How To Add Static FBML to Your Custom Facebook Page Design

It’s the most asked question when it comes to Custom Facebook Page Design. How do I add Static FBML to my Custom Facebook Page? It’s actually quite easy and only takes a few seconds.

First off, why would you want to add Static FBML to your Custom Facebook Page? Well, you want to make it Custom, right? Adding Static FBML allows you to create your own Tabs. What is a Tab? Tabs are different portions of your Facebook Page. By default, you have the Wall Tab (where the Wall is), the Info Tab (info about your page), Photos Tab, and others. Static FBML enables you to create your own Custom Tab to insert FBML to really make your page stand out (We can help, Custom Facebook Page Design).

Take a look at our video tutorial on adding a Static FBML Tab to your Custom Facebook Page Design.

Step 1: Go to your Fan Page
Step 2: Click Edit Page under your Main Page Image
Step 3: Scroll to the bottom and click Static FBML
Step 4: Click Add to My Page, Wait for Popup Box
Step 5: Click Add to Page for the Page you want Static FBML added to
Step 6: Go back to your Page
Step 7: Click Edit Page Again
Step 8: Scroll down and find Static FBML, press Edit
Step 9: Add Content, FBML can be added here. For help with FBML, contact us today at http://www.justincener.com/contact-us
Step 10: After saving changes, go to your Page’s Wall tab
Step 11: Click the “+” Icon on the right, Find your FBML Tab by its Title, click it to add to the page.

Thats it! You now have a Static FBML Tab on your page!

What’s Not Allowed on a Static FBML Custom Facebook Page Design

Every business has come to realize that having a branded, well thought out Facebook presence is a necessity in today’s marketing environment. The main barrier of entry, in this marketing space, is the requirement to learn how to design a custom Facebook Page.

Previously, we listed at What You Can Do On A Static FBML Custom Facebook Fan Page. With so many variations of Pages out there, it isn’t exactly clear what is and is not possible on a Static FBML Custom Facebook Page Design.

You Can Not:
Autoplay a YouTube Video/Video or Flash
Use Javascript (FBJS is a variation of Javascript)
Use PHP
Use iFrames
Use any jQuery/MooTools/JS Libraries
(Coming Soon) Exceed 520px in Width

What You Can Do On A Static FBML Custom Facebook Fan Page

Custom Facebook Fan Pages have become an absolute necessity for businesses of all shapes and sizes. You can no longer rely on attracting customers to your website or shop. In today’s social world, you must go to where your customers already are. With close to 500 Million Active Users, Facebook is, without a doubt, where your customers are. Recent research has found that 67%, or 2 out of 3, consumers who follow a brand on Facebook or Twitter are more likely to become customers. That’s an astounding statistic that marketers and business owners must realize – FAST!

The greatest barrier of entry for a custom Facebook Fan Page is Facebook’s proprietary markup langauge, FBML. Cener Social Media has compiled a list of what functionalities you can include on your Static FBML Facebook Fan Page.

You Can:
Add an unlimited amount of Static FBML Tabs
Embed a YouTube Video
Embed a Flickr Slideshow
Add you Company Logo (or any graphic you want!)
Link to your Company Website (or link to anywhere you want!)
Use FBML (Facebook Markup Language)
Use limited forms of HTML
Use limited forms of CSS
Create an Image Gallery
Embed a Vimeo Video
Create a Newsletter Signup Form
Take Hotel/Motel Reservations
Create a Facebook Style Popup Box
Create a Contact Us Form
Embed Facebook’s Share Button
Use FBJS (Facebook Javascript) to emulate Javascript
Create animations using FBJS
Add a Page Navigation
Create Multiple Pages inside a Single Static FBML Tab
Embed a Flash Movie or Animation
Hide Content from Non-Fans
Set any Static FBML Tab as the Landing Tab for the Page

Take a look at some of Cener Social Media’s work to see some of the above in action!

This list is really just the tip of the iceberg. Contact Cener Social Media today and start marketing the right way on Facebook!

WARNING: Facebook Virus Spreading via Fake Image Link in Messages

Over the past week, a virus has been spreading across Facebook. It comes in the form of a link that appears to be a picture hosted on Facebook and at first glance, it looks pretty similar to a legitimate Facebook Picture link. The link appears to lead to a .jpg, but actually loads a .exe that can exploit weaknesses on your system. If you see any suspicious links, make sure they are from facebook.com as the virus has been spreading with a domain like “album.facebook-photo .info” and other domains that are supposed to trick the user into thinking they are from Facebook.

A real Facebook Image link would look like this: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=67815&op=1&o=global&view=global&subj=202282699383&id=100000683065632

How To Easily Fix The Wordpress Redirect Loop Error Without Admin Access

If you’ve been using Wordpress, you’ve probably encountered the dreaded Wordpress Redirect Loop Error at some point in time. There are a few different reasons why this can happen, but you should first check out your .htaccess file inside the root of your server. If you’ve created a redirect inside your .htaccess file to redirect the non-www domain (ex: justincener.com) to the www version (www.justincener.com), you may be causing the redirect loop error.

Follow these easy steps and you’ll get your Wordpress Blog and Admin Access Back:

1. 1) Backup your .htaccess file on your hard drive
2. 2) Delete the .htaccess file from the root of your server
4. 3) Go to your blog’s admin panel and log-in
5. 4) On the left sidebar, go to Settings –> General and changes your Wordpress Address and Blog Address to include www (so it should be http://www.domainname.com instead of http://domainname.com).
6. 5) Save Settings
7. 6)Take your .htaccess backup and reupload it to the root of your server

Thats it, you should be up and running again!

Forget About Conflicting Reports and Studies, Social Media Marketing Is Here To Stay

Lately, there have been numerous reports and studies about the state of social media. On one end, you have studies that claim that social media is highly useable and widely accepted in the corporate, retail, and entertainment industries. On the other end of the spectrum, you get reports stating that social media is a fad and offers little to no advantage in advancing business.

Read one article and see that over 99% of online retailers have or will have a Facebook Page for their business. Turn the page and read another claiming top executives do not believe social media marketing can generate business leads. Click another link and see a study stating social media has little to no effect on brand perception. Follow a link ReTweeted by a connection on Twitter and find that social media offers deep brand engagement resulting in better financial performance.

Despite these conflicting reports, I’m here to offer an easy to understand summary of why social media marketing is here to stay.

Social Media Marketing has a high adoption rate in many industries because of its inherent ease of entry. With the popularity of social media in the news, it’s easy to find competing brands or industries utilizing social media. A brand manager, executive, or athlete can start self marketing via Facebook and Twitter within minutes. Social Media Marketing is a low cost and low resource marketing medium – qualities any brand, regardless of industry, should find enticing. The barrier to enter this realm is low and therefore adoption is quick, easy, and painless.

With low costs and minimal resources invested, brands can “play around” with Social Media Marketing – and often do. While there are thousands of brands and personalities marketing on the social media platforms, the wide majority of marketers are simply experimenting. This creates a type of class structure – companies who truly “get” social media make up the upper class while companies struggling to grasp the benefits of this form of marketing create the lower and middle classes. A prime example of this can be found in the airline industry. JetBlue and Southwest Airlines are among the upper class of , leaving other airlines, even big names like AA, Continental, and Delta, struggling to catch up.

Brands will undoubtedly want to get into the upper class and will therefore use more resources to become social media experts. This sort of competition is great for the overall industry of social media marketing. As brands spend more to strengthen their social marketing campaigns, an entire industry devoted to this new form of marketing is created. Social Media Marketers and Social Media Consultants will help these “lower and middle class” (in terms of social media only) transform their social media efforts and become members of the prestigious social media upper class. Of course, this will require resources (money) and will therefore make brands more invested in their social media efforts – further strengthening social media for the long run.

With custom crafted social marketing plans running, brands will start to see the full potential of social media marketing. All it takes is a steady increase in fans or followers to generate excitement amongst decision makers. After a month of steady fan increases, I showed a client their fan count numbers – instant social media believer. Seeing this hard evidence that their social media efforts were at least resulting in more eyes viewing their brand showed the potential of the campaign we had designed together. There are tons of little things to track – fan count, interactions, comments, links, pingbacks, RTs – all of which increase momentum for the overall marketing campaign. These small wins increase the decision makers’ sentiment about social media marketing, further securing social media for the long run.

For those who subscribe to the studies that social media holds no value or is simply a fad, I invite you to bookmark this post. Come back in a year, two years, five years – read this again and see if this is still a relevant discussion or a blast from the past.

5 Ways Sports Media Can Successfully Utilize Social Media

Sports Media, a group that includes everything from ESPN and Sports Illustrated to Sports Blogs to Joe Sports Fan on Bleacher Report, are beginning to realize the power of social media. Here are 5 ways anyone in the world of sports media can and should utilize social media.

1. Push Stories
One of the most common uses of social media, regardless of industry, is to push information to a wide population. Those in the sports media world are effectively using Facebook and Twitter to spread their articles, opinions, and insights. It doesn’t matter if you’re ESPN or Joe Sports Fan, Social Media is a great platform to disseminate your work.

2. Find Out What People Want To Hear
This is especially useful for the low resource sports bloggers out there. Check out what people are talking about on Twitter. The Trending Topics is a great place to start. See what comes up often in your mini-feed on Facebook. Find out what people are interested in and write a piece on it. Then, refer to #1.

3. Get News From The Source
You don’t need a press pass or a connect to get you inside the locker room to get news directly from the source. With the popularity of Twitter amongst professional athletes, sometimes a great source of information can be found directly on the subject’s social media pages. This isn’t just for the small time bloggers either – the largest sports media outlets like ESPN, SI, Yahoo Sports, Pro Football Talk, and more are all sourcing Twitter in their stories.

4. Collaborate
The big (think ESPN) and the small (think bloggers) are all on an equal playing field in the social media realm. An interesting piece on a small blog can gain the momentum of RTs (Twitter), Likes (Facebook), and Comments (Blogs) and become a viral sensation. This could get the subject piece noticed by an ESPN or SI and just might become the next featured piece on SportsCenter later that week. With notable personalities like ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen and Sports Illustrated’s Peter King consistently replying to their follower’s tweets, this effect may become much more common.

5. Build A Following
Don’t ignore the social aspect of social media. Yes, Twitter and Facebook are great platforms for pushing your content, but they are even better for building relationships. Create a strong following and you won’t have to push your content as much – your fans/followers will do it for you. @MortReport is doing a great job of this and has built a strong social graph with tons of two-way interaction.

4 Ways to Monetize Your Social Media Presence

Monetizing Social Media. It’s one of the most common questions asked by clients thinking of starting a social marketing campaign. There is no doubt that there is intrinsic value in a successful social media initiative, but sometimes the results may seem intangible. We know that social media can result in increased customer/fan loyalty and interest, but what about the bottom line – revenue generation. Here are 5 ways to monetize your social media presence.

1) Extending Sponsorships
For many brands, athletes, and celebrities, social media reach can extend into the tens of thousands. As previously discussed, your fan or follower base is a great representation of your target market. Those who become fans choose to “opt-in” to your updates and have taken the time to show their interest in your brand. To your preexisting sponsors, who find value in your customer/fan base, social media becomes another valuable marketing medium. Increase your digital inventory by offering ads or other creative advertising opportunities and present this to your sponsors. Use this to sweeten a deal for a sponsor on the fence or generate new revenue opportunities from sponsors with a smaller budget.

2) Featured Events
Facebook Fan Pages have the built in ability to host events using Facebook’s built in Events system. As you may know, when you send out an invite from a fan page, all fans will receive an invitiation and the event will show up on the user’s Events Calendar on Facebook. Imagine a local car dealership having a special clearance event. Utilize your strong fan base by virtually sponsoring the event. Think “Dwight Howard invites you to the Ford Summer Clearance at Smith Ford.” The value, for sponsors, is the use of the brand’s (or athlete/celebrity) name to invite the already interested fan base to their event.

3) Sponsored Tweets (and/or Updates)
This is the classic celebrity product endorsement translated to the social media realm. With a strong and loyal following, sponsored tweets or updates about a product can have a high conversion rate. All it takes is a handful of tweets direct from the brand, athlete, or celebrity to create an association between subject and promoted product. Add a direct link to the product and create a highly effective, traceable promotion.

4) Title Sponsorships
Think Tiger Woods on Facebook presented by Gillette. With over 300+ Million active users, a Facebook Fan Page or Twitter Page can generate page views, interactions, and clickthroughs that can rival, and often surpass, personal websites. Take full advantage of these numbers as you would if it was a website and offer a title sponsorship to your Facebook Fan Page. A perfect example of this is the Detroit Pistons Twitter Page, presented by National City.

Social Media Monetization can be tricky, but with the right creative thinking, unique and appealing sponsorship opportunities can be created to entice new advertisers and keep existing deals alive. Have you seen any other creative monetization options? I’d love to hear about them – please post a comment!

5 (More) Players You Must-Follow On Twitter This NFL Season

Mashable had a great post earlier this week by @PUBLISIDE that highlighted 20 NFL Players that are “Must-Follows.” The list had some mainstays like @OGOchoCinco and @Jones_Drew32, but also featured some lesser known Gridiron Tweeps who should also be followed. Great list PUBLISIDE, but here are 5 more players that everyone Must-Follow on Twitter this NFL Season:

Chris Johnson, Tennessee Titans, @ChrisJohnson28
A lot of fans will remember Chad Ochocinco for using uStream, but Chris Johnson was one of the first NFL stars to get on uStream and video-chat live with fans. Johnson, the NFL’s leading rusher, now has close to 28,000 followers on Twitter, and that number will definitely grow as the second year back out of East Carolina continues to dominate NFL defenses with his tremendous speed and vision. If you want to watch an exciting player, check out Chris Johnson burn defenses week after week. Johnson is also a leader in the social media realm with his interesting tweets, twitpics, and uStream videos – a must-follow!

Shaun Phillips, San Diego Chargers, @ShaunPhillips95
Shaun Phillips averaged 8 sacks a year over the past two seasons, but a more impressive statistic may be his huge following on Twitter. With close to 45,000 followers, ShaunPhillips95 is one of the most popular NFL players in social media. Shaun regularly tweets about his (Taurus) horoscope and often responds directly to his fans (must have been reading this).

Mike Sims-Walker, Jacksonville Jaguars, @MikeSimsWalker
The self proclaimed “best kept secret in Jacksonville” is starting to reveal himself to the rest of the league. Sims-Walker recently added the “Sims” prefix to his last name to honor his late father, Michael Sims, similar to what teammate Maurice Jones-Drew did before his rookie season. Sims-Walker has become David Garrard’s #1 target in Jacksonville and has caught 19 balls with 3 Touchdowns over the past three games this season. On Twitter, the breakout WR often tweets about his life off the field and even reveals some of the Jags’ defensive strategies against Titans RB Chris Johnson.

Mark Sanchez, New York Jets, @mark_sanchez
Mark Sanchez, Rookie Quarterback for the New York Jets, is pretty transparent when it comes to updating on Twitter. With over 60,000 followers, there are a lot of people listening to what the rookie has to say. I’ve already commented on Sanchez using Twitter to extend his sponsorship with Toyota, but Sanchez’s recent tweet is his best to date.

Ray Rice, Baltimore Ravens, @RayRice27
2nd Year Back Ray Rice has contributed to the Ravens strong offensive performance so far this season. The 3-1 Ravens seem to be dominating as much on offense as defense, a change that has surprised most of the NFL. You can tell Rice’s passion for football by following him on Twitter – he’s continuously watching film but takes time to relax to watch more football.

9 Ways Professional Teams Can Successfully Utilize Social Media

Last week, I looked at 8 Ways a Professional Athlete Can Successfully Utilize Social Media. Today, I’ll be examining how their employers, professional teams, can leverage social media. These ideas can help professional teams successfully utilize Social Media, but each team must first define it’s own goals and then develop a plan off of those goals.

1. Build Fan Community
In 2009, all professional sports teams have already embraced fan involvement via the internet. Most teams have dedicated a portion of their website to community and fan building. While this strategy should not be ignored, creating an official team home on the leading social networks simply makes sense. With the huge active populations of Facebook and Twitter, professional teams can easily build a strong fan base and create a community for fans to interact both with each other and with the team.

2. Breaking News
Twitter is the ultimate medium for breaking news, case and point. With so many different news sources, some covering 24/7, news in the sports world travels fast. The Real-Time Environment of Social Media allows the perfect opportunity to break news first, directly from the source. Earlier this year, the Patriots beat both the NFL and News Sources to the break when they announced a draft day trade with Baltimore..

3. Exclusive Content
I’ve said it before, but I cannot stress this enough – fans go crazy for anything that makes them feel closer to their favorite teams and athletes. Give them a reason to come back again and again…and again. Release exclusive content via Social Media – maybe its behind the scenes video from practice or some rare, never-before-seen pictures of the team’s facilities. The more “exclusive” a Facebook Fan or Twitter Follower feels, the more interested and loyal they become.

4. Live Game Updating
Tweeting a mid game score will never ruin broadcast contracts for professional sports leagues. With that said, it is valuable to fans to see live game updating via Facebook or Twitter. The Miami Heat do a great job of this via Twitter. Not only do they post quarterly scores, the Heat also post individual statistics and player observations multiple times throughout the game.

5. Ticket Sales
Sports Teams have felt the recession and it can be seen in ticket sales. Even some NFL Games have been blacked out this year due to a reduction in box office numbers. A team’s social media fan base is a great marketing asset. Social Media is completely opt-in – that is, fans choose to become a fan if they have an affinity with the subject. Basically, a social media fan base is a community of engaged consumers who have a predetermined interest in the brand, team, or athlete…known to marketers are the target market! Pitch ticket sales and promotions (like the Falcons do) via Social Media and know that your message is being sent out to those who are already most likely to buy your product.

6. Extend Sponsorship
The Patriots have over 26,000 followers, the Bulls have close to 21,000 followers, the Yankees have 940,000 fans. These are numbers that can become sponsorship assets for teams. Extend Sponsorships by offering a piece of your social media world. Teams can increase their digital inventory by offering sponsored tweets/Facebook updates or by selling the title sponsor for a Twitter Page, like the Detroit Pistons have done. The Pistons’ Official Twitter Page is presented by National City, one of their largest sponsors.

7. Extension of Team’s Website
Teams should push their content across the web through a variety of mediums. Social Media is one of the best and quickest ways to disseminate information. The Jacksonville Jaguars are a good example of a professional team publishing their website content and articles across their Social Media platforms.

8. Events
Promote Team Sponsored Events via Facebook’s Events Function. This function, which is included on every Facebook Fan Page, allows teams to mass-invite their entire fan base via Facebook. The event will then be featured on each fan’s individual event calendar on Facebook. Combine this with #6 for Sponsored Events!

9. Contests
A list about Social Media wouldn’t be complete without mentioning contests. The Jacksonville Jaguars make the list again as they do a great job in live, real-time Jags Trivia Contests that often generate hundreds of responses in minutes. The questions are tough enough to ensure a true fan will win the prize.