Facebook just made it easier to add custom pages to Business Pages!
First lets take a quick look at the background:
In early February Facebook announced: “On March 11, 2011, you will no longer be able to create new FBML apps and Pages will no longer be able to add the Static FBML app. While all existing apps on Pages using FBML or the Static FBML app will continue to work, we strongly recommend that these apps transition to iframes as soon as possible.”
If you have ambitions to add your own custom pages to your Facebook business page there are now a number of credible options.
Why would you want to do this?
Because Facebook just made it easier to embed Google maps, videos, graphics and all sorts of other stuff including RSS feeds.
Now you can include IDX searches! Because you can embed an iframe code from your IDX provider!
But rather that just write just another tutorial, here is list of resources and tutorials that that are already written.
Tutorials for techy Realtors:
Follow along with Facebook’s own tutorial if you are very techy.
If you are reasonably techy I would suggest that you start here with HyperArts tutorial – it’s comprehensive but at a higher level than some of you might be comfortable with.
They have an even more advanced tutorial on Fan-Gating or reveal tabs too – showing different content to fans and those that are not yet fans.
Slightly less techy is the tutorial from HubSpot with lots of pretty screenshots to make it a little easier
Tutorials for the less than savvy techy – using Facebook Apps:
There are now several companies that have created easy to use Apps so you don’t have to do the heavy lifting.
Wildfire for instance has an App that makes it really easy – and to make it even easier the famed Mari Smith has created a tutorial to take you through it step by step. The best part is its free.
The Fan Page Engine is an App that also automates the process of creating fan Pages. They have a free reveal tab option too.
Lajure was co-founded by Nathan Latka to allow users to create custom pages using their very intuitive drag and drop interface. Special features cost $$’s but they do have a free option too.
Check out how the system works here:
Do you have custom fan pages?
Will you change them to take advantage of more features?
I have been working on this today. Thanks for the information.
Hope it helped @candice
is this the iFrame nugget I have been looking for?
Here is an example– http://apps.facebook.com/fullmlssearch
@Real Estate Cake – that’s interesting – can you tell us more??
Great article. We’ve been developing an iFrame platform for Realtors and their social marketing. It’s easy tab creation with no coding required.
Check out our tab preview slider on our Product page – it’s near the bottom. We have an example of a Realtor tab. http://www.splashlabsocial.com/product
Thanks a ton!
We mainly do mobile apps for Real Estate agents. But when Facebook made some changes we decided we should do a full, NICE (not just a webpage or link out) IDX app for Facebook- that connects to our mobile apps. People like staying inside Facebook to do things. We hope it serves agents as a good lead gen tool too. Thanks for asking!
@Real Estate Cake need any testers of your systems let me know. I will go see too. TY
Thanks that has really helped me. The code works like a charm!!
Here is a very good example of Facebook Mashup with fans-only iFrames Page Tab Reveal.
http://www.facebook.com/Megalopes