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The Connected Genealogist Facebook Page - Creating a Welcome Tab

Having a Facebook Page for your genealogical society helps create a Web presence and the goal should be to have first-time visitors click the Like button at the top of the page. Why? When a Facebook user clicks Like, then they are subscribed to the News Feed for your page. This means they will receive all the updates you post to the Wall tab as well as other activities such as Events hosted at your page.

One of the best ways to encourage the use of the Like button, is to have a “landing page” or, more specifically, a Welcome tab that first-time visitors see when they visit your Facebook page. A well-designed landing page includes not only instructions for clicking the Like button, but provides more information to the visitor about the society, its activities and lists other websites, blogs and social media tools used by the society such as Twitter.

Create the Graphic

Before you can set up the Welcome tab, you must create a graphic containing all the pertinent information you want to convey to first-time visitors. One easy method is to use Microsoft Office’s PowerPoint. To get started, access this free template at http://www.lulu.com/content/multimedia/facebook-welcome-tab-template/9178243.

You can use any other program to create the graphic which should be approximately 770 pixels wide by 560 pixels high.

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7. Save the file.

6. In the bottom banner, enter your website URL and Twitter name if applicable. Repeat formatting of font and color in #2 and #3 above as needed.

5. Enter text in each bullet point – include information about your business or organization. Change font type and size as needed.

4. On the Insert menu, click Picture and replace the “Insert business logo here” image with your logo or picture.

3. To change banner color, place cursor over banner, right-click with mouse and the Shortcut Menu appears. Select Format Shape. Select color using the Fill Color drop down menu.

2. On the top banner, enter the name of your company or organization in the Business Name field. You may need to adjust the spacing and font size depending upon the length of the text entered. Make sure the Like button graphic is visible.

1. Open the PowerPoint file.

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You now have a graphic you can upload to the Welcome tab on your Facebook page.

Upload Graphic

Your graphic needs to be uploaded or hosted somewhere on the Internet. Use your hosted website, your blog or a similar site to do this.

Once the image is uploaded, write down the URL for the image. You will need this when setting up the Welcome tab for your Facebook page.

Load Static FBML Application

Facebook requires you to install the Static FBML Application in order to create a new tab on your Facebook page. The Static FBML Application is preferred over other welcome tab applications since it does not collect information about you, your page or visitors.

Note: Some hosting sites such as Picasa may not work – the best method is to host the

image on your society’s website or blog.

9. When prompted, click Current Slide Only.

8. You now need to save the file as a PNG (image format) file. On the File menu, select Save As. The Save As dialog appears. In the Save Type As drop-down menu on the bottom, select PNG Portable Network Graphics Format, enter a file name, select a location and click Save.

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6. Click Save Changes at the bottom of the screen.

5. In the FBML field, enter the following code: <img src="[URL of your hosted image]" width="760" height="550" alt="Welcome to [Name of your company or organization]" />

Replace [URL of your hosted image] with the URL for your hosted image. Replace [Name of your company or organization] with the name of your genealogical society.

4. The Edit FBML dialog appears. In the Box Title field, type Welcome.

3. Go to your Facebook page. Click Edit Page in the left column. Scroll down to the Applications section. Locate the Static FBML application and click Edit.

2. The Static FBML Application page appears. In the left column, select Add to Page. The Add Static FBML to My Page dialog appears. Select your Facebook page where you want the Welcome tab to appear.

1. In Facebook, search for Static FBML or click this link: http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=4949752878

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Configure Welcome Tab

Once the Static FBML Application has been added, you must configure it to appear as a tab.

6. Go to your Facebook page. Click the Welcome tab to view the results.

5. The Wall Settings dialog appears. In the Default Landing Tab for Everyone Else, select Welcome.

3. Return to your Facebook page and you will now see a Welcome tab. Drag it over to the left and place it after the Info tab. If you do not see the Welcome tab, click the + symbol to display it.

4. Go to your Facebook page. Click Edit Page in the left column. Scroll to the Wall Settings section. Click Edit.

2. The Edit Static FBML Settings dialog appears. Click remove next to Box. Click add next to Tab. This will force the application to appear as a tab on your Facebook page.

1. Return to your Facebook page and click Edit Page. Scroll down to the Application Settings section. The FBML page is now renamed Welcome - FBML. Click Application Settings.