA: CaJoh)´s last blog ..F2: Is Love in the food?

30 Paige Hill February 16, 2010 at 3:23 pm

This is a great post! I just wanted to add two more things. I am the admin. for Where Women Create Magazine. Here’s our Fan page http://www.facebook.com/wherewomencreate. We use the FBML option to add links to our magazine and our other sites (i.e. main site, twitter ect.) You’ve given a great tutorial on how to get it, I just wanted to add that you can add the FBML to the side of your page by clicking on “Boxes” and when you see your images float your cursor to the upper right to get the little edit pencil. Click it, then click “Add to Wall tab”. You can then click and drag your images around until your happy with the placement. The last thing I wanted to add is to go over the contest rules for Facebook before you decided to have one. Recently, Facebook revised their guidelines regarding contests. They’re very strict, so we don’t involve FB at all when we have blog contest (with the exception of linking to the contest). Here is the link: http://www.facebook.com/promotions_guidelines.php . I would hate anyone to have their page removed. Hope this helps! Have a great day:)

31 Jennifer, Playgroups are no place for children February 16, 2010 at 4:54 pm

I don’t have a fan page, maybe I’ll start one…maybe I won’t, but if I do THIS is GREAT information! Bookmarking it!

32 Jennifer February 16, 2010 at 5:29 pm

I would like to do one, but I would really like a “look” first. I can’t settle on anything, but I know that I want something that is specific to me and recognizable as coming from my blog. I know I should talk to a designer, but the idea of spending money on something that is just a hobby is something I’m having a hard time justifying at this point. I guess I’ll just keep wishing in one hand and you know…. doing nothing. :)
Jennifer´s last blog ..More sickness, the Olympics and Begging, Random Tuesday Thoughts

33 Night Owl Mama February 16, 2010 at 6:35 pm

congratulations on making blogger of the week from Uprinting. I so needed this post well over a month ago. I had to wing it

34 Fiddledeedee February 16, 2010 at 6:40 pm

Awesome timing! I’ve done a page for my blog, but I’m knee deep in setting one up for MSN’s Mom’s Homeroom. You’ve added some info that I really really needed right now. THANK YOU!
Fiddledeedee´s last blog ..At least he can catch a cold

35 Tina February 16, 2010 at 6:53 pm

I have a personal fan page. Is there a way to add your current friends to your new Fan page. Or do you have to start from scratch? I have 700 friends.
Tina´s last blog ..Friendship Casserole ~ Dinner for a Friend

36 MommyTime February 16, 2010 at 8:54 pm

This is great info. I already feel like I have too much to do and too little time, though, so I think this might have to wait for me till summer… *sigh*
MommyTime´s last blog ..I Ought to Be an Editor-in Chief

37 Jen @ buried with children February 16, 2010 at 9:07 pm

Thank you for this. I was wondering how it do. I will let you know when I get it done. I think that I am going to wait until I move over to the WP dark side. ;)
Jen @ buried with children´s last blog ..Olympic Mom Proud

38 SquiggleMum February 17, 2010 at 1:26 am

Thanks for these great tips and how-tos Jill. Much appreciated and I look forward to giving my fan page a bit of an overhaul! (My fanpage is here if you’re interested http://www.facebook.com/SquiggleMum )

39 Missy February 17, 2010 at 2:50 am

So funny…I was just thinking today that this should be my next step. Thanks for the tip and idea pages.
I think your FB fan page looks great!

40 Danielle February 17, 2010 at 7:10 am

Did you read my mind somehow? What am I thinking…right now?!?!

This came at the perfect time as I’ve been thinking and talking about doing this…thank you! Thank you! I need all the how-to’s I can get!

41 SEO Man February 17, 2010 at 8:36 am

Wow, that’s really cool, thank you very much.

42 MommyNamedApril February 17, 2010 at 9:54 am

this is great! i’ve started making one several times and gahhh… it’s such a timesuck. i need to just put my big girl pants on and finish it!

43 threeundertwo February 17, 2010 at 11:35 am

It’s amazing how much my numbers have gone up just by having a personal facebook page. I need to take this plunge. I wish more people would set up a fan page instead of handling facebook traffic through friending. I have a lot of odd clutter in my friends list.

Thank you so much for this! Stay tuned for my page!
threeundertwo´s last blog ..Five Star Fort

44 Texasholly February 17, 2010 at 11:45 am

YAY. I just started a fan page on facebook for Business 2 Blogger, but haven’t gotten around to doing my blogs. It was WAY easier to control than networked blogs – I get so frustrated with that.
Texasholly´s last blog ..My favorite Valentines

45 Denise February 17, 2010 at 12:02 pm

I’m so glad I discovered your site – you are so generous with your ideas and tips. For a relative newbie to the blog world, it is most appreciated. Thanks for the idea of the fan page on FB – what a great way to get my blog out there. I appreciate the kick in the pants to get started!
Denise´s last blog ..How’d I Wake Up Married To An Old Dude?

46 Momma February 17, 2010 at 1:23 pm

Help. I am so friggin lost. I think I started up a fan page……but how the heck do I find it when I sign into FB????

*I am computer dumb. Dont judge*
Momma´s last blog ..S

47 Scary Mommy February 17, 2010 at 8:47 pm: Do you know what you named it? :) You can just search for it that way?

Reply

48 Kimberly Hosey (Arizona Writer) February 17, 2010 at 1:55 pm

I became a fan as soon as I saw your page on FB, of course. I had sorta-kinda-maybe thought of starting my own fan page, but I’m really not sure if I’m big time enough for one, you know? I have a decent NetworkedBlogs following on Facebook, but I think maybe a fan page would get much better exposure. Oh well; only one way to find out.

Thanks for sharing how you did it!
Kimberly Hosey (Arizona Writer)´s last blog ..He’s an animal

49 helen February 17, 2010 at 4:22 pm

Great post, thanks for the info! I am actually writing an article about this. They do say great minds think alike :).
helen´s last blog ..Stop Letting Excuses Ruin Your Life [Unless You're Tired Or Something :)]

50 Kate Coveny Hood February 17, 2010 at 9:51 pm

Jill – you area powerhouse. I suspect that one of your first tips would be to actually check my Facebook page more than once a week and possibly update it more than once a month? I can barely keep up with my blog reader…I am a FB Fail.

51 unfinishedperson February 17, 2010 at 11:03 pm

Well, I have no idea where my comment went, but here’s my Facebook Fan Page:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Unfinished-Person/141896118562

At least, I think this link works.
unfinishedperson´s last blog ..About This Book Is Overdue! and other library poop (literally)

52 Stesha February 17, 2010 at 11:35 pm

Love the landing page! I had a fan page for my blog, but I deleted it. Right now it’s too time consuming for me, but maybe one day I’ll brink it back.

Hugs and Mocha,
Stesha
Stesha´s last blog ..25 Years Later…

53 Stesha February 17, 2010 at 11:36 pm

“bring” it back. Oh, never mind. I type too fast!

Hugs and Mocha,
Stesha
Stesha´s last blog ..25 Years Later…

54 Jack February 18, 2010 at 5:12 am

This finally pushed me over the top. I now have an FB fan page. Thanks for the encouragement.
Jack´s last blog ..The Ghosts of Our Past

55 Kate @ The Shopping Mama February 18, 2010 at 12:01 pm

Thanks for all the information. I’ve had a Facebook Fan page for a while, but I love all the ways to personalize it and brand it that you’ve shared. So helpful! Thanks again.
Kate @ The Shopping Mama´s last blog ..Parenthood Is…

56 sherry February 19, 2010 at 12:29 pm

Thanks for the ideas. I have a facebook page but I want to take it to the next level thanks for he advise. And I already have been following your page.

57 Mariano February 19, 2010 at 1:26 pm

Fan pages are an absolutely, 100% fabulous way to connect with people who follow your business and are basically clamoring for more “you” in their lives. As you mentioned, it allows you to build credibility with your existing audience, and increase visibility to people who may have never heard of you but are connected with your fans.

Congrats on the new fan page!

Our fan page is here:

http://www.facebook.com/avelient
Mariano´s last blog ..How Many LinkedIn Connections are Too Many?

58 Brittany at Mommy Words February 20, 2010 at 11:28 am

Oooh I love the welcome page I so am going to add one. Yours looks great! I like the fan page so much more then networked blogs for all of the communication you can have with people!

I just became your fan. I am at http://www.facebook.com/mommywords
Brittany at Mommy Words´s last blog ..Say Cheese Babe!

59 Maureen February 20, 2010 at 12:33 pm

Thanks for sharing this, I’m a newbie and a fan of your site. Maybe one day when I got enough followers I’ll create one, in the meantime I’ll bookmark this post. :D
Maureen´s last blog ..Mijn Oma

60 Marianna @ Green Mama's Pad February 20, 2010 at 1:45 pm

Thanks, this was great!
Marianna @ Green Mama’s Pad´s last blog ..Great Lakes Diaper Company Review & Giveaway

61 vanessa @ silly eagle books February 20, 2010 at 8:38 pm

I love this idea. I have been meaning to do it for a while, but your post just inspired me. I tried to create a separate account for my blog Silly Eagle Books, but facebook would not accept the name. Do you have any advice on how to get my blog name on that account?

62 Scary Mommy February 20, 2010 at 10:29 pm

That’s the pain of it– to have a profile page, Facebook needs to recognize you as a person. I couldn’t be Scary Mommy, so I chose Jill ScaryMommy. (Obviously, the computer system isn’t so bright.) So, maybe, Vanessa Silly Eagle– or something like that?

63 Dee March 28, 2010 at 8:11 pm

Hi Scary Mommy,

I’m facing the same issue and do not won’t to connect the two worlds either. The suggestion you gave Jill is perfect but I have only one concern. A few have said that you can only have one account on FB and it could cause issues down the line so I was wondering if it is allowed to have a personal account and a blogging account as well? I wouldn’t want to create an account just to have it deactivated for using the name example as you mentioned. Could you care to explain further or do you think there is reason of concern?

Thanks in advance.
Dee´s last blog ..Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married Too!

64 Scary Mommy March 29, 2010 at 7:29 am: I’m really no Facebook expert, but I don’t see how they’d ever know the accounts were the same person, you know? I have never heard of an account being deactivated but it is a scary thought, indeed.

Reply

65 Cranky Sarah February 21, 2010 at 11:42 am

I will check this out. Although I’m gonna have to figure out how to manage my time better. The only reason I haven’t done it yet is that I don’t want it connected with my personal facebook account, but I haven’t really checked it out enough to know if that’s how it works HAHA! I prefer to keep FB mainly to peeps I know IRL, with a few online friends I’ve had email convo’s with. Sometimes, it’s all just too much!
Cranky Sarah´s last blog ..A change in tone: Night Time Waking- Toddlers

66 Mommie Daze February 23, 2010 at 3:20 pm

Great information. I’ve has a FB fan page for a few months, but didn’t really know how to use it other than posting my blog feed to it. Thanks for the ideas!
Mommie Daze´s last blog ..Girl Talk on Tuesday: Princess

67 Jamaise February 28, 2010 at 3:24 am

I need to study your guide – I started a page for my blog – and I can’t get it to feed from my blog to my page??? I’m about ready to kill it. I’ll be back to read after sleep.
Jamaise´s last blog ..Expressiva Nursingwear ~ $35 Gift Certificate ~ GIVEAWAY!!! ~ Ends 3/9

68 MamaCas February 28, 2010 at 3:51 pm

Thanks for the information! I joined FB over the summer and it’s been fantastic to keep up with my friends and family…..maybe I’ll have to try it out for my blog too.
MamaCas´s last blog ..Bloggity, blog, blog, blog…..

69 NiceBlogger March 2, 2010 at 5:53 am

This article is great,nice tips . Did you know that you can use FaceBook fan page notes to market your business ? I’ve just posted on my blog an article that shows to my readers 7 great ways to create facebook notesc that can market your business and grab attention ( http://niceblogger.com/2010/03/02/7-great-ways-to-create-facebook-notes-that-market-your-business-and-grab-attention/ ) . I hope that you will not considerate my comment as spam , I’ve just hope that this article will be usefull for all FaceBook fans.
I really enjoy your blog. I’ve just bookmarked this article and added your blog to my Google RSS Reader.

Keep Posting!
Regards,
Bitu Mihai
niceblogger.com

70 Alex March 26, 2010 at 10:20 pm

I just started my fan page on yesterday afternoon! I could NOT manage all the lists and friend requests and figuring out privacy issues… And it allows people who don’t WANT to be friends with me (THE HORROR) to be a fan of my blog. And already friends of friends and strangers are fanning it! I’m so excited! And it makes getting my blog posts out there so much easier. I’ve also added some funny photos. I love it!
On an aside: I am so glad that I made my fan page but I think that timing is important. If I had done it immediately, I think that my friends would have been overwhelmed with my blog-y neediness. I wanted to have enough posts so people could actually be FANS. I thought that the key to inspiring people I didn’t know to fan is having something to read when they check out what their friends are doing. And after my friends got to know my blog, they were more than happy (un-prodded for the most part ;) to invite their friends to become fans. (I didn’t have to wait that long to create it… Two and a half months or so but I do post daily.)
I am going to look into adding my favorite posts! Thanks!
Here’s the link to the fan page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Late-Enough/107269115963042?v=wall&ref=ts
Alex´s last blog ..Survival of The Worst Driver

71 Cindi @ Moomette's Magnificents April 18, 2010 at 3:18 pm

Thanks for the info! It’s great to know more ideas, such as adding a blogroll. Will have to try that!

Here’s my FB Fan page! Moomette’s Magnificents
Cindi @ Moomette’s Magnificents´s last blog ..Blogging Tips: Time Management Coaching Session Giveaway

72 Amy Mayfield May 1, 2010 at 4:47 pm

TOTALLY took your advice and just set up a facebook page for the blog. Would LOVE it, and greatly appreciate it, if you’d take a look and “like it”

It’s here: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Amys-Blam-General-Foolishness/113673695336926?ref=ts

Thank you, for the 12th or so time today.
Linked to this post in today’s blog post.
Amy Mayfield´s last blog ..No, I’ve never hired a hitman-shockingly.

73 Hermes birkin bag May 10, 2010 at 11:57 am

really appreciate YOU — thanks a lot!

74 bolleypanny May 24, 2010 at 3:34 am

75 Innoluppy May 24, 2010 at 8:43 am

76 Innoluppy May 24, 2010 at 5:47 pm

77 snurfanny May 25, 2010 at 1:15 am

78 sarmgrograx May 25, 2010 at 9:21 am

79 Rosa July 7, 2010 at 6:37 pm

I havent created a fan page, thanks for the tip, its on my to do list tonight and now that facebook has be come so popular its a must.

thanks

Rosa
Rosa´s last blog ..Forgot to Keep eating

80 Karen & Gerard July 12, 2010 at 6:33 am

I thought about doing this but had no idea how or how it works. This is a helpful post and I’ll give it some more thought. Off now to visit your fan page.

Visiting from SITS.
Karen & Gerard´s last blog ..Intervention by Terri Blackstock

81 Ofthesea July 12, 2010 at 2:36 pm

Jeez, thats a LOT of spam above this here comment! :S

I tried creating an FB page but I was frankly flummoxed… thanks a lot for making it look easier. Also for the tip about a new account – I definitely want my personal info separate form the bloggy stuff! :)

82 CK July 12, 2010 at 6:02 pm

Thanks for the FB page tips! I’ve been wondering about this.
Happy SITS day!
-CK

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