Facebook: how and why to consider registering user names and creating business fan pages
I’ve talked about this before… back in June when they launched the ability to register a username. Let’s review:
(excerpt from the June 23rd post…)
Last week Facebook made it easier for people to share their Facebook pages… assuming you grab your name!
Having the joy of sharing a name with an actress presents some issues for me… I can’t get www.TaraReed.com so I had to go with TaraReedDesigns.com. And forget getting my name on Twitter or Facebook either. So I’ve become “ArtistTaraReed” and am using that consistently across social media platforms. I’m now quite happy with it since it makes it quite obvious what I do!
Before the change, this is what people had to type in or link from to find me on Facebook:
http://profile.to/artisttarareed/
http://apps.facebook.com/webaddress/artisttarareed
(end of the June 23rd excerpt)
Way back in June, which is like the 80′s in ‘internet time’, you could do this for yourself. That was all I had and all I really cared about at the time. (you know, back in the 80′s)
But NOW I’m getting on board with ‘fan pages’. Continuing my ‘separation of church and state’ (you might recall I now have a separate YouTube channel just for Art Licensing Info)
I decided to set up two: one for Art Licensing Info (this may replace the ning forum… or not replace it but I might HIGHLY recommend everyone go over there… more on that in another post) and one for fans of my art (Tara Reed Designs.)
But there is a catch to registering a username with Facebook – you have to have at least 25 fans before they let you do it.
So here is what you need to do, as best as I can remember.
Creating a “Fan Page” is just like creating your own page. But you create it for your business. (And you have to have a personal page to get a fan page – login information is the same.) Go to:
http://www.facebook.com/advertising/?pages
(don’t worry – they won’t ask you to open your wallet unless you want to do those little ads down the right hand side of Facebook when you are logged in.)
Click on the Green “Create a Page” button in the upper right. You might want to read through the ‘how-to’ as well. Maybe even bookmark it.
Set up the basics. The “Who”, “What” and “Why”. Make sure you become a fan of your page so it can be found.
Add a link on your personal page. I understand that business pages are a way of letting people know about your business without being your personal ‘friend’ on Facebook, but two things may be true. First, you may already have a cloudy line and have lots of business people as friends. Second, some of your friends (or their friends) may also be interested in your business. So I say, make sure there is somewhere for anyone on your personal page to know about your business page.
To do this, I added links in the “info” box below my photo and all the “contact”, “message”, and “poke” me links. Since your link will have both words and lots of numbers until you can register a better looking username, I put the long url in at http://www.tinyurl.com to create a shortcut.
Now go find some fans. At least 25 to be exact. That is the first magic number because then you can grab the special url.
I found that the ‘ethical bribe’ method got me to 25 fans in 6 hours. (If you missed it, sorry! Maybe next time.) I gave a discount coupon and artists came running. I advertised it on Facebook (of course) and Twitter (again, of course).
Once I had collected my fans and sent out my coupon codes, it was time to register the name. Go to:
http://www.facebook.com/username/
If you already registered your personal name like I did back in June, the screen will look like mine above and say “Your user name has been set”. If not, that is where you can start.
But now that I had my 25 business and art fans, I clicked on the “Set a user name for your pages”. The drop down showed me the pages I owned and if I had the requisite 25, I could pick a name, say I was sure it was the name I wanted (you can’t change them later) and I was all set!
That’s it. Now I just need to add the parts and pieces I want to the pages. I’ve already linked the associated blogs. (I’ll blog about how to do that another day. One thing at a time.)
SO… if you are reading this blog, you just might be interested in becoming a fan here:
www.Facebook.com/ArtLicensingInfo
If you are a fan of my art and want to know what I’m up to on that side of things, I’m at:
www.Facebook.com/TaraReedDesigns.com
I hope this helps! Here’s to your creative success and your successful navigation of pages and name registration on Facebook.
– Tara
Carve Out Time for Social Networking
A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of meeting Alyson Stanfield, the “Art Biz Coach” in person. I’ve been following her on Twitter and hear great things about her in different art circles. She just posted a blog called “Carve Out Time for Social Networking” and it is right on the money!
She included my “Zen of Twitter”
“Don’t worry about what you
might have missed when you weren’t looking,
just assume that the tweets you are meant to see
are the ones on the screen when you are inspired to look.”
But that isn’t the only reason I liked the post. 
Of course, I was extremely flattered. Her advice to artists about social networking is definitely worth a read so instead of recreating the wheel, here is the link to hear it from Alyson: Carve Out Time for Social Networking
Now go forth, be creative and be social!
~ Tara
You're on Twitter – Learn how to Get Started and Fly Right!
I’m all a-twitter about Twitter!
According to Twitter: Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?
** UPDATED TO REFLECT TWITTER CHANGES MADE 9/17/08 **
It can be anything from “about to brush my teeth”, “had a ham sandwich for lunch”, “discovered this great new website – here is a link”.
And here’s a catch– you only have 140 characters per ‘tweet’. (A “tweet” is what they call your update or post)
While trying to explain Twitter to a friend the other day, I came up with a great analogy. Twitter is like a virtual office – with the people you follow being the workers in nearby cubicles.
If I were in a real office, I could walk to a nearby cubicle and ask, “ Hey, anybody know what font this is?” Since I work at home, I’d be talking to the wall.
But now that I have twitter, I can talk to anyone who is following me.
I have found Twitter to be a great source of information. My font question was real. One day I needed to figure a font to use in a book. I found one I liked but didn’t know what it was.
I Twittered my question, put a link to a sample of the font, and waited.
Within 10 minutes, one person told me the exact name of the font.
Another Twitter friend gave me a link to a website, where I could enter samples of any font and the site would tell me the font. What a great resource for the future!
With more and more people working from home, there is a growing need for ways to feel ‘connected’ and less isolated. Twitter does just that and more.
The TOP 3 reasons I like Twitter:
- Twitter is a great way to learn about what people are doing. Twitter helps you feel connected to others in your industry and life – regardless of physical location.
- By reading what others are doing and discovering, I too, find interesting websites that can help me with my business.
- By posting what I’m doing throughout the day, others can learn more about me personally and professionally. Twitter has led to joint venture opportunities, job opportunities and new customers.
Sounds pretty good, right?
But how does it work?
I will take you on a guided tour of Twitter, complete with lots of pictures!
(I’m an artist, I like to SEE what is going on!)
You will Learn the Six Steps to Becoming a Master Tweeter on Twitter
All you have to do is sign up for my Art Licensing Newsletter and the 17 page, image-packed eBook is yours. For free. Can’t beat free!
Click here, sign up, opt-in and unleash your inner social butterfly!
~ Tara
P.S. “Twitter”, the bird, and all screen shots are copyrights of Twitter and used to further the cause, not to harm or confuse it! I don’t know how I ever lived without you Twitter!
P.P.S. Do you already twitter? This is me: artisttarareed
Are you a social butterfly?
I must admit I was very resistant to social networking at first. I didn’t want to have a blog. I didn’t really understand how to use it and felt that I didn’t want to share too much personal information over the Internet.
In June I went to a workshop to learn more about Internet marketing. During the course of the three days there was a lot of talk about social networking and how it can help in any kind of business. Pat O’Brien and Craig Perrine who taught the class encouraged us to start blogs, to Twitter, join Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn and more. They encouraged us to create videos on YouTube. These are all ways to connect with clients, colleagues and friends… and all for little or no cost.
Fast forward three months and I’ve changed from a meek caterpillar to a little social butterfly.
I have fully embraced Twitter and Facebook, as my main social networking sites. I blog regularly. (Obviously, since that is what you are reading!) I am learning more about LinkedIn and reconnecting with people I worked with 16 years ago — fun!
Social Networking can be used to make and foster both personal and business connections. It can help you learn and grow. And sometimes, it’s just plain lonely in a studio alone so it’s nice to have a way to connect!
I’ve just heard of Plaxo and have no idea what that is… guess I best investigate!
I’ll be talking more about how to use these sites to your advantage, but for now, why don’t you join me?
~ Tara
Use the links above or to the right to find me on social sites. Hope to hear from you soon!
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