Facebook Fanpages and the New Fanbox

Hillary Meister

One day while perusing profiles on Faebo (slang for Facebook), I stopped by a friend's profile just to give them a poke (a virtual wave) before moving on to see what interesting fanpages I might come upon. Lo and behold, I discovered a fanpage for Chocolate Chip Cookies with 1,330,661 fans! Their mission is stated as such, "To spread awareness of the joy chocolate chip cookies bring." Between reading the discussions about cookies and looking at photos (of which there are over five pages of chocolaty goodness), I caught myself wasting at least 15 minutes.

If you think this is a frivolous use of Facebook you're missing the ultimate outcome of the above example. All those chocolate chip cookie lovers gathered together to pay homage to the cookie translates to cold, hard cash for advertisers and cookie companies by allowing links to offer coupons, recipes, and anything to do with chocolate chip cookies that the fans may jump on. Who could resist a coupon for a box of cookies? It’s perfect engagement marketing – connect with your fans, make them offers they can’t refuse, have them talk about it, spread it around the ‘net, share it with their friends - it's a virtual gold mine!

Hence, the explosion of fanpages on Facebook has grown exponentially. From celebrities and cookies to Starbucks and schools - all sorts of businesses, social groups, artists, etc. are creating spaces in Facebook to attract their fans.

First off, if you're not familiar with Facebook Fanpages, get thee to this page and read all about them. But in a nutshell, a Fanpage is a specific type of Facebook profile where you can connect with people who like your product/music/art/hobby to join together in mutual admiration. They can leave messages, read links you've posted or share links and messages with each other. With Facebook’s vast array of widgets and apps, you can add such things to your fanpages as RSS feeds, photo galleries, Twitter accounts and games - just to name a few.

To place information about your Facebook fanpage there are several widgets and badges available, but the latest and coolest tool is called the “Fan Box.” With the quick addition of a bit of code (that Facebook gives you) you can add a Fan Box to your Website or blog. The widget shows your current newsfeed, items posted on your “Wall” and even how many fans you have showing off their little propics (profile pics). But the coolest and best feature of the Fan Box is the ability for people to click a button to “Become a Fan” right there and then without loading up their Facebook profile. You’ll have the option to turn off elements such as the fan icons, the feed or change the width of the widget to fit your template needs.

We here at NCI, have been building fanpages for our magazine brands and love the Fan Boxes on our sites. You can see some of our Fan Boxes here:

Mountain Living
Kansas City Homes & Garden
Atlanta Homes Magazine

So come on in, join the conversation, be a fan, or start your own Facebook presence. You, too, can add your two cents to this chocolate chip cookie making question: milk or marshmallows?

Suggested links:

5 Elements of a Successful Facebook Fan Page

Five Facebook fan pages that get it done

Facebook Fan Box information

Lance Armstrong’s site with a Fan Box

Killer Facebook Fan Pages: 5 Inspiring Case Studies