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Beth Kanter

Beth Kanter is a consultant, author, influencer. virtual trainer & nonprofit innovator in digital transformation & workplace wellbeing.

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Facebook Custom Landing Tabs + Measurement = Best Practice

May 6, 2011 Filed Under: Digital Strategy

Conversation about FB Custom Tabs

 
Facebook Custom Landing Tabs + Measurement = Best Practice
Why:  Custom Landing Tabs
The default welcome page for your Facebook Page is your wall.   There is a more inviting welcome mat. Facebook landing pages give people reasons to like your page.   Debra Askanese pointed to a study that shows Facebook pages with custom landing pages have a higher conversion rate than those without landing pages.
Principles
An effective custom landing page should support your SMART objective,  show value at a glance, and have a clear call to action.     A landing page without a strategy or good design will not  automatically make people like your organization’s page.    A landing page can reinforce organizational branding or promote specific campaigns, programs, or events.  It doesn’t have to be a static content either, it can change according to your organization’s activities.
Landing pages provide a fertile ground for testing and data collection much like nonprofits test their email newsletters.  While custom tabs might look nice and can be strategic, if you don’t measure – it’s a waste of time.
On my Facebook page, I asked nonprofit  people to show examples of customized landing pages.  Here’s a couple of examples.
Organizational Branding

Highlight A Program or Event


Promote A Fundraiser/Special Event


Renee Alexander Hamilton, who is the Social Media Manager for UNICEF USA, says that they used one of the DIY apps creators for the tab, but are fortunate to have an in-house designer to make it attractive.   Renee tracks the conversion rate including clicks to the tab, clicks within the tab, and the conversion rates (clicks to donations).  She mentioned that the app includes analytics, but prefers her tried and true ruler of choice:  Google Analytics.
Small Nonprofits Can Do This Too!

During the Leveraging Social Media peer session, which consists of small and mid-sized arts organizations, the Meridian Gallery showed off their custom tag that was created using a free version of one of the DYI apps, Pagemodo. Andrew Pulkrabek, the marketing director,  worked with a designer.   His words of wisdom:  make sure that people who are not the page administrators also test it.
The Techy Stuff
It used to be easy to create a custom landing tab with FBML, but you can no longer install that app and on June 12th those grandfathered using FBML will not be able to use it.   Now it takes some tech skills to pull this off because of the switch to iFrames.  If you don’t have those skill then there are some free tools (and low cost tools here and here) available to get your basic Facebook landing page up and running. You might need some graphic design skills though.  You can also build a Facebook Page using Word Press, here’s the video. Want to look at a few inspiring custom landing pages, check these out.  Here’s a wiki on custom landing tabs and more advice here.   Update:  (October, 2011)  Here’s a couple of popular apps for building custom content.   But, Facebook announced that all apps must use SSL – if you are hosting your own – here’s some tips.  Otherwise, if you are using a service, make sure it is compliant.
 
Earlier this week, Causes, the popular Facebook fundraising app, announced integration with Facebook pages, a featured long awaited for by many nonprofits.    While it is not yet possible to measure the donation funnel or conversion rates, those features are no doubt coming soon.
Does your nonprofit use a custom landing tab on Facebook?  How did you create it?  How do you test and measure its effectiveness to get results that support your objectives?

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Dan says

    May 6, 2011 at 6:23 am

    This is a great read. I can’t wait to share with my students on Monday

  2. John Haydon says

    May 6, 2011 at 7:31 am

    Beth – Thanks so much for including The Nonprofit Facebook Guy in this post. He get’s lonely sometimes – even with all his Facebook fans. 😉

  3. Cecilia Stancell says

    May 6, 2011 at 7:51 am

    Beth, I was just talking about this with collegues! Thank you! One question, though. It seems that even when a Welcome page exists, you only land there the very first time you visit a page. Return users automatically end up at the Wall. Is there a way to change that?

  4. Social Media Consultant London says

    May 6, 2011 at 2:14 pm

    Great post Beth.
    Especially “Why: Custom Landing Tabs”
    Thanks,
    James

  5. Jane says

    May 6, 2011 at 6:38 pm

    Hi Beth,
    I have really enjoyed reading about Custom Landing Pages.
    However I am not computer savvy person although I’m a Librarian that has been given the task of improving our facebook page.
    So, would it be possible if could help me create custom landing page for our library facebook page. Looking forward to hearing from soon.
    Sincerely,
    Jane

  6. Sharon Ober says

    May 7, 2011 at 7:57 am

    Hi Beth,
    Great article on custom fanpages! I’ve gone a step further using iFrames to embed not just a page, but a complete mini-website for our small nonprofit (Community Center of St Bernard, Arabi LA) that lets us do special offers, sell items, get newsletter sign ups, show our videos, etc.
    http://www.facebook.com/pages/Personalpages/212635985421252#!/pages/Personalpages/212635985421252?sk=app_220917901257031
    And now I’m looking to branch out to doing this for local businesses as a fundraiser – sample at
    http://www.facebook.com/pages/Great-Food/207360772628535#!/pages/Great-Food/207360772628535?sk=app_121364177943493
    The March 11 move to iFrames by facebook has really just opened up some amazing opportunities if you have just a little bit of coding expertise!

  7. Grace Stubee says

    May 8, 2011 at 4:18 pm

    Hi Beth,
    I work for a small non-profit and we’re using the facebook landing page as a promotion for signing online petitions. http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Yfoundations/157650164278407?sk=app_112078882147346 I created the page through pagemodo.

  8. Celie says

    May 19, 2011 at 8:29 am

    Hi Beth,
    I helped to develop this Landing Page for the Massachusetts Tobacco Cessation and Prevention Program, a nonprofit that hopes to make smoking history in MA. What do you think?
    http://www.facebook.com/MakeSmokingHistory
    -Celie

  9. Celie says

    May 19, 2011 at 12:02 pm

    Hi Beth,
    Before Facebook got rid of FBML, I loaded a few extra FBML apps onto our page just in case (I’d heard that iFrames wouldn’t be compatible with tabs for a while). So we were able use FBML and design and develop the landing page almost as a miniature website. We’d be honored if you’d like the page or, even better, post on our wall. I’m so glad you like what we created — thank you for your support!
    http://www.facebook.com/makesmokinghistory
    -Celie

Trackbacks

  1. Social Media and Online Community Posts From Around The Web - 10,000 Words says:
    May 6, 2011 at 10:25 am

    […] Facebook Custom Landing Tabs + Measurement = Best Practice A landing page without a strategy or good design will not  automatically make people like your organization’s page.    A landing page can reinforce organizational branding or promote specific campaigns, programs, or events.  It doesn’t have to be a static content either, it can change according to your organization’s activities. […]

  2. Grafica e usabilità dei social network | Internet per il fundraising says:
    September 2, 2011 at 2:44 am

    […] un interessante articolo di Maggio scorso scritto da Beth Kanter sul suo blog. Parlava delle Custom Landing Tabs su Facebook ovvero quelle pagine dove i […]

  3. Social Media Tools for Nonprofits says:
    December 2, 2011 at 4:07 pm

    […] Invest in your profile. A profile that is professional and engaging will pay off. For tips and tricks, visit nonprofit social media guru Beth Kanter’s blog. […]

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