Facebook hasn’t always been good about letting users know of coming changes. But they have been talking about the resizing of custom landing tabs in October 2009.

Well now it’s time to get your stuff together because the changes are coming August 23. Here is Facebook’s official announcement.

Facebook is saying that they will launch a new 520 pixel canvas size for all applications hosted as custom tabs.

What is changing

In essence you will have 31% less space to work with on your your custom pages. The most common custom landing tabs are FBML (Facebook Markup Language) pages that have been customized for your fan page. These have allowed companies to display full graphics, videos and links to their fans and visitors.

Until now all Facebook fan page custom tabs had have been 760 pixels wide. The vertical dimensions of the custom tabs has been unlimited.  This total area is referred to as the canvas size.

Remember – this change will only affect custom landing tabs in Facebook. It does not effect applications which are not hosted as custom tabs. Starting August 23, any customizations will have to fit within a width of 520 pixels. Canvas space is shrinking and depending on the complexity of your design, this may require time to redevelop your applications code.

How to fix your customer FBML landing tab

While Facebook is automatically resizing the canvas area – don’t expect them to automatically resize your content.  Your graphics, text and other elements will look like they are running off the page unless you update the code.

To resize your Facebook custom landing tab you’ll need to update the source code.  If you had a company create the custom page for you, be certain that they update the width of your tab to 520 pixels wide.

Here’s a quick strategy for updating a custom fan page on a budget. If you don’t have time to entirely redesign your custom page or application but want to try resizing it on your own, don’t panic. John Haydon has an excellent video on his site showing you how to re-size images in your custom tab application in about 90 seconds.

Today’s Action Steps

Your goal today is to get any custom landing pages fixed on your Facebook site. I’ve broken down three options for you…

• Fix it yourself. If you are handy with HTML or FBML code, try to resize the canvas area to 520 pixels wide yourself. The vertical dimensions don’t matter right now and are unlimited.
• Get your designer to fix this. If you hired a design company or are currently paying a social media consultant, be sure to ask them if they’ve re-sized this for you. Point them to this Facebook post if needed.
• You can Ask us to help you. Contact our team if you have a Facebook application which might require a redesign. Our team can provide a quote on the cost to take your existing page and shrink your design to the proper size. Send us an email to info@folkmedia.org and simply ask for a quote. Be sure to give us the URL or name of your current page so we can give you an accurate estimate.

Now pick one of these options and go take action.

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Joel Mark Witt is the Publisher of Folk Media and author of 21 Days To Twitter Leadership. He is a producer, author, speaker and social media marketing coach who consults with businesses and nonprofits on how to use social media in marketing and communications. Get more from Joel on Twitter or Google Buzz.

*Photo by The Shopping Sherpa

Facebook is a great marketing tool for your business. With the new fan page redesign, your business has been handed a gift – a powerful marketing tool. I’ve outlined 12 ways to use Facebook to promote your business or organization.

1. Make your brand known.
Facebook is a great place to spread the word to potential customers and clients.

2. Get “buy-in” by gathering fans.
Having people become fans of your page shows their higher level of interest in what you have to offer.

3. Get feedback.
Customers and clients can post comments and suggestions.

4. Collect data on your customers.
Facebook fan pages have built in stays that can help you see the type of people who are visiting your page.

5. You gain permission to market to people.
Fans of your business page are giving you permission to continue a relationship with them.

6. Broadcast events.
Facebook allows you to create events on your page and then invite people to attend. When the RSVP it shows up in their timeline for their friends to see.

7. Advertise directly.
You can purchase ads through Facebook and target specific demographics, geographic locations and age groups.

8. Host your own show inside Facebook.
Publish your own videos inside the Facebook video player.

9. Publish a blog inside Facebook.
Update short posts directly in the status updates. Plus you can use an RSS application to import your current blog.

10. Create an application and distribute.
This will take either know-how or money. But an application can spread virally if it is made well.

11. Hold a contest on your fan page.
Start by offering discounts or actual product. Try to tie the contest into your fans sharing it with their friends.

12. Get your fans to tag photos.
Upload pictures of your fans and ask them to tag themselves and their friends.

Do you have a tip on how to use Facebook to market your business? Let us know. We’d love to feature it here on Folk Media.

Joel Mark Witt is a producer, speaker, and new media leader who writes about social media and its impact in the business world. He is also the Founding Director of Folk Media. Send him an email: joelmarkwitt (at) folkmedia.org or follow him on Twitter.

* Photo by Scott Beale / Laughing Squid

I’m sure you’ve heard of Facebook. With over 480,000 new users joining each day – it is the fastest growing social networking site on the web. There are many reasons why your business might want to consider creating a Facebook fan page. I’ve outlined three of them here.

1. Everybody is on Facebook.

Okay – not everybody. But there are over 175 million people using Facebook. If it were a country, it would be the sixth most populated country in the world. Your business has the potential to reach this audience – for free.  The best way to have a business presence online is to set up a Facebook fan page. You can do this for free here.

Someone at your company will need to create a personal profile in order to do this. Most likely someone at your businesses or organization already has a Facebook account for personal use. Don’t worry – the personal account is only used to set up the business page. None of your personal information will be shared on the business page.

2. Facebook is a great place to distribute your company information.

Facebook fan pages allow businesses and organizations a place to create event listings, post their business hours and contact information, and even display photos, text, and online articles. These tools are great to display information. Your business most likely has a website already – but do you have the potential to reach over 175 million people with that site?

3. Facebook allows a two-way conversation with your customers and clients.

It works as a great feedback loop. Because a discussion feature comes pre-built into the page you can carry on discussions with your customers, take surveys, and gather feedback. Plus – you create “buy-in” when a client or customer becomes a fan of your page. They are basically raising their hand to say “Yes I want to continue a relationship with your business.”

To sum it up – Facebook is a great place to start if you are new to all this social media stuff. Because changes are coming for how you will do business. These changes are at the very foundation of how people communicate and interact online and off. If you really want to stay in the loop subscribe for free to the Folk Media newsletter.

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Joel Mark Witt is a producer, speaker, and new media leader who writes about social media and its impact in the business world. He is also the Founding Director of Folk Media. Send him an email: joelmarkwitt (at) folkmedia.org or follow him on Twitter.