Tag: integration

If I Have a Facebook Page Do I Need a Website?

 

The WEB of website + Social Media

No doubt there are many people using Facebook – as of October 2011 Facebook reported 800 million users with over 50% logging in daily.

With Facebook having a Business Page is an excellent idea – it gives a method to update fans and those who have “Liked” your page quick updates.  Also if your Facebook fans comment or share your postings – this gets multiplied out to their friends.

However a business does require one central location to have their basic product and service information.  This might be your product catalog for a business, menus for a restaurant, and services offered by a consultant.   These should be readily available to anyone who is searching on the Internet by using search optimized web pages.   In addition on a regular basis in Facebook you should have your POSTS link back to your website for more information.  This helps to build your website traffic and integrate your Facebook page activity with your website.

Pros and Cons

Comparison Facebook Business Page Website
Pros

Lots of people using it

Easy to make postings

Can link back to your website

Can setup individual pages – but people don’t often browse the additional tabs

Easy to setup

Can create a branded professional look

Can create organized and easy to use navigation

More control on layout and how the message is presented

Can integrate your FaceBook page
Cons

Need to build up your fan base

Information on your wall shows most recent posts – but people may not scroll down to see previous posts

No obvious hierarchy and way to organize your information

Need to post regularly

May require technical expertise to update your information (depends on type of website)

May have to pay for hosting and domain name

May take time to build the website

Need to check that pages are found on search engines

Conclusion

There are advantages to having a Facebook Business Page – but to really benefit from having a presence on the Internet a business should still have a well designed website.

 

Website + Social Media for Building Traffic

Your own WEB consists of multiple internet based tools and publishing areas. Each contributes to building traffic, interactivity, collaboration and network building. See diagram and explanation

I often get asked about the advantages of having both a website AND using online social networking – Facebook, LinkedIN, and other social media.

Also – is an email newsletter effective in building traffic.

The way that i visualize it is with this diagram:

The WEB of website + Social Media

Your own WEB consists of multiple internet based tools and publishing areas.  Each contributes to building traffic, interactivity, collaboration and network building.

Having a Facebook Page (your business page), articles, blog, listings and postings on professional portals, a YouTube channel for video, FLICKR area for photos, postings from press releases and news sites all potentially bring traffic to your website and also give people the opportunity to “like”, post comments and questions and interact with you.  All these activities help you in building your network and list of interested contacts.

An email newsletter similarly is a simple “call to action” that people can sign up for on your website or from other entry points. People who sign up are interested in continuing to receive information from you.  Constant Contact provides social networking links from the emails that you send out – and also you can publish an archive on your website.

Develop a plan and strategy on how to use Social Media. Include a timeline and also a plan on how to reuse / republish information in different formats so that you get multiple uses without a lot of extra work.

Your Social Networking sites can all be integrated with your website.  You or your web developer gets the code and adds the code to one or more places on the website.

Examples:

  • http://www.eckova.ca – the home page integrates the Eckova Facebook page and blog.  Various other locations on the website include integrations e.g. in the sidebar area and inside pages.
  • http://antigonishfilmfest.org – the home page integrates the Facebook Page

Denise Davies is an Internet and media consultant with Eckova.  She works with nonprofit organizations and small businesses to maximize their effective use of the Internet to build their organization and achieve their objectives.  If you have questions or would like to learn more contact by email at davies@eckova.ca

 

 

Integrating Facebook with your Website

Step by step tips for integrating Facebook with your website using a “LIKE” box. Maximize your Facebook interactions by showing them on your website.

Putting the pieces together
Putting the pieces together

Your website is your core information hub on the internet.  It is structured, has a menu and you own the domain.

I have talked about how and why to setup a Facebook Page in other postings.

Facebook is more fluid and it is great for posting announcements on your company Facebook page.

Here are a couple of tips for integrating your Facebook business page with your website.  The advantage is that whenever you make a posting on your Facebook page – it automatically shows up on your web page.

  1. Go to your facebook page.  You must be an administrator of the page to do the following steps
  2. Click on “Edit page” – the link is on the top left of your page
  3. Scroll down and on the right hand side you will see “Promote with a Like Box”
  4. Use the different options and select if you want to show
    1. First fill in your page ID — this is the number that you see in your URL or click the “?” if you need help
    2. Width – change the width to look best on your web page.  You might have to try a couple of different widths and also talk to your webmaster about what width would look best
    3. Connections – these are the images of people who “like” your page.  Select the number you want to show or “0” if you don’t want to show any
    4. Steam – these are the POSTINGS on the your Facebook page. Click the check box to show the postings.
    5. Show header – This adds the “Find us on Facebook”
  5. Click on the “Get Code”.  Copy both of the code options and send to your webmaster.  You can add these on your home page or any of the inside pages.

EXAMPLES

Both of these examples show a “LIKE” box on the home page.  They encourage people to “LIKE” your Facebook page, grow the number of followers and interaction, and show new and updated content directly on your website.

Denise Davies is an Internet and media consultant with Aleph Consulting.  She works with nonprofit organizations and small businesses to maximize their effective use of the Internet to build their organization and achieve their objectives.  If you have questions or would like to learn more contact by email at davies@alephinc.com