Liking your blog on Facebook

Today Facebook announced their new Social Plugins and we're excited to be a showcase launch partner. In fact, TypePad bloggers are the only bloggers to have access to these features at launch. Woot!

Starting Thursday afternoon, if you are in the Beta Team, you will be able to  install Facebook's new "Like" button, and connect your blog to Facebook's Open Graph**. This will give your readers the ability to share your blog with their friends on Facebook.

Facebook is a great way to introduce new audiences to your blog. Last year we added the ability for you to automatically share posts with your friends on Facebook. Now with Facebook's new Like button, any visitor to your blog can show their appreciation for your blog.

Feeling confused? Don't panic! It's actually remarkably simple. The best way to grasp the idea is to try it out.

Add the Facebook Like Button to Your Blog

Here's how you can add the new Facebook Like button to your blog:

1. Go to Blog > Settings, select the Sharing tab and click on the link to: Connect your blog to Facebook.
2. Follow the steps to connect to Facebook and install the Like module on your blog. If you're using a drag-and-drop design, you can visit Blog > Design > Content after to arrange the module in your sidebar.
3. Advanced Template blogs: You will need to go through the same connection steps above. After that is complete, you can add the HTML "Like" code to your templates.
4. When visitors click on the Like button, a link to your blog will show up on their profile AND in their friends' news feeds. This helps drive awareness of your blog through Facebook and can help drive more traffic to your blog.
5. And when you create a new post, as long as you still have the Like button on your blog, TypePad will automatically post that new item to these visitor's news feed on Facebook.

The new feature is now available for all TypePad customers at all account levels. And we're looking forward to providing more support for Facebook's Social Plugins and Open Graph in the coming months.

Feedback update: We were seeing reports of the Like button not displaying in IE 6, 7. We have now a fix in place for this.

** Wondering what this sounding graph is? Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg, announced the Open Graph this morning at the F8 conference. Described as a technology for pulling together different online networks to create a web "that is smarter, more social, more personalized and more semantically aware". Read more about Zuckerberg's announcements on CNET or by following #fF8 on Twitter.

/posted by Michael Sippey

Comments

[Kofla Olivieri]

I was just reading the article in Google news. Not sure about having the "new" like button since my Facebook page is setup for friends only.

One thing I would like to add to my Facebook page is a small icon/banner of my Typepad blog.

[kimmi8]

The new "Like" button does not have any association to your Facebook page. You would add it so that visitors to your blog can say they "like" your blog. The like update would then show up on THEIR Facebook profiles and subsequent updates to your blog in their news feeds. Let me know if that makes sense?

[Account Deleted]

I really do love this feature. Keep it up!

[Jeff Korhan]

I (no pun intended) like this a lot! As I see it, I still control my content with my blog as my hub. This feature not only pushes the feed deeper into the networks, but a node or sustainable social object is created.

Looking forward to my test drive!

[kimmi8]

That's a great summary of the feature, Jeff. We should have had you write our post. :) Thanks for the feedback!

[Jeff Korhan]

I'm sure I'll be blogging about it after I get some practice with it. :)

[Agnes]

Brilliant :-)))

[Patricia]

Very nice!!! Can not wait to have it!

[Golfasian]

What about non-beta but paying users?

[notw.co.uk]

is there any ETA for an Advanced Template module.. looks cool.
Thanks

[Michael]

Where is the link on the share page?

[samjien]

Hello guys. i just wanna ask how to join the beta team so that i can benefit this new great feature by typepad and facebook :) thanks

[Account Deleted]

Facebook began as a secure dating site and now also the best grades only for friendship nut business network. important innovations. do not make the final fall of site improvements. Aware of this but facebook I guess

[raisinaruckus]

this is great. I'm gonna try it.

[Claire Alcock]

Hi Mark, we want to test out this feature and get feedback from beta testers over the next couple of weeks before we release it to all TypePad customers. So hold tight, it won't be long!

[Claire Alcock]

Hi Michael, if you are in the beta team you'll see the link under the sharing tab in settings later this afternoon. Please let us know what you think!

[Claire Alcock]

Hi Samjien - good question. Log into Typepad click on "Account" and scroll down the summary page until you see the "Join the Beta team" check box. We'll try and add you asap but sometimes there's a little delay.

[Michael]

Awesome, will do! Thank you :)

[Claire Alcock]

Yay - Go nuts raisinaruckus! We'll release later this afternoon. Be sure to let us know what you think with a link back to your site.

[Kofla Olivieri]

Well, I can't find the "Like" button or the "connect youe blog to Facebook" link either. Maybe I am looking in the wrong place.

[kimmi8]

It won't be live until this afternoon. Best bet is to give it a whirl tonight or tomorrow morning.

[Jerome Sutter]

I just installed it on my blog (http://www.jeromesutter.net). I am trying to see the different options available and I will let you know my feedback.

[Andrew Bleiman]

After a few tries, the FB button is rocking on ZooBorns. Now witness the firepower of this fully armed and operational battle station! http://www.zooborns.com/

[kimmi8]

Woo!

[Andrew Bleiman]

Question - is there a way to let viewers "Like" posts versus the whole blog? Feel like that would be more conducive to sharing...

[Werner Patels]

I was wondering that too, but then I realized that the way Typepad code works is that when you add a widget like Facebook Like to the sidebar, instead of using Advanced Templates, it is virtually impossible to make it post-specific. At least, that's been my experience. The only widget where it works on a post-specific basis is the ShareIt button.

By the way, yes, I, too, have installed the new feature and it seems to be working.

[Jerome Sutter]

The correct link: http://www.jeromesutter.net

[Andrew Bleiman]

Looks like the text isn't wrapping correctly in our 170 pixel width sidebar.

[.tiff]

Hi Andrew. Yes, we definitely intend to support this in the coming future as we work on integrating the Facebook like into TypePad. "Like"-ing posts is obviously a great way for users to share and distribute your content and we will let you know when it is supported. Thanks for your feedback!

[Jerome Sutter]

Same point as Andrew about Like-ing posts. Great to know it will be available soon and congrats for the job.

[Werner Patels]

Excellent, keep us posted.

[Jacquelina Banda]

Hi Kofla I'm new to all this! need much info on how to work my typepad. I would like a small icon on my facebook,can it be done? find it kind of hard to lean all this, but I'll keep try, so keep me in mind. Thz a friend

[Hudson]

Implemented! ... at http://www.sampratt.com

[hewn & hammered]

What would make this a lot more useful would be what Andrew notes - a facebook-looking "like" button at the bottom of each post that would then reflect that click in ones' own facebook stream.

Right now, this seems like a lot of hoopla over nothing... Let me know when there's a like button alongside my tweet/digg/delicious buttons.

[Claire Alcock]

Awesome - looking blog Sam! Thanks for sharing this

[Beth Jarvis]

So I just tried this feature and now I cannot get blog posts to automatically post on Facebook. I have the "Share this post" Facebook box check marked too, but nothing happens. Am I doing something wrong?

[GEM]

Agreed, there's really no point if it's not on individual posts. I look forward to that!

[kimmi8]

Hi Beth,

This feature is for adding updates to the newsfeed of Facebook members that "Like" your blog. If you want to crosspost to your Facebook profile from TypePad, then you would use the "Other Accounts" set up. Can you let me know which set up you did? Thanks!

[Account Deleted]

I installed it and I love it ..though I already had installed a similar widget by the Networked Blogs a long time ago.

Here---http://www.ilovehateamerica.com

and in my husband's blog; http://www.afreeridersjourney.com

[Beth Jarvis]

Kimmie,
When I opened my account last month, I added the Other Accounts set up, allowing my blog posts to be included in my Facebook newsfeed. It worked perfectly. However, today I added the new like feature, and I noticed the newsfeed option stopped working. I posted a new blog today and I could not get the newsfeed option to work. I am guessing that this was not a coincidence. I tried re-posting my blog to my newsfeed through typepad several times without success. Does this make any sense?

Thanks for your prompt follow up.
Beth

To: [email protected]

[kimmi8]

Hi Beth,
It may just be a coincidence but since the feature is new, there may be hiccups. Can you open a support ticket so that the team can take a look at your account?

Thanks!

[Beth Jarvis]

Sure! How do I do that? :)

To: [email protected]

[Account Deleted]

Oh I removed it because it's just a duplicate of Networked Blogs that I had installed a year ago. If this Facebook Like feature would be on each post.....that would be better. Now I understand why others said it would be pointless if you cannot put this widget on each post.

[Account Deleted]

That's great news!!!!!!!!!I can't wait.Thank you.

[Werner Patels]

Just to be accurate, the Like feature does not display in IE6, 7 AND 8 (!).

[Account Deleted]

Ditto that...

[Birdbabyface]

I like this new link as i can promote my maternity wear and swimwear with ease for my mother wear clothing on-line store.

[Business U]

I am using IE 8.0. Step 2 in your instructions in installing the Like button to my posts goes nowhere when I type the "Like" button. It mentions that I should get a list of permissions to select from.

[Claire Alcock]

We are working on putting some instructions for AT together now :)

[Claire Alcock]

Hey Sam, we linked to your blog as an example of how good this can look in the Six Apart blog post! check it out. http://www.sixapart.com/blog/2010/04/six-apart-likes-facebooks-open.html

[Andrew Bleiman]

Two more questions:

#1 We are showing 14 fans on the page but have 6k+ on our FB fan page? Shouldn't this number represent total fans? Shouldn't these be syncing? If not, why not, out of curiosity?

#2 I tried using the Advanced template code to create a typelist that properly wrapped the text. Problem here is that the thumbs up button shows up but not the little pics of fans or the number of fans (any of the copy really). Was this a conscious decision or is it not syncing properly (I made that sync term up but you get the idea).

Thanks again all

[Andrew Bleiman]

OK my apologies regarding my misguided first comment. I see Kimmie addressed that up top in her reply to Kofia.

[Lemur]

I'm having problems with comments in TypePad Micro - does not work TypePad Connect.
I am the author of the blog, but I have to enter email and captcha to leave a comment in my blog.
Why? How can I connect back TypePad connect?
( My blog: http://antonlemur.typepad.com )
Thanks in advance!

[.tiff]

We're working on it! Expect a fix soon. Sorry for the inconvenience.

[Marlita H]

Is there a way to suppress user's/liker's names so they can have the feed without having their FB names blasted across the webosphere? Or do I have to go to Networked Blogs for that?

[Marlita H]

Let me amend my question. If someone Likes my page, will that be seen by other people who are NOT their FB friends?

[.tiff]

Hi Marlita. When a user logged in to Facebook views the "Like" widget on your blog, they will only see names and avatars of users who they are friends with on Facebook who have also "liked" your blog.

Additionally, if a user logged out of facebook views the "Like" widget on your blog, they will only see the number of people who have liked the blog. Logged out users will not see names or avatars. Hope that helps.

[Marlita H]

Thanks, .tiff. That absolutely helps and makes me more willing to do it. I don't want to intrude on my friends' privacy and this can let them feel better about hitting the button.

Cheers!

[kimmi8]

Sorry, should have checked your account first but you have a Micro account. Only Pro accounts have access to our Support system. I let the Support team know in case we get any other reports of this. Thanks!

[meighan]

I'm utterly confused. I was excited about this feature...but it created an entirely 'new page' for my blog on FB. My blog has a page where I self publish...I don't get why there are now two pages? I deleted it as to not appear spammy to my followers. Any feedback is appreciated on this. Thanks! I did read through the above comments...but didn't find a clear answer for this.

[ISA]

I'm not seeing the "Connect your blog to Facebook" link in Sharing. I carefully reviewed the instructions to see what I was missing and noticed the following: The new feature will be available tomorrow afternoon for BETA bloggers at all account levels.

Can you confirm then, that if one is not a BETA blogger this link will not be visible? Thank you.

[.tiff]

Hi meighan. Basically in order to connect your blog to facebook to create this "like" relationship with facebook users, Facebook creates an 'invisible' page instance in the background to facilitate things. I say invisible because the page is only visible by admins (you). Facebook users who like your blog or share 'like' links on their profile will always include links that take them directly to your blog and NOT the page. It's a bit confusing, but this is the way Facebook has implemented things.

This is different than any previous fan page that you've created for your blog on facebook in that it is created solely to facilitate the 'like' relationship between your blog and facebook users who 'like' your blog using the widget. Since the "like" widget effectively removes the need of the facebook fan page by cutting out the middle man, it may be a good idea to convince users who are 'fans' of your other fan page to go ahead and 'like' your blog instead.

Hope that helps!

[.tiff]

Hi ISA. Yes, this feature is only available to Beta users for now. We'll be releasing it to all users soon, but in the meantime if you want to join the Beta team you can simply go to the account page (http://www.typepad.com/account), scroll to the bottom and opt-in to join the Beta team. Hope that helps!

[meighan]

Hi .tiff

Thanks so much. That is really helpful & super informative. Kind of a bummer though that it takes away from the blog's page as I do a lot of things on there outside of blogging, ie upload remote pics while I am out & about at galleries, share links that I don't necessarily want to post about, etc. It would be nice to have the option to streamline everything together. But I am sure you guys are working hard on it as you always do. ;) Thanks again.

[.tiff]

Hi, the issues on IE should have been fixed. Please let us know if you see any further problems, thanks!

[samjien]

Hello miss Claire :) thanks for the help. You are awesome. However. i just wondered why when i liked my blog. i can't see it in my pages in facebook. When the fact is. I can see the page of other typepad blog that i liked in my facebook pages.

[Werner Patels]

Yes, it works in IE (8) now, but, on a side note, the Typepad toolbar that drops down from the top of the page still doesn't work in IE. In IE, the toolbar never becomes visible.

[Kofla Olivieri]

I give up, I've tried everything. I have no clue or I am unable to see "a series of Facebook permission dialogues will then appear. You must select your blog from the “Page” drop-down and agree to the permissions in order to connect your blog to Facebook." I also am unable to find the (Like) module on my blog.

[Kofla Olivieri]

Sorry Jacquelina, I don't work for Typepad.

[Jennifer]

It's not working for this beta user this morning. Been at it every way I can think of & can't get it on the blog.

[Kathleen]

I tried it out this morning and I can get it to work (YAY) but it won't work on the multi-media layouts for me. Any tips?

[ChickPhilA]

I've linked my typepad and facebook, but can't find the module on the blog>design>content page in the menus - where is it located at so I can drag and drop into the blog?

[Kathleen]

When I fiddled with mine it was automatically added into the columns when I went to the "Content" link. (it was the last thing in the column)

[serge the concierge]

Just tried to Created the (Facebook) Link Button.

Keep getting an error message 'We cannot find your Facebook page, try again' when I hit the Link Button.

I do see my Facebook profile picture next to the Like Button and the message 'Serge Lescouarnec' likes this though.

Did I miss a beat

Thanks

Serge

[Jennifer]

Tried it, worked right away, love it. Was glad to see others above suggesting it be made available for posts. I can see it getting much more use that way.

Great idea. Facebook has proved to be a real booster to my readership - hope this only increases that.

Cheers.

[Kathleen]

The idea of the button (as far as I know) is so that when you update your blog the people who "like" it will get an update on their news feed with the new post. So "Liking" individual posts would mean they wouldn't get the new content... just that post. I would rather it work like this, more of a "subscribe" option for FB.

[Account Deleted]

Hi - Unfortunately, still not working for me. I am not getting the dropdown for permissions after hitting the "like" button when I try to set it up on the sharing page...

[PuttyVector]

Hi Serge - I am having the exact same problem as you and despite numerous attempts to get passed this hurdle I have not been able to. Typepad currently have no fix or explanation for this but I would be interested to know how many other users are experiencing the same.

[Tiffany Dawn Jones]

Hello. Can you only link one blog to Facebook? I have an advanced account with several blogs and so far Typepad is only let me link my default account to Facebook...

It's similar to what Serge and P. Viktor describe above...I keep getting the error message "We cannot find your Facebook page, try again" when I try to set up a Facebook link in the Settings|Sharing of these secondary blogs.

What's the dealio? Any information you can extend to me will be greatly appreciated.

Otherwise, I think this is a great feature and look forward to using it.

[Pete Black]

Hi Serge, I'm also having the same problem. Hopefully there will be a fix for it soon.

[The Franchise King]

Hi,

Can you make it so we can easily set it up to appear after blog posts?

Thanks

[Max Trescott]

Couldn't get it to work with IE 8, but downloaded Firefox and was able to set it up. See www.maxtrescott.com
Question: If I click on Admin Page, will I see a list of everyone who has clicked "Like", or just the list of my friends (and perhaps their friends) who have clicked Like? I'm thinking of running a contest to encourage people to Like my blog, but to award a prize, I'd need to see the full like of people who clicked Like.

[Kofla Olivieri]

I tried Firefox and IE, it didn't worked on my blog :-(

[raisinaruckus]

I can't find that either!

[Nicolas Silberman]

Hi
I'm having the same problem too

[Nicolas Silberman]

it works :) but the widget is too large for my right column. Is possible to place it below each posts ?

[kimmi8]

We have the AT instructions up in the Knowledge Base: http://help.sixapart.com/tp/us/facebook_like_widget.html

[Business U]

I've added the new "Like" button to my blog. Then, as a user, I went to the blog and "Liked" it myself, using the new button. However, when I create a new post, it is not showing up in my News Feed.

[kimmi8]

Can you explain further what you're not seeing in your Facebook pages? When you like your blogs, it should show up as a facebook update in your profile.

[kimmi8]

Kofla,
Have you tried again? We've found that the FB connection process has been flaky for some people. Oftentimes it'll work if you try it again later in the day.

[kimmi8]

We're working on this feature next!

[.tiff]

Hi Max. If you head to the admin page for your blog on Facebook you should be able to see *all users* who have "liked" your blog, including users you are not friends with. This is different than the display on your blog's widget, which will only display users who you're friends with on Facebook who have liked your blog as long as you're logged into facebok. Hope that helps!

[.tiff]

Hi Nicolas. We're trying to figure out why some folks are having trouble installing the facebook "like" widget on their blogs, and you seem to have got it to work. Is there anything different that you tried or did you just return to the setup page later and it worked?

In response to your question, this "like" widget creates a fan base on Facebook for your blog, allowing facebook users to 'like' your blog and receive your post updates int their news feeds. This is not the same as adding a "like" button below each post, which would allow users to share to their profiles that they "like" your individual posts (as opposed to your whole blog). This is obviously a great feature, and we're looking to introduce it in the near future for TypePad blogs. Hope that helps!

[kimmi8]

Is it on a particular blog that you're not seeing the toolbar in IE? And then when you switch to Firefox, you can see the toolbar?

[kimmi8]

Sorry you're having issues Matt. Can you try connecting your blog again? We've seen reports of the same thing but eventually it works when the user tries it again at a later time.

[kimmi8]

Hi there,
Are you still having issues? Which step are you not able to get to?

[kimmi8]

Sorry but TypePad Connect is not available for the Micro account level. Whether you're the author or not, you will need to still sign in to leave a comment.

[kimmi8]

We're still looking into this issue but it seems to resolve itself after a bit of time. May be a connection issue with Facebook. I'd suggest trying again and let us know if it still won't work for you.

[kimmi8]

Yes, you can link more than one blog to Facebook. I had the same error message for one of my blogs. It eventually worked so I suggest trying again. We're not sure what the cause it and are actively looking into the issue.

[Jennifer]

Yep still having issues. Tried again this morning and discovered my facebook feed needed updated. Now I can't reconnect. Page freezes on the connect to facebook, the thing swirls for hours & nothing. Sometimes I have to wait a day for fb changes to work so I'll try again in the morning. I if I connect I'll try the like again & get back to you if it doesn't work.