• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Social Media Examiner

Your Guide to the Social Media Jungle

  • 🔥 Free Newsletter
  • ⭐ FREE Web3 Course
  • 🗓️ Our Events
    • Social Media Marketing World (Mar 13-15)
    • Other Industry Events
  • 💡 Society
  • ⚙️ Tools
  • 🎙️ Podcasts
    • Social Media Marketing Podcast
    • Social Media Marketing Talk Show
    • Web3 Business Podcast
    • Our YouTube Channel
  • 🎯 Partner With Us
    • Podcast Sponsorship
    • Email Sponsorship
      • Email Newsletter
      • Dedicated Email Blast
    • Event Sponsorship
      • Social Media Marketing World
    • Tools Sponsorship
  • 👋 About Us
    • Our Story
    • Articles
      • Web3
      • Instagram Marketing
      • Facebook Marketing
      • YouTube Marketing
      • LinkedIn Marketing
      • TikTok Marketing
      • Expert Interviews
  • Search
  • Social Media Marketing World10th annual. Biggest industry event. Get the recordings!IMPROVE YOUR MARKETING

    Top 10 Facebook Apps for Fan Engagement and Building Community

    by Andrea Vahl / December 13, 2011

    social media toolsAre you looking for ways to better engage Facebook fans and build your community?

    These top 10 Facebook apps are, in my opinion, some of the most useful ones for pages when it comes to encouraging fan engagement and giving value to your community.

    They are also very easy to use. Some may be familiar to you, but you may find some new gems to try out.

    By the way, check out Top Ten Facebook Apps for Building Custom Tabs & Pages. If you are looking for a more comprehensive list, check out the one by Mari Smith: Top 75 Apps for Enhancing Your Facebook Page.

    #1: Fan of the Week for Pages

    Your fans like to be recognized. This application keeps track of participation on your Facebook page and then automatically posts a “shout out” to your fan of the week.

    The application is free for the basic message shown below, but you can upgrade for a small fee to customize your message.  The Fan of the Week App will also be installed as a tab on your Page so that people can see who the Fan of the Week is for that week if they miss the post.

    fan of the week
    When you are recognizing your audience for participation, they will watch for your posts.

    To add it to your page, just go to http://apps.facebook.com/fanofthe/ and then choose the page to add it to. The app will automatically post to your page wall at the same time every week. Make sure you add the app to your page at the exact time you would like it to post.

    fan of the week app
    Enabling the Fan of the Week for Pages app is easy.

    #2: Booshaka

    Booshaka is another application that will highlight the fans who are participating on your page more often. When you install the application, a custom tab called Top Fans is added to your page.

    Fans get the most points for posting to your wall and they also receive points for comments and likes.

    booshaka
    Booshaka gives points for participation.

    You can view the stats of each fan listed to see how they have participated. The app gives a complete history of the fan's activity on your page.

    To install Booshaka, just go to www.Booshaka.com and click the blue Install button. They also have a Top Fans Pro version that rewards the top fans with perks.

    #3: NetworkedBlogs

    Facebook has changed the news feed algorithm, so it can be hard to keep track of what's working and what's not.

    But in recent news, Facebook appears to have changed its algorithm again so that third-party posting applications such as NetworkedBlogs, HootSuite, TweetDeck and others will not be hidden in the news feed.

    I have done my own research and have not found any collapsed posts from these applications, which is good news.

    3 Days of World-Class Training—Zero Travel!

    Social Media Marketing World

    Travel to Social Media Marketing World off the table? Get all of the great content at a fraction of the price with an On-Demand ticket.

    That’s full access to recordings of every keynote, workshop, and session—the ones people travel thousands of miles to see. Don't wait. Get your On-Demand ticket and enjoy actionable content that you can watch anytime, anywhere.

    GET YOUR ON-DEMAND TICKET NOW

    Even though it's always best for engagement and EdgeRank purposes to post manually on Facebook, sometimes a little automation can be helpful. NetworkedBlogs is an application that automatically posts your new blog posts to your Facebook wall. You can use it to post to your personal profile, your Facebook page and Twitter accounts.

    The application will pull in the title of the blog post, the first picture in the post (or a screen shot of your entire blog if there isn't a picture) and the first few lines of the post. When someone clicks on the post, there are Share buttons at the top of the post to allow readers to easily share it with their networks.

    networked blog post
    NetworkedBlogs automatically posts your new blog posts to your wall.

    I find the setup and navigation of NetworkedBlogs a little challenging, but there are help files. The easiest way to add NetworkedBlogs to your fan page is by going to http://www.facebook.com/networkedblogs and clicking on the Add to My Page link on the left sidebar.

    #4: Post Planner

    Sometimes you need to schedule your posts to your Facebook page. There are some scheduling tools such as SocialOomph, HootSuite or TweetDeck, but none has the capability to schedule posts with pictures or video. Post Planner can help with that.

    The tool does cost $4.95/month to post to pages, but having some peace of mind that you won't forget to post at the perfect time can help. Always make sure you are engaging and checking back into the conversation.

    Post Planner also has a White Label version so you can customize the app name and send people who click on it to your website instead of to an application.

    Tools Resource Guide

    Looking for something to make your life easier?

    Discover the tools we recommend to drive engagement, save you time, and boost sales across your entire marketing funnel or business.

    Whether you need help planning content, organizing social posts, or developing your strategy, you’ll find something for every situation.

    FIND YOUR NEXT FAVORITE TOOL
    post planner
    Post Planner can schedule posts with pictures.

    The easiest way to install Post Planner is to go to www.postplanner.com.

    #5: YouTube

    If you have a YouTube channel, I recommend integrating it into your Facebook page so that people who come to your page can easily access your videos. There are many YouTube applications, but my favorite is YouTube for Pages by Involver. It's easy to install, the layout is nice and it offers easy sharing.

    Your most recent video is automatically displayed as the largest. The application will not automatically post your newest video to the wall, but you can easily post it with just two clicks.

    youtube
    The YouTube for Pages app prominently displays your most recent video

    The application is easy to install from http://www.facebook.com/YouTubeApp and then click the Add to My Page link on the left sidebar.

    #6: Livestream

    Livestream is a great way to bring live video events to your Facebook page. The chat feature can make it more interactive with the audience. You can record the events for later viewing.

    livestream
    Mari Smith's recent Livestream broadcast.

    To add Livestream to your page, go to http://apps.facebook.com/livestream/ and click the green Get Started button.

    #7: ContactMe

    Make it easy for people to get in touch with you with a contact form on your Facebook page. With the ContactMe app, you can add many different fields and customize the form to suit your needs. Install the ContactMe form at http://www.facebook.com/contactforms.

    contact me
    Customize the fields or just keep it basic with a name, email and message.

    #8: Constant Contact

    Many people wonder how to add a newsletter signup to their page. There are lots of ways that include iFrame apps and design.

    What I like about the Constant Contact application is that it is very simple to use. But it doesn't allow for a lot of bells and whistles. You can add text to talk about your newsletter and even a picture as shown in the figure below.

    But for people who are intimidated by code and too much customization capability, this application can be just the ticket to add a newsletter signup if you use the Constant Contact email service.

    constant contact
    The Constant Contact Join my List app is easy to use.

    Get started at http://apps.facebook.com/ctctjmml/.

    Note: MailChimp also has a Facebook app for newsletter signup if you use their service: http://apps.facebook.com/mailchimp/.

    #9: Scribd for Pages

    Scribd is a document-sharing service that makes it easy to upload and share PDF, DOC, XLS, JPG and PPT files. People often want to be able to share a document with their Facebook community.

    While you could upload the document to your website and share the link, the Scribd application allows people to easily view the document right in the tab and download it if they wish.

    Involver also developed Scribd for Pages, and the easiest way to install it is to go to http://apps.facebook.com/involver_epdmxwnq/. You can also access it by going to www.Involver.com.

    scribd
    Add PowerPoint presentations, PDFs, pictures or Word documents that your audience can download.

    #10: Ecwid

    To open a storefront that operates within Facebook, add Ecwid to your page. Ecwid integrates with PayPal, Google Checkout, Authorize.net and several other payment processing options.

    Setting up a store is a little more involved than the other apps listed here, but can easily draw attention to your products and services. Ecwid has forums and very good customer support to help you on your way to becoming a social e-commerce pro.

    To get started, go to www.ecwid.com.

    ecwid
    Easily create your own storefront that integrates with your Facebook page.

    Applications can and should enhance your community's experience with your Facebook page. They can also make your life easier with a little automation.

    What do you think? Have you tried these applications? What has been your experience? Share your questions and comments with us in the box below.

    Get Your FREE Course: Web3 for Beginners

    Web 3 for Beginners

    Curious about Web3, but don't know where to start or who to trust?

    Introducing Web3 for Beginners, a course taught by Michael Stelzner, the founder of Social Media Examiner.

    Learn the basics of Web3 and apply it to your business with this FREE comprehensive course.


    CLICK HERE TO GET FREE ACCESS

    Tags: Facebook, Facebook Tools

    About the authorAndrea Vahl

    Andrea Vahl is co-author of Facebook Marketing All-in-One for Dummies and also uses her improv comedy skills to blog as Grandma Mary, Social Media Edutainer. Connect with her at www.andreavahl.com.
    Other posts by Andrea Vahl »

    Get Social Media Examiner’s Future Articles in Your Inbox!

    Get our latest articles delivered to your email inbox and get the FREE Social Media Marketing Industry Report (39 pages, 50+ charts)!

    Industry Report Cover

    Worth Exploring:

    Facebook

    Marketing Help Explore More →

    Instagram

    Marketing Help Explore More →

    YouTube

    Marketing Help Explore More →

    Linkedin

    Marketing Help Explore More →

    Web3

    Marketing Help Explore More →

    Social Media Marketing Industry Report

    Get Free Report →

    Social Marketing Trends

    The data you've been missing!

    Need a new plan? Discover how marketers plan to change their social activities in the 14th annual Social Media Marketing Industry Report. It reveals what marketers have planned for their social activities, content marketing, and more! Get this free report now and never miss another great article from us. Join more than 400,000 marketers!

    Enter your email to get
    our free report:


    Footer

    Your Guide to the Social Media Jungle
    Copyright © 2023 Social Media Examiner®
    All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use | Privacy Policy.

    Helpful Links

    • About us
    • Our content via email
    • Our podcasts
    • Our YouTube channel
    • Our live show
    • Our industry report
    • Sponsorship opportunities
    • RSS
    • Accessibility