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Social Media Focus: Create a Custom Facebook Fanpage for Your Practice Jason Lipscomb, DDS

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A Facebook Fanpage enables dentists to have a powerful interactive Web site built directly into the most powerful social platform on the web. Facebook has its own type of web code called FBML (Facebook Markup Language) and is very similar to HTML. FMBL enables you to create your own dynamic web pages inside Facebook.

Why is this so important? By nature, Facebook is highly interactive with millions of conversations taking place daily. A Fanpage enables you to embed your website right in the middle of this social platform that is built around communication and sharing. A Fanpage allows you to engage your Facebook followers. Your page also helps to extend your brand by working in synergy with your current Web site.

Creating Your First Fanpage
First of all, you need a Facebook account and a web hosting account (or image host, like Photobucket.com). Also you should have a graphics program such as Photoshop, MSPaint, Gimp, or Fireworks. Windows comes preloaded with MSPaint, which should work just fine.

You can download the files for this article from http://www.tinyurl.com/gmtngraphics. I have also created a resource page to go with this article; it contains a series of movies that will help. http://www.socialmediadentist.com/fanpagehelp.php

Step 1. You will need to install the "Static FBML" application. You can find this by typing "Static FBML" in your search bar. There are entire articles written on how to install FBML. I have created a simple three-minute movie that shows exactly what you need to do to install Static FBML and get you designing your Fanpage right away. Watch this movie on the resource page.

Now that you have installed Static FBML you can start designing your Fanpage. In this tutorial you will create the "Green Mountain Dentistry" Fanpage.

Step 2. Create a folder on your desktop, and name the folder "fanpage."

Step 3. Download the image files for this Fanpage from http://www.tinyurl.com/fp-images and save the files into the "fanpage" folder on your desktop. The files are in a .zip file so you will need to extract them. Simply double-clicking on the file will unzip it.

Step 4. This next step requires you to upload these images to an image host Web site. If you upload them to your own Web site, be sure to create a new folder. If you do not know how to do this, please ask your hosting provider. Your images have to be available online so they can be used on Facebook. There is a help movie on the resource page for using Photobucket.

Step 5. Once you have uploaded all of the images, you are ready to begin building your Fanpage. Open Facebook, and navigate to the new page that you created. Click the "Edit Page" link.

Step 6. Scroll down until you see the "My Fanpage" FBML page. If you have not set this up yet, go back to step 1 and watch the FBML movie.

Step 7. Click the "Edit" button, a blank FBML page will open. This page requires you to add code. Don't worry, I have written the code for you. Open your "fanpage" folder on your desktop. You will see a text document named "code1.txt." Open the text document, highlight the code and copy and paste it into your Facebook FBML page. You will need to change the "http" address in the code to the address where your image is hosted. How-to movies can help you with this.

Creating a Fanpage is nothing more than creating a place holder image, in this case the "fp_fanpage.jpg," then layering images on top of the image, and applying special web code to make them into clickable links.

Step 8. Once you have added the code, click the "Save Changes" button. Go back to your main page and select the "My Fanpage" tab. Your main fanpage image should show up under the tab now.

Now comes the fun part! We will start layering the other images overtop of the main image and turning them into clickable buttons.

Step 9. On your desktop, open the "code2.txt" file. Highlight and copy the code. In Facebook, click "Edit Page" and go back to your FBML page. Click underneath the code that is already on the FBML page and hit "Enter" a few times to give yourself some space. Paste your new code.

This new code adds the "fm_header.jpg" file to the top of your page. It is also a clickable link. Go ahead and try it. It will take you to the resource page with the movies. You can change the "http" link to go to any page you like. Make sure you save your changes by clicking the "Save Changes" button.

Step 10. Place your cursor below the code that you just added to your FBML page, and press the "Enter" key a few times to give yourself more space.

Step 11. Next add the "fm_body2.jpg" image to your FBML page. This image will actually become a clickable image that will allow people to use Skype to call your office directly from their computer. Open the "code3.txt" document and highlight and copy the code.

Step 12. Paste that code into your FBML page and press the "Save Changes" button. If you take a look at the code that you just pasted into your FBML page, you will notice a line that says "<a href="skype:+8772422891?call">" The number after the plus sign is your telephone number. You can change that number to your own number. Be sure to include the area code. Press the "Save Changes" button.

Step 13. By now you are probably curious to see the masterpiece you have created. First, a very important routine is to click the "Save Changes" button. I do this any time I leave a FBML page, just to make sure I have updated my changes. Open your page you created and click on the "My Fanpage" tab. Now you should be able to click on the top of the page, and if you click on the center of the page it will attempt to open Skype.

The next section is where your customer can directly e-mail you from your Fanpage. I've also added some fun things to the code that will allow you to pre-populate the subject and body of the e-mail. Here's how:

Step 14. Go back to your FBML page and click your cursor under the last line of code on that page. Press "Enter" a few times to give yourself some room to work with the new code you will be adding.

Step 15. Open the "code4.txt" document and highlight and copy the code. Paste this code into your FBML page underneath the code that already exists on the page.

Step 16. This is the code that will allow people to e-mail your office and ask you a question. Let's take a quick look at the code and the changes you'll need to make. I know that this may look a lot like gibberish, but if you make a few simple changes you will be able to receive personal e-mails from your Fanpage.

Here is the FBML code
<a href="mailto:stephen@socialmediadentist.com?subject=Ask Dr. Collins a Question &body=Ask anything you would like to know about dental health or our practice. We are here to help."><img src="http://www.socialmediadentist.com/fanpage help/fp_question.jpg" width="476" height="142" border="0" target="_blank" /></a>

• Change mailto: to your e-mail address, so it looks like this: mailto:youremail@youraddress.com This is the address at which you will receive questions and comments.

• Change "subject=" to whatever you would like to say. In the example above I say, "Ask Dr. Collins a Question." The "subject" part of the code is the text that appears on the subject line of an e-mail.

• Change "body=" to whatever you would like to appear in the body of the e-mail. This can be directions, or even a quick thank you.

Be sure to keep the text spacing and other code exactly as shown above. The web can be a tricky place, and sometimes all it takes is an empty space to cause a page to not load correctly.

Step 17. Once you have finished adding this code, press the "Save Changes" button. Navigate to your main page, and open the Fanpage. Click on the envelope. It may take a moment, but your default e-mail program will open with the correct information pre-filled for you.

Don't forget, if you run into any problems, the movies on the resource page are there to help.

The last part of the Fanpage and perhaps the most exciting part is adding a YouTube movie. Be sure to watch the "YouTube" help movie as I show you how to get the proper link for any YouTube video you would like to have on your Fanpage.

Step 18. Open "code5.txt" and highlight and copy the code. Open your FBML page and paste the new code under your original code. Be sure to press the "Enter" key a few times to give yourself some room.

In order to use a YouTube video on a Fanpage you have to create a placeholder for the video. That is why you have an image called "fp_youtube.jpg." The image is actually a representation of the video. Once a page visitor clicks on that image, it will load the video.

Step 19. Before you try to add your own video, try using the video I have already embedded in the code. To do this, press the "Save Changes" button, navigate back to your page, and then click the "My Fanpage" tab. Scroll down to the bottom of the Fanpage and click the image. You will see the YouTube video player load. Click it once more to start the video.

If you would like to add your own video, watch my YouTube help video for directions.

That's it! You've built a custom FBML Fanpage. There are many other features that you can add to a Fanpage. Many dentists are using Fanpages to broaden their reach to new patients, chat live with their support team, automatically give directions and display slideshows of before and after galleries. Fanpages enable dentists to extend their brand and interact with their followers on the most powerful social platform in the world.
Author’s Bio
Dr. Jason Lipscomb is a general dentist who operates two practices in Virginia. He specializes in helping dentists expand their practices through the use of social media. He started Social Media for Dentists to help dentists master social media and attract new patients by gaining exposure online. To learn more about creating successful social media and internet marketing strategies for your practice visit Lipscomb's Web site http://www.socialmediadentist.com and on Twitter at @socialmediadent.
Dentaltown Magazine
April 2024
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