A fellow member and I have been messaging about Welcome pages and if they are necessary.

My opinion is, it depends on the business. As a general rule, I feel they are very beneficial if done properly.

By done properly, I mean they are clean, tell me who the business is, and what benefits I will receive if I Like your page.

There are a number of  FB Like pages I’ve come across that have welcome pages that are just full of marketing and pitch materials. To me, it screams join my page so I can sell you, instead of provide you value that will lead to a relationship and then a sale. Hope that makes sense?

I would like your opinions on FB Welcome pages. Are they necessary and what what do you like/dislike when you see them.

Thanks,
Don

@donpurdum I think Facebook Welcome pages are great as well, if set up correctly. I always recommend having that 1 call to action only, “Like US” and of course as you said, explaining why they should and what they can expect from doing so.

Then I recommend that if you have anything else you are tying to “sell” like your eNewsletter sign up, blog sign up, etc., you put that on a secondary page. Or create more landing page tabs. I find that when running an ad on Facebook you get a much better response if you lead them to a welcome page rather than your wall.

In general, I believe everyone should have a welcome page as it makes your Facebook page look and feel like you have more control over it as a brand. It gives people the feeling that you are really involved on Facebook and you have given your page a lot of thought as to how you are going to use it. I think people appreciate that.

Great insights here, thanks Don for starting the thread.  Personally, I find landing pages annoying, they stand in my way of finding out what appears on the wall, but I think I am a minority.  @Joancrocker The point about having a landing page for your ads is an excellent one.  I am running an ad right now and will test if the landing page will make a difference.

I consider landing pages to be the hook to getting someone to like your page – if they are done tastefully and correctly.  

They should not be focused on selling but rather invite people into your community. The primary call to action should be to “Like” the page.  The statistics show that of all the people who like your page, 90% of them never come back to the page… they just follow you through their news feed.  So the “Like” is crucial.

I think landing pages are a great way to introduce yourself or your company to your visitor.  Many people relate to visual items, so something colorful and visual can be a better hook than just landing on your wall and having to read through posts.

As for like-gating, I think it is useful in some situations, but be sure you do it properly.  I came across a realtor site last week who required you to like his page just to see his welcome image.  It was completely blacked out.  Not very welcoming if you ask me.

I scoured Facebook for how to set up  the welcome page, I typed in “Welcome Page” in the HELP section and did not receive any instruction…what am I missing?  Anyone out there have a tutorial that could show me the step by step process? Thanks.

I agree that a welcome page is important. There are so many options that exist for 3rd party vendors, one gets confused. Anyone have a recommendation based upon personal experience that is working?

@andrea-vahl I recall that post on Welcome Pages, thanks for the reminder and link to go back and review.

Thank you to all of you who have posted! I have learned a lot just from reading your posts. I’m in the middle of learning about Welcome Pages and am testing several over the next few months. If I see any differences in the ones I use, I’ll be sure to post them in this forum.

Thanks again to all of you for sharing great information!

Hi.

Some interesting perspectives here.

Most Social Media Magazines ala Social Media Examiner  will in the majority of cases I seen focus on Welcome Pages as a important Point Of Sales (or Point Of Like).

And it leads to a higher Like conversion. From this point we add value with our content, and then add new creative Point Of Sales (Touch Points). Like SME brings onboard their Friday Guest to spark engagement. Some add contests, pictures or other creative touch points.

If people don’t revisit I dont believe this is due to the Welcome Page. When you open your door then I agree you have to deliver valuable and relevant content. 

Some great tips in @andrea-vahl articles.

Cheers..

Are Morch – Hotel Blogger

Angela, couldn’t agree more. Think we’ve finally entered to age of getting clear about our own mission and promises to our clients/readers. No need to wish you a great 2012 — with that attitude you’ll have few bumps in the road. Best, Patricia

I have seen them and tested them all it feels like. My primary goal as a media company is to get the email. I am not fighting the edge rank battle even though I know how to and do. The email is VERY easy to get upon first visit in Facebook. This tab generates 60%+ conversion of Like to Lead so of every 100 visits that result in a like 60 also result in an email which can push into Go2Webinar, Mail Chimp etc… Part of the key is keeping the welcome video short which we did and we also spent money producing it as we take our social presence more serious than most small businesses as we are again a media company.

Would love your thoughts on it http://www.facebook.com/InmanNext?sk=app_358085426439

Yes, this is a tough strategic decision to make. You could actually do some A/B testing of different Welcome Pages to see which one performs better via email sign-ups or likes over a specific time period or ask your fans which they prefer. I agree with @chrissmith in lead capture. SME does lead capture, but be sure to offer something for free.

My partner at Green Project Marketing offers his PDF brochure and he will eventually create a white paper and add a email newsletter sign-up in order to receive it as I have suggested to him. For now, we decided to offer other important links.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Green-Project-Marketing/199860080056641

@ndonelly makes a good point, don’t forget the last M in SMM!! Branding your page is crucial and the Welcome Page is a opportunity to brand and make a good first impression. Whether they “like” you or sign-up for your newsletter/webinar/blog, etc. should be left up to them, but offer them something in return.

@jomartin well said.

The Major Disconnect Between Brands and Consumers When It Comes to Social Media

The key word is “new” as in “… new ways I’m using social media.” Consumers now have the expectation of being rewarded. They are coming to the social media party with the expectation to be rewarded and if a brand is not rewarding them, there are others in that “open playing field” mentioned above that will gladly take their place.

In the marketing strategy, SOCIAL is the top priority especially when you understand the latest findings that support the fact that consumers EXPECT TO BE REWARDED when visiting your social brands. We all need to keep this in mind.

@donpurdum great point on welcome page, you have to build trust through a relationship before you sell…give content….sell will come later

@internetmktgqueen what is your facebook page, I’d like to see your landing page

@andrea-vahl thanks for the links, will have to read up on this more

@jenniferotto nice welcome page, I didn’t think I wanted to investigate shortstack, but I think I will…thanks for sharing

@chrissmith How did you get the form that automatically fills out the email info? That is great and makes it so easy (duh, that’s why you use it!)

@chrissmith   I think the landing/welcome tab is very important. Especially for those of us who would like to leave a more professional image in our followers minds.  I have found that I am not able to create these on my own and now hire professionala to create my graphics.  Check out the welcome page from my main FB page.   HTMYHB   It includes a welcome video, opt in, and more. 

@Andrea Vahl That post was a lifesaver. Wildfire has become my new best friend.

As for landing pages, I strongly believe that every page should have a professionally designed, hand-crafted, so to speak, welcome tab. I agree with Andrew Schutt that it is your first impression to potential followers and possibly potential business. Every person that I have made recommendations to has heard the “Welcome Tab can be your Best Friend” spiehl from me. The tab is a great way to highlight what’s new with your business (maybe a new product launch or promotion), highlight company personnel that have done something outstanding (employee of the month, awards, etc.) or just a fun, trendy, & modern way to introduce your business. And if you have an effective & efficient designer at your disposal, you can change the tab somewhat regularly, so that there is something fresh every so often.

Clarity and simplicity is all I ask.

This has been a K-cup fueled post.

I feel a little late to this dance but here are my thoughts….

@angelapalmier and @stonepeople, I agree with your thinking.  I believe there are times that I want our Page to have Force Like with a compelling reason for them to Like us.  I prefer to let people self-identify themselves for us so we don’t weed through a lot of people that are not really a good fit for us anyway.  Its good for us in that only serious potential clients are Likes and it helps them in that they can determine quickly that we are not what they are interested in.  I know that it seems a bit different in that social media is all about being social and free content but I find that puts us in a situation where we spend a lot of time going through prospects that are not really prospects and we are trying to talk with people who have no interest.  I like to know who we are and what we offer to people and communicate that clearly.  But, its also hard to not feel compelled to fall into the popularity game of “they with the most Likes must be good” mentality and therefore try to get everyone to Like our Page.  

Overall, I think keeping our Mission as our primary strategy driver and updating our monthly Calls to Action and therefore the functionality of our Page to match works fo us. 

I am on the fence about the Welcome Landing Page for our business.  I have seen the TAB on many websites and I look at them but don’t always “Like” them. Recently, I have been helping a non-profit group and noticed that their welcome page has changed.  They had been linked to Petfinder and now it appears as if there is just some “java script”  showing.  You can see what I mean if you check out Greenbrier Humane Society. I would worry that a change would be made and I would not be able to fix it as is the case for them.  They are non-profit and I try to help them out in any way I can but I do not have the expertise to diagnosis the problem.  Any suggestions wouldd be appreciated.

@seancookceo-salyrisstudios  – Thank you for the mention.  I see where you show it is operating ok.  As I am a “like” and an ADMIN for them I do not see the screen in the way you see it.  I see 2 boxes with java script information.  Not having a comfort level of that TAB makes it a little uneasy.  I went straight to that page without being logged in and saw all the puppies;  I am hoping that a person who has not liked that page sees the same things for Adopt a Pet.  I can log in as another person who has liked the page but does not have admin rights to see what the outcome is.  Thank you so much Sean for taking the time to look and direct me to look differently for the answer.  ~sharon

@deairby It appears  @chrissmith is using the LeadConversionApp which is $99 a year.  I watched their video and they mentioned they are using the Registration Plugin which anyone can add to their own custom tab for free if they know how to insert the code.

Hi @deairby thanks for the reply, in answer I  add all sorts of content, daft images educational content personal stuff and yet nothing… what are your thoughts on facebook pages…. what do you think is the best use for them?

Lucy

@donpurdum In my humble opinion I feel they are extremely necessary for all businesses. Reason being, by today’s standards, if you don’t have one it could be seen as you not putting in the effort or taking the time to do it. Even if that’s not the case it may be a perception that some people may have. Think of it in terms of greeting potential fans to your business. Walmart pays people to stand there and greet. Why? Because the have too much money? .. No .. Because its a forum of greeting your customers and making them feel welcome.

@sgsrecording I agree!

I just updated mine a bit…and now it shows it is blank there, white. Cannot figure out where it went. So, I logged out, and hopefully when I go back later it is there:(

Thank You Sean! Not sure what happened. Made it appear like I had 2 facebook pages…and I don’t. So, back to it to see what I can do later. Thanks again:)

@chatmarketing   By changing the name, the tab will show with a different name on the menu – it just won’t show as the unique name when you go to change it on the Edit Page – App setting.   If you’re creating the landing page through FB development application you can also set your own icon to appear.

Thanks for all your responses. I though having FB welcome page is for LIKE-gating. Well now I know it should be simple, information oriented and make them feel very welcome!