You may already be utilizing text links on your company website that lead visitors to your company’s Facebook Page. Facebook has also provided its users with resources to quickly create “Profile Badges” and more recently “Fan Boxes” followed by “Live Stream Boxes” that can be incorporated seamlessly into other online platforms (company website, blog, email html, etc). With the release of “Facebook Widgets” on September 4, Facebook is making it even easier to give more visibility to your Pages and Profiles by amalgamating their resources in one place. They have even rolled out Page Badges and Photo Badges that give businesses more creative options for developing custom (Facebook) graphics / links. A complete list of what you will find at the Widget Center includes:
If you missed the chatter about Fan Boxes and Live Stream Boxes, here is a quick run-down.
Fan Boxes
Sample Facebook Fax Box
Live Stream Boxes let your visitors (blog, website, email, etc) post updates in real time and interact with one another, without leaving your website. Be aware: your fans’ status updates and comments will be incorporated on your company website when this tool is used. Although you can customize the Live Stream Box to some degree – there will be content here that is beyond your control.
The resources that Facebook has brought together make it easy for any business to give more visibility to their Facebook activity, without extensive involvement of designers and programmers. These options are ideal for a business who loves the idea of Facebook Connect, but may not have the in-house team to accomplish the programming or the budget dollars to outsource the integration.