Okay, so now you have your basic Facebook fan page set up and filled in with all the fluffy stuff about your company – now let’s take personalizing your page to the next level! If you haven’t done so yet check my previous tutorial.

• Let’s start with a basic welcome page that visitors can land on when they go to your fan page. Here you can simply greet them or you can also provide your viewer with an incentive to interact with your page and step up from being a mere visitor to a fan.
• First, you’ll need to install an app to your page. It’s very easy, just click here to go to to the Static HTML iFrame Tabs page and click on the button ‘Add Static HTML to a Page’. It will take you to another page where you’ll want to select ‘Allow’. 

• Now let’s think about what message/image you want on your landing page. Do you just want to say ‘Hello, thanks for stopping by’ or ask them to ‘Like’ your page to gain access to a fans only deal or coupon…put whatever you want your fans to first see here. Your width must be 520 pixels wide, but you can vary the height if you want to, 520×500 is a good general size. You also have the option to create another message that will greet your existing fans as well (or you can just have the one message for all fans). I just created two different images with different messages – nothing fancy, just a little greeting (I used Adobe Illustrator to design it and then exported it from there as an image).
• Next, you’ll want to insert that image into the landing page itself. On your fan page scroll down and find the ‘Welcome’ link on the bottom left hand corner of your page, below your profile image.

• Click on the ‘Welcome’ link and it will bring up your landing page settings so that you can edit its appearance.
• In the top box you’ll enter in your code that will greet your visitors and potential fans when they stumble across your page (big arrow). In the box below that (small arrow) you can enter in the code that you would like exisitng fans to see or if you’d like both fans and non-fans alike to see the same image, just leave that box blank.

• Not familiar with coding? Don’t worry you don’t have to be. Here is some basic code to insert into your top box. This will pop-up a new window. Highlight all the text. Right click and select copy or just hit Control and C on your keyboard to copy the selected code.

• Then, go back to your landing page settings and click inside the top box. Right click and select paste or just hit Control and V on your keyboard to paste the code inside the box.
• Now, you’ll need to edit that code to apply to the image you’ve created for your landing page.
• You can adjust the height here (see small arrow) to match your image size (leave the width alone).
• Enter your image URL here (see big arrow).

•  And if you want to enter in the code for that second box that will greet existing fans click here and follow the same process as above, but enter in the corresponding URL address.
• Click on ’Save’ in the upper right hand corner above the top box and you’re all set!

*If you aren’t used to uploading images for things like your website, you can also always use something like Dropbox (which is free!) to store the image files and then copy the URL from the Public folder in your account.

Since this tutorial turned out to be a bit longer than I expected, I’ll have to break down the FB apps further…we’ll go over adding other applications (connecting your mailing list, blog…) to your Facebook page in separate tutorials to follow!

Next up - since I barely touched upon it here – will be adding discount offers to your fan page that are limited to fans only. This will help to encourage viewers to ’Like’ your page. Although some argue that these are fake likes and this doesn’t provide you with a real indication of your following - it’s more about cheapos trying to get a discount. On the other hand it also is a way to get existing and new viewers excited about your company and get them to check in on what you’re doing. You can decide for yourself what you want to do, I’ll just show you how!

Marketing on a budget 101.

It’s basically what I get paid to do at the nursery. Although we’re not a tiny backyard grower, we’re no where near some of our ginormous counterparts either (unfortunately my last name isn’t Ball), so here’s where getting creative comes into play. Technology has really leveled the playing field out there and with a little ingenuity and a dash of originality you can still leave your mark for the whole green world to see! 

I’m going to start a series of tutorials that will show you how to make the most of your limited marketing dollars so that you have no more excuses as to why you’re not in the loop (you can afford this, it’s free!). And first on that list…Facebook! With all the hype around it, I bet you’re dying to jump on board, right?! But, before you do go off frustrating yourself trying to set up a fan page for your company – pause and give it some real thought. I highly suggest you think about who your customers are or who the potential customer is that you’re trying to reach. Are they the sort to use Facebook? Do most of them even have a Facebook page or one that they check more than once a month? Facebook is not a marketing tool that makes sense for everyone. So give it a little thought and make sure you’re spending your time on something that is going to make sense for you. 

While you’re thinking, you also may be pondering why you might need a Facebook fan page anyways – I’ll tell you why. Because if your customers are constantly on Facebook, doesn’t it make sense that you want to go where your customers are…so that you can reach them, interact with them…to hopefully create a relationship with them…to hopefully build brand recognition and brand loyalty with them…to have them love you so much that they want to tell all their friends about you too, who will tell their friends and so on and so on…hmm yes please, right!

I’m going to assume you have a basic understanding of Facebook – like you know what a wall is…If not let me know - you’ll need a whole other tutorial before you get to this tutorial…

• Sooo, first off, go to www.facebook.com and click on ‘Create a Page’ in the bottom right hand corner or if you’re logged in, scroll down to the bottom of the page (you may want to go to a static page like your info so it won’t keep adding new wall posts or your news feed) and click on ‘Create a Page’:

or, if you’re already logged in:

• Next, select the category that applies to you (Local Business, Company, Artist, Band…)  – don’t worry you can change it later if you need to. Click to agree to the terms and then hit the ‘Get Started’ button.

• Upload your profile pic. I suggest maximizing this space since it’s going to be one the first and most prominent things your fans will see on your page. Currently, the largest pic you can use is 180 x 540 pixels. If you’re stressing out about how to make your profile pic these exact dimensions don’t worry - it doesnt’ have to be at these dimensions – you can upload what you have on hand and you can always change it later.
• Get fans – you can invite your existing Facebook friends or import contacts from your email list and even post news of your new fancy fan page on your own personal fb wall.
• Add basic info – like your website and some info about your fan page. Again, don’t worry you can always edit this if you wish to later.

Woo hoo! You’re getting there! You should have your basic fan page all set up!  Now, let’s add some personal touches and more info to let fans know what you’re all about!

• Click on either of these links – ‘Edit Info’ or ‘Edit Page’ – they’ll take you to the same place…where you can edit your information and further customize your fan page.

• Access your options on the left to make changes to your page. You can also edit your permission settings here and check your page stats under Insights.
• Click on ‘View Page’ in the upper right hand corner to exit out of your settings and return to your fan page.

• Now let’s add some pictures! Scroll down slightly, and on the far left, under your profile image, click on ‘Photos’. This will show you any pictures and picture albums you currently have. 
• Click on ‘Upload Photos’ in the upper right hand corner to add more images.

…And you’ve done it! You’ve made your very own Facebook fan page! Awesome! In the next tutorial I’ll show you how to further personalize your page and link it to your existing (or soon to be) marketing efforts such as your blog or mailing list! And we’ll also create a Welcome Page that viewers will land on so that you can initially greet your fans or deliver a call to action.