Using Facebook Widgets to Your Advantage

So you're company is on Facebook. Great! But are you getting the most out of Facebook? Remember, Facebook is totally free and has over 300 million users, so why not make the best of an already great situation by using its tools to your advantage? One way to do this is by utilizing Facebook's widgets.

Available widgets and how to set them up can be found here, but here's a quick break down of what they do and what they can accomplish:

Share Button - This allows people to post content from your site back to Facebook. This is one of the most commonly used widgets out there and you'd be hard-pressed to find a site that wasn't using this (or other share tools.) But why use this feature instead of just letting the reader copy and paste a link whenever they feel inclined to do so? With the Share Widget, you're not just making it easier for people to share content from your site on Facebook, but you're subtly suggesting they share it as well. Additionally, even if that shared content isn't clicked on in Facebook, people still see the URL its coming from. That alone serves as an excellent branding opportunity because whether people were looking for your website or not, it just made an impression. There's also the added benefit of being able to share that content without navigating away from your site.

Fan Box - This widget is a great way to let visitors to your website know that you have a Facebook page. It provides a small stream of current status updates from your Facebook page and has a "Become a Fan" button so people can "fan" you right then and there while still staying put on your site. Here's a great tutorial we put together on how to add this widget to your site.

Page Badge - Think of a Page Badge as a toned-down version of the Fan Box widget. It too is made to go on your site and it too let's people know that you have a Facebook page. However, it doesn't contain a feed and it doesn't have the "Become a Fan" button. Instead, it's a cleaner, simpler presentation that contains just the basics: your page name, most recent status update, and the number of fans you have.

Twitter Link - Why post to two places when you can simply post to one? Twitter Link allows you to send your Facebook updates to Twitter automatically. This is a great time-saving tool, and you might just roundup some followers on Twitter who fan you on Facebook. Don't want to send everything you post to Twitter? No worries - you can adjust the settings when you link the two accounts.

With just a few clicks of your mouse and a little copying and pasting, you'll be well on your way to driving traffic back to your website, increasing the number of fans you have on Facebook, and saving yourself a little bit of time!