How to Add a Flash Application to Your Facebook Page
Include Flash on your business page in Facebook
With 175 million people logging into Facebook everyday, it is imperative that every business, with or without a website, should have a business page on Facebook.
It is one of the easiest things to create a business page on Facebook, but creating a successful and engaging page requires a bit of skill and attention to detail.
Your business page on Facebook offers you an excellent opportunity to engage directly with your present and future clients. Even the casual passer by will get a glimpse of what you have to offer.
When creating your page you will have default tabs created automatically.
The ‘wall’ tab
This tab is your ‘feed’ tab where you can post any information you would like. The key to a successful wall is engaging posts. Do not only post sales orientated messages on your wall. Try to incorporate light and even amusing snippets of information on your wall. For example, if your business is in construction, you could post some construction jokes on your wall.
The ‘info’ tab
This is a very important tab. Make sure that you put all your contact details in this tab. Basic info such as your telephone number should be double-checked to make sure that it is correct.
The detailed info can contain other information such as your email address, fax number, website and other contact details. Make sure to add all the mayor contact persons’ contact information.
This is also the ideal place to add more information about achievements, specials and recommendations from your satisfied clients. Do not add your clients’ contact details without their consent.
The ‘photos’ tab
This tab is a wonderful showcase for your business projects. Many people make the mistake of not resizing their pictures before uploading which makes the loading time very long. The ideal width of photos is between 350 and 450 pixels. Try to avoid portrait images, as this orientation usually requires scrolling which could irritate your page visitor.
Only post photos of high quality and make sure that they are relevant to your business.
The ‘discussion’ tab
The main object of a business page is to invite interaction and this is what the discussion board offers your business. You can start discussions yourself to get things going.
Make sure that you visit your discussion board at least once a day to answer any questions.
The ‘reviews’ tab
This is an excellent tool for your clients to review your product or service.
The ‘boxes’ tab
This tab opens a canvas where all the applications you have added to your page are displayed in boxes for easy access.
Facebook creates these tabs by default but you can move them around to suit your needs and even remove them if you do not need them. You will not be able to move or remove the ‘wall’ and ‘info’ tabs.
Tutorial
You will need:
Step 1
Creating your business page
Go to your home page, scroll to the bottom of the page and click on ‘advertising’.
Click on ‘pages’
Click on ‘create a page’
Click on ‘local business’
Type name for your business
Check the ‘official representative’ box
Click on ‘create official page’
Step 2
Adding your flash object
This is what you will see when you have clicked on ‘create official page’
Click on ‘edit page’
On the ‘edit page’ scroll down to the bottom where you will find ‘more applications’ and click on ‘browse more’
On the applications page, type ‘FBML’ into the search box and hit enter
Click on ‘static FBML’
Click on ‘add to my page
Click on ‘add to page’ next to your page name
Click on ‘close’
Return to your homepage, scroll to the bottom, click on ‘advertising, click on pages and click on ‘manage pages’
Click on ‘edit page’ under your page name.
Locate the ‘FBML’ tab and click on ‘edit’
Copy the following script if using your own domain server:
swfbgcolor=”000000″ imgstyle=”border-width:3px; border-color:white;”
swfsrc=’http://www.yourdomain.com/your_flash_object_file_name.swf’
imgsrc=’http://www.yourdomain.com/your_display_image_file_name.jpg’width=’670′ height=’600′ />
Copy the following script if using an image host such as YouTube replacing xxxxxxxxxx with your object and image numbers:
swfbgcolor=”000000″ imgstyle=”border-width:3px; border-color:white;”swfsrc=’http://www.youtube.com/v/xxxxxxxxxx’imgsrc=’http://img.youtube.com/vi/xxxxxxxxxx/2.jpg’ width=’340′ height=’270′ />
Name your application, paste the script into the box provided, and click on ‘save changes’.
Click on ‘edit’ next to your page name
Click on ‘edit’
Your window should look like this after clicking on ‘add’ next to the tab field.
Click on ‘okay’
Refresh the page by hitting F5 on your keyboard.
Step 3
When people visit your business page, they should not land on the wall. They should land on a specified landing page, which in this case, will be the flash application you have just added.
After refreshing the page, scroll to the ‘wall settings’ area and click on ‘edit’.
Select your application in the drop down menu, click on hide and then on ‘view page’.
Please note that you, as administrator of the page, will not land on the default page. Only people visiting your page will land on this page.
When you access your application page, your ‘display image’ will show. You need to click on this image to activate your flash application.
Maryke van Rensburg is a website designer and specializes in Online marketing.
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