Inside Facebook

Purchase this report The Facebook Marketing Bible - Current Edition Buy PDF: $49 USD OR Buy PDF + 1 Year of Free Monthly Updates: $149 USD

The newly revised, expanded, and hot-off-the-press Facebook Marketing Bible: 40+ Ways to Market Your Brand, Company, Product, or Service Inside Facebook - July 2009 Edition is now available!

The Facebook Marketing Bible has been purchased by thousands of agencies, marketers, social application developers, entrepreneurs, and educators, and is the leading resource on Facebook marketing today. It is also available in French, Spanish, and Italian. (A special edition for agencies and big brands is also available.)

The densely-packed Facebook Marketing Bible contains four detailed sections: Tools for Guerilla Marketers, Tools for Advertisers, Tools for Application Developers, and Tools for Webmasters. Each part outlines the best available channels and strategies for reaching your audience inside Facebook. Please see the full table of contents below.

In addition, Inside Facebook is happy to announce that through July 31st all customers who purchase the Facebook Marketing Bible will also receive a free $25 Facebook Ads advertising credit, courtesy of Facebook (see terms).

The July 2009 edition includes updates on the following topics:

• The latest updates on Facebook Pages (public profiles), including the vanity URL landrush and rule changes for generic Facebook Pages. We’ve broken down all the new elements piece by piece and offered detailed and specific advice for marketers hoping to reach more users inside Facebook than ever before - including details on why marketers should choose Facebook Pages over Facebook Groups, new updates to Facebook’s new Insights dashboard, and new rules for administrators of generic Facebook Pages. See the table of contents below for more details.
• The latest details on Facebook’s new “Pay with Facebook” virtual currency payment program for application developers. Find out the latest on what Facebook’s new payment program means for the future of virtual currency payments on Facebook (and Facebook revenues) - including Facebook’s latest international currency efforts.
• The latest details on Facebook’s new “Open Stream” API and what it means for marketers, publishers, and developers. With the new Open Stream API, Facebook has released the power of the Facebook stream to live anywhere developers can put it - including publisher websites, desktop applications, and mobile phones. Find out exactly what you can do with the new Open Stream, and what it means for the future of the Facebook Platform.
• The latest tools for webmasters to drive more traffic to their site and build more social context through Facebook Connect and Facebook Share. With Facebook Connect and Facebook Share, publishers have new opportunities for both enriching their sites with deeply social features and leveraging Facebook’s powerful feed system for driving traffic to their site. Get new details on metrics early Facebook Connect partners are seeing, and learn how to optimize your Facebook Share integration.
• New tools for advertisers to target their Facebook Ads better than ever before. With enhanced Facebook  targeting tools, advertisers now have the ability to reach their target audiences in much more powerful ways. Learn how to use these new tools to get the most out of your performance marketing dollars. Plus, check out ways Facebook is experimenting with virtual currency gifting and branded virtual gifts.
• Plus, more updates on Facebook’s “Live Stream” widget for live events on your website or Facebook Page, recent rule changes for Facebook Platform ad networks, and more.

Purchase this report The Facebook Marketing Bible - Current Edition Buy PDF: $49 USD OR Buy PDF + 1 Year of Free Monthly Updates: $149 USD

For those interested in learning more, click the purchase link above. The price is $49, or $149 with 12 months of free updates emailed directly to your inbox. As always, please make suggestions if you’d like to see more attention paid to any topic!

Table of Contents

Introduction

I. Tools for Guerilla Marketers

1. Profile Page

2. Pages / Public Profiles

• “Facebook Pages 2.0″
  • The New Wall Tab - Making Pages More Dynamic and Viral
  • Status Updates - Now for Pages, Too
  • Application Boxes - Changing Places
  • Tab Management - Choosing a Landing Page
  • Conclusion - Facebook Learning from Twitter, Pages Getting Better
• The Future of Sharing on Facebook: A Hybrid Public/Private Model
• Branded Virtual Gifts on Facebook Pages Opening New Doors for Viral Advertising
  
• Adding Custom Modules to Your Page
• Strategy: 4 Reasons Why Marketers Should Choose Facebook Pages Over Facebook Groups
• Strategy: I’ve just created a Page. How do I promote it?
• Group to Page Migration
• Guidelines for Promoting Pages Outside Facebook
• Official vs Unofficial Pages
• Pages and SEO
• Vanity URLs for Facebook Pages
• Which Celebrities are the Most Engaging on Facebook?
  
• Ways Page Owners Can Restrict Content for Underage Users
• How to Import Your Blog into Your Public Profile
• Page Invitations
• SMS Subscription Service for Pages
• Updating Facebook Page Status Via Text
• Getting Page Status Updates Via Text
  
• More Features Coming Soon
• Interesting Conversion Rate Metrics from Adobe Students Facebook Campaign
• Marketers Actively Bidding for Generic Facebook Pages
• Facebook Upgrades “Insights” Metrics Dashboard for Page Managers
• Facebook Disabling Stream Publishing for Generic Pages

3. Groups

• Strategy: What about spamming existing groups?
• SEO
  

4. Events

• Events API
• Events SEO
  

5. Notes and Photos

• Events API
• Events SEO
  

6. Messages

7. Status Updates

• Public Timeline Search

8. Share / Posted Items

9. Mini Feed and News Feed

10. Feed Importing

> Data: Latest US Facebook Age and Gender Demographics

> Recommended Strategies for Guerilla Marketers

II. Tools for Advertisers

11. Social Ads

• How Specialty Brands are Driving Sales on Facebook
  

12. Engagement Ads

• Summary of ad units available to Facebook advertisers
  1. Sponsorship Units on the New Facebook Home Page
     • Social Video Ads
     • Sponsored Virtual Gifts
     • Events Ads
     • Pages Ads
     • Polling Ads

  2. Advertising in the New Facebook News Feed
  3. Advertising on the Profile Page (and other pages)
     

13. Virtual Gifts

• The Future of Virtual Gifts on Facebook
• Scheduled & Holiday Virtual Gifts
• Facebook Testing Virtual Currency Gifting Program with Branded Virtual Gifts
  

14. Performance Ads

• Radius and Language Targeting
• Multiple Currency Support

15. Localization Opportunities

16. Integrated Opportunities

17. Facebook Platform Ad Networks

• List of Leading Facebook Platform Ad Networks
• What eCPMs do apps charge? Data from Facebook application developers
• Facebook Bans Platform Ad Networks for Deceptive Ads

18. Facebook Platform Application Sponsorships

• List of Leading Facebook Platform Sponsorship Resellers/Rep Firms
• Strategy: Why sponsor applications when I can sponsor Facebook itself?

19. Specialized Facebook Platform Advertising Service Providers

> Recommended Strategies for Advertisers

III. Tools for Application Developers

• Strategy: What is the Right Way to Market Through Facebook Applications?
• Strategy: Where do most new application users come from?

20. Profile Box

• 5 Things Developers May Not Know About the Facebook Redesign
• Profile Integration: Tour of New Facebook App Settings

21. Application Tabs

22. Application Info Sections

23. Designing Feed Stories

• Strategy: Designing High Performance Feed Items
• News Feed Optimization: Strategies and Techniques

24. Feeds 2.0

• Feed Forms
• Feed Clustering
• Action Links
• Policy Update: All Feed Story Calls to Action Must Now be Action Links
  

25. Feed Publisher

• Publishing in the Feed with Feed Comments

26. Requests / Invitations

• Policy Updates: Requiring Invites to Access Hidden Features, Offering Incentives for Invites, Ads on Profile Page Prohibited
• Strategy: Facebook’s Evolving Approach to Platform Governance
• Sending Application Invitations to Non-Facebook-Members

27. Chat Invitations

28. Facebook Notifications

• Chat Integration: Facebook Wants More Synchronous Notifications
• Policy Update: Bulk Pre-Selection Prohibited
• Facebook Turns On Instant Notifcation Popup Alerts
  
• Spammy Affiliate Marketers Sure to be Shut Down
  

29. Email Notifications

• Updates: Email’s Status as Core Application Marketing Channel in Doubt

30. Application Bookmarks

31. Application Directory & About Pages

• The Publisher Comes to Application About Pages
  

32. Status Updates & Donations

33. Demographic Restrictions

34. Verification and Certification

• Great Apps Program
• Application Verification

35. Translations

• Data: Stats on Facebook Apps Built for International Markets
• Tutorial: Translating Your Applications Using Facebook’s Crowd-sourced Translation Service

Purchase this report The Facebook Marketing Bible - Current Edition Buy PDF: $49 USD OR Buy PDF + 1 Year of Free Monthly Updates: $149 USD

36. Analytics Tools

• List of Leading Third-Party Facebook Platform Analytics Providers
• New Metrics for Developers with Facebook Profile Redesign

37. Search Engine Optimization

38. Mobile

• Facebook for iPhone and Connect for iPhone

39. Customer Service

40. Custom Tags

41. Open Stream

• What Does Facebook’s “Open Stream” Mean for Marketers?
  

42. Pay with Facebook

> Poll: Which viral channels do Facebook users hate most about apps?

> Recommended Strategies for Application Developers

IV. Tools for Webmasters

43. Facebook Connect

• Overview: Integrating Facebook Connect with Your Website
• Related: Google Friend Connect
• Examples: 40 Sites Live with Facebook Connect Today
• Variety of Facebook Connect Plugins Now Available for Blogs and Wikis
• Citysearch: Each Item Shared Through Facebook Connect Generates 30 Clicks
  

44. Comments Box Widget

45. Live Feed Widget

46. Facebook Share

Conclusion

Recommended Partners

Two weeks ago, many Facebook users began asking questions about curiously good recommendations suddenly appearing in Facebook’s “People You May Know” suggestions list. At the time, many suspected that Facebook was saving contacts imported from Outlook, Gmail, Hotmail, etc., in order to make future recommendations, but Facebook did not explicitly say that anywhere on the site at the time.

Now, that’s changed: within the last few days, Facebook has added the following message when you click a new “Learn More” link on the contact importer:

In addition, Facebook has added this new tool which allows users to delete contacts uploaded through the Friend Finder that Facebook auto-stored. According to the page, “Facebook uses the email addresses you upload through the Friend Finder to help you connect with friends, including using this information to generate Suggestions for you and your contacts on Facebook.” In other words, if your friends upload their contacts to Facebook, they could start showing up in your Suggestions list too.

As we wrote two weeks ago:

If Facebook is indeed storing imported contacts for the purposes of future friend suggestions, it should make that more clear. Because Facebook appears to only be using that information to make helpful friend suggestions, most users would not be concerned. Facebook generally has very high standards when it comes to user privacy, and not giving users the choice to not have their imported contacts saved isn’t worth “spooking” users who don’t want to see people they’ve emailed in the past showing up in their suggested friends list in the future.

Facebook has taken an important step in more clearly communicating what it’s doing with imported data, though there are always likely to be some users caught off guard by the nature of these recommendations.

While the Facebook username landrush officially opened two weeks ago, Pages with under 1,000 fans or created after May 31 still haven’t been allowed to get vanity URLs. However, Facebook is lifting that restriction this weekend: starting at 11:59pm ET on Sunday, June 28, all Facebook Page owners will be able to obtain vanity URLs for their Pages.

Why did Facebook not allow all Page owners to get usernames at the same time as everyone else? Essentially, to mitigate squatting. Facebook wants to make sure every vanity URL that gets registered in the system is authentic, and put this restriction in place to prevent speculators from creating thousands of Pages in order to squat on vanity URLs. However, this rule has delayed legitimate Page owners with less than 1,000 fans from getting a vanity URL for over two weeks as well.

Millions of names have been reserved since Facebook opened up username registration. However, so far, username squatting has not been a widespread problem. Nevertheless, now that every Page is getting turned loose, it wouldn’t be surprising to see a fresh round of aggressive Page owners testing Facebook’s policy limits this weekend.

Update: Previously, this article said usernames would be  available at 12:01am ET on Sunday. Facebook now says usernames will be available at 11:59pm ET on Sunday night.

In a bid to make it easier for people who have gotten married or who have names in multiple languages to clearly express their identity, Facebook has just turned on a new feature enabling users to display an “alternate name” on their profiles.

Users had previously been able to specify an alternative name so that they could be more easily found in search results. However, now the alternate name is displayed in parentheses next to their full name wherever it appears on their profile, in search results, and in friend requests. For example, here’s how Sophia Huang’s profile looks now that she’s specified an alternate name in Chinese:

This feature should be very handy for people who have names in multiple languages, have a maiden name, or otherwise changed their name. To enter an alternate name, go to the Account Settings page here.

Millions of names were reserved in the first 24 hours after the Facebook username landrush opened 10 days ago. And while Facebook blocked a significant number of generic usernames and trademarks from being registered, many businesses are still finding that someone else took their business name or trademark on Facebook. So, is it too late?

No - the good news is Facebook is willing to help out businesses whose names or trademarks are being squatted (intentionally or unintentionally) by other Facebook users. All you have to do is fill out the Facebook client username request form here and Facebook will review your request.

While Facebook has not shared its policies for which requests it accepts and rejects publicly, Facebook is taking a very clear stance on returning Facebook usernames to rights holders, and many businesses have recovered their desired username in the days since the initial rush. (If your business Page still hasn’t claimed its username at all, you can still do so here.)

It’s also worth noting that Pages with under 1,000 fans still haven’t been able to register Facebook usernames - the doors will open to them June 28. Facebook has initially prevented Pages with under 1,000 fans from claiming usernames to mitigate squatting, but now that every Page is getting turned loose, we can expect to see a fresh round of aggressive Facebook username squatting this weekend.

There have been ample stories about employers scanning Facebook to find unflattering pictures and content of potential hires. Well, if you find that to be an unnecessary invasion of privacy, you might be appalled if you applied for a job in the City of Bozeman, Montana.

According to a report by ABC News, Bozeman asks you for your Facebook user name and password (or any social network you might belong to for that matter). Here is the precise wording, as listed in the city’s hiring document:

“Please list any and all, current personal or business web sites, web pages or memberships on any Internet-based chat rooms, social clubs or forums, to include, but not limited to: Facebook, Google, Yahoo, YouTube.com, MySpace, etc.”

Apparently, the policy has existed for nearly three years. It didn’t surface until last week, when a citizen who contacted WBZK TV in Bozeman called the station to complain how the policy clearly violated people’s privacy. Such a policy not only represents a serious ethical breach of privacy; it also violates Facebook’s Terms of Service.

After the station ran a story, the city received several calls and e-mails, both locally and across the country, expressing outrage against the policy. The city reversed the policy on Friday, saying:

“The extent of our request for a candidate’s password, user name, or other internet information appears to have exceeded that which is acceptable to our community. We appreciate the concern many citizens have expressed regarding this practice and apologize for the negative impact this issue is having on the City of Bozeman”

Conclusion

The city commissioners in Bozeman were right to overturn this policy. Leaving it in place would set a dangerous precedent. Religion, political affiliations and sexual orientation come to mind as pieces of information on Facebook profiles that an employer has no business knowing about employees. We doubt we’ll see many more cases like this incident. While people want jobs (especially these days), they also don’t want to work for organizations who would violate their privacy in such a personal way.

Thanks to everyone who attended this morning’s Facebook Marketing Breakfast in San Francisco! It was great getting to meet many of you and to see several familiar faces.

The Facebook Marketing Breakfast is Inside Facebook’s half-day event series geared toward bringing together leading brands, Facebook’s own brand market solutions team, and experts from the space for an intimate conversation on best practices and realities of the Facebook marketing landscape.

Today’s event, hosted by Razorfish, included presentations by Trista Handisides, Manager of Brand Market Solutions at Facebook, Jeremiah Owyang, Senior Analyst: Social Computing, Forrester, Michael Brito, Social Media Strategist, Intel, Kevin Barenblat, CEO, Context Optional, and Garrick Schmitt, Group Vice President of Experience Planning at Razorfish.

After the presentations, we concluded with a panel discussion including Betsy Burkett, Senior Manager of Digital Media at Mattel, Karl Long, Social Media Strategist at Nokia, Alyson Hyder, VP Digital Media, Razorfish, Keith Rabois, VP Strategy & Business Development, Slide, Katherine Bateman, VP Marketing, Buddy Media, and Justin Smith, Editor, Inside Facebook, followed by drinks on the Razorfish patio.

Below, check out some photos from this morning’s talks and great San Francisco weather (or view photos on Facebook). Video and presentations from this morning are also coming soon. You can also find tweets from the event at #fmbsf (thanks to @coryobrien for live tweeting many highlights from this morning). We look forward to seeing you at our next event!

Facebook Marketing Breakfast San Francisco - June 18, 2009

Garrick Schmitt, Group Vice President, Razorfish

Trista Handisides, Manager of Brand Market Solutions, Facebook

Kevin Barenblat, CEO, Context Optional

Jeremiah Owyang, Senior Analyst: Social Computing, Forrester

Justin Smith, Editor, Inside Facebook
Keith Rabois, VP Business Development & Strategy, Slide
Jeremiah Owyang, Senior Analyst: Social Computing, Forrester
Karl Long, Social Media Strategist, Nokia
Betsy Burkett, Senior Manager, Digital Media, Mattel
Alyson Hyder, VP Digital Media, Razorfish
Katherine Bateman, VP Marketing, Buddy Media

The New York City Office of Emergency Management recently launched a Facebook Page to help keep the more than 2 million NYC Facebook users up to date on emergency information, community event listings and volunteer opportunities. Development of the page is the result of a preparedness poll in which more than 50% of people said they use Facebook to stay informed on events around the city.

“OEM’s use of technology to serve the citizens of New York City is an excellent example for other cities and emergency management organizations to follow,” said Chris Kelly, Chief Privacy Officer and Head of Global Public Policy at Facebook. “We’re very pleased that Facebook can play a role in keeping New Yorkers informed and safe.”

Around 450 users have already become fans of the OEM page, which features weekly tips about safety and health around the city. There is also a listing of upcoming events around NYC with the option for fans to confirm their participation in the various fairs, street festivals and forums.

During the press conference, the NYC OEM also announced their presence on Twitter and the “Ready New York” video series on YouTube. By using these various social tools, the OEM has a much greater chance of informing NYC residents should an emergency arise. Now, with so many users taking advantage of Facebook mobile applications, the OEM now has a way to reach people wherever they may be without having to use the NYC Alert program, which incurs higher costs and has incomplete coverage.

Government communication tools like these are great services that can be incorporated into the existing pages of cities and towns around the country, and may be especially useful in more rural areas where mass media isn’t as prevelant.

Earlier this year, we first covered the news that Facebook had filed a federal lawsuit against famed “Spam King” Sanford Wallace, Adam Arzoomanian, and Scott Shaw for crimes under the CAN-SPAM Act, Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, and the California Anti-Phishing Act. Today, Facebook says Judge Jeremy Fogel ruled in US District Court in San Jose that the case will proceed.

Wallace, making an unusual personal court appearance, filed for bankruptcy this morning. Nevertheless, Facebook, which has been fighting a number of phishing attacks and scams in recent months, says it intends to fully pursue Wallace and his associates. It sounds like Facebook wants to make a visible example out of Wallace as a deterrent against future scammers.

Wallace’s bankruptcy filing “is not unexpected and only delays our judgment temporarily,” a Facebook spokesperson told us. “We will continue to pursue the judgment and will be reviewing his filing very closely.”

“We see Fogel’s ruling as a strong deterrent against spammers. Spammers feel that they are immune from criminal prosecution. Fogel’s ruling demonstrates that judges will enforce restraining orders and spammers who violate them face criminal prosecution. This appears to have had an impact on Wallace who was in court today. To our knowledge, he has not appeared in any of the many previous cases against him.”

This is not the first time Wallace or Arzoomanian have been accused of malicious marketing practices on social networks. In May of 2008, MySpace won a $234 million judgment against Wallace and business partner Walter Rines for illegal spam and phishing attacks against MySpace users. Wallace has been actively building his “Spam King” reputation since 1997, having been charged with various federal crimes over the last decade.

Facebook’s original complaint, filed February 24, 2009, is embedded below.

The Facebook username landrush starts tonight at 12:01am EDT, and with it comes potentially the best one-time opportunity for businesses to improve their Facebook identity and SEO by getting a good Facebook vanity URL.

However, as many Page owners have discovered, if your Facebook Page has less than 1,000 fans or was created after May 31, your Page won’t be eligible to get a vanity URL starting tonight. Instead, Facebook says you’ll have to wait until Sunday, June 28 to get a vanity URL for your Page.

Why is Facebook enforcing this rule? Essentially, to mitigate squatting. Facebook wants to make sure every vanity URL that gets registered in the system is authentic, and has put these restrictions in place to prevent speculators from creating thousands of Pages in order to squat on vanity URLs. However, this rule will delay legitimate Page owners with less than 1,000 fans from getting a vanity URL for two weeks as well.

As we detailed earlier this week, Facebook has set up several rules to try to ensure the vanity URL landrush goes as smoothly as possible:

• Facebook is not allowing Page owners to choose generic vanity URLs. The most SEO-able usernames are those that most closely match frequently searched terms, like “flowers” or “pizza.” However, Facebook says that generic words are not available as usernames at this time. Rather, Facebook “encourages all users and Page administrators to create a username that closely matches the true identity of their name or business.”
• Facebook is not allowing Page owners to change or transfer usernames/URLs. Once you pick a username for your page, that’s your page’s username forever - so pick one you’re going to like for the long term. This also means that it will be harder for a black market around usernames to develop.
• Facebook is allowing rights holders to prevent their trademarks from being registered as usernames. If you own a trademark that you want to prevent others from registering as their Facebook username, Facebook has created this form that you can fill out to file the request.

For more comprehensive details and best practices on marketing with Facebook Pages, check out our industry leading Facebook Marketing Bible.