Customize your Facebook Fan Page with a Welcome Tab

Note: If you need help getting started with Fan Page basics, see the previous post about Promoting Your Business Through Facebook

Make the most of your Facebook Fan Page by adding customized features that make you stand out from the crowd and engage your fans in a way that keeps them coming back. A simple way to use this on your site is through a customized Welcome tab. An attention-grabbing Welcome tab for your fan page gives visitors the red-carpet treatment and welcomes them to your fan page in a way that is unique and specialized to your business or organization.

This technique uses the Static FBML app. You can download it here . Once installed, you can create new boxes and tabs for your fan page that contain links to your website, feeds of website content, or even your latest Tweet! Let’s use it here to set up a special welcome tab for your Facebook Fan Page.

Access the FBML app by clicking Edit Page below the your Fan Page’s profile image, locating the FBML app in the list of applications, and clicking “Edit”. This brings up a box you will be using to create the Welcome tab:

Here is where you will be entering all data for the Welcome tab.

Enter a customized welcome message in the Box Title field. This will be shown along the top of your page beside the Wall, Info, Photos, and any other tabs you have. A simple title like “Welcome!” is perfect, since there is a limit on the number of characters the tab will display.

Text in the Box Title above appears in a Tab as you see below after you Save Changes:

The larger field can contain a few lines of text or a background image, but it needs to be formatted in FBML or HTML code to display properly. Here I’ll show you how to easily insert an image onto your welcome page. First, create the image with the branding, information, and message you want your fans to see. This should be no wider than 520 pixels or it will not display properly. Upload this image in a Facebook folder on your server. Next, place the following piece of code into the FBML box shown above, substituting your website, folder and image name:

http://yourwebsite.com/facebook/imagename.jpg”>

Usually when viewing a fan page, the Wall tab is the default tab that displays, so we want to change that to show off your great new Welcome page. To set your new Welcome page to be the default view when a fan views your page, click on the Wall tab and select “Settings” below the status update field. In the drop-down menu for “Default Tab for Everyone Else” select the welcome tab you just created.

Save changes, and your fans will receive this exclusive welcome when they visit your fan page, and you’re one step closer to gaining another loyal fan!