Many readers have requested a step-by-step guide on how to add the Facebook “Friend Invite” function to their pages. On this post, I will show you how to add and customize this Facebook feature to fit your particular needs.

As many of you may have noticed, Facebook re-sized all its Page tabs as of mid-August. The code in this post takes into account the new 520 pixel Page width so that your layout will look as sleek and professional as ever.

  Add the FBML application to your Facebook Page and create a new tab. For  step-by-step instructions, please read  my previous post “How to Create a Custom Tab For Your Facebook Page.”

  Copy and paste the following code into your new FBML tab. You will have to replace my fan Page and URLs with the actual name and URL of your organization.

<div style=”margin-left:-5px;”>

<fb:request-form method=”post” action=”http://facebook.com/socialmedia4nonprofits” invite=”true” content=”Join Social Media 4 Nonprofits Fan Page”>

<fb:req-choice url=’http://www.facebook.com/socialmedia4nonprofits?v=app_7146470109′ ‘ label=’Check It Out’ /> “>/>

<fb:multi-friend-selector actiontext=”Join Social Media 4 Nonprofit Fan Page” showborder=”true” rows=”3″ cols=”3″ />

> 

</fb:request-form>

</div>

After pasting the code above into your new FBML tab, preview your Facebook Page. It should look exactly as the Friend Invite that is on the “Social Media 4 Nonprofits” page.

Tip: Many people have reported getting an error right after the dialog window that gives users the option to also send the invite to their email contacts.  If you do, here is the way to fix it. Find the following line in the code above:

<fb:req-choice url=’http://www.facebook.com/socialmedia4nonprofits?v=app_7146470109? ‘ label=’Check It Out’ /> “>/>.

Now replace my Page URLs  (http://www.facebook.com/socialmedia4nonprofits) with yours BUT be careful not to delete the last part “?v=app_7146470109‘.”

For example, let’s say you want to add the Invite a Friend feature to your “Save the Children” Facebook Page. The code will look like this:

<div style=”margin-left:-5px;”>

<fb:request-form method=”post” action=”http://facebook.com/savethechildren” invite=”true” content=”Join Save the Children Fan Page”>

<fb:req-choice url=’http://www.facebook.com/savethechildren?v=app_7146470109′ ‘ label=’Check It Out’ /> “>/>

<fb:multi-friend-selector actiontext=”Join Save the Children Fan Page” showborder=”true” rows=”3″ cols=”3″ />

> 

</fb:request-form>

</div>

  Customizing  Your Facebook Friend Invite. You can control three crucial elements: the subject line, the main description and the invite button that directs users to your Facebook Page. The invite also includes a “message” field so that users can write a personal message if they wish to do so.

Before diving into details, let’s take a look at how the invite looks:

The subject line: This is the first thing the user sees upon receiving an invitation to your Page. In the example above, the user sees “You have a Social Media 4 Nonprofits invitation” (first orange box above).

The structure, by default, is You have a [user input] invitation. For this reason, it is best to always use your organization’s name on this field.

Look for the following piece of code (highlighted in orange) to customize the subject line. Caution: only change what’s highlighted in orange below.

<fb:request-form method=”post” action=”http://facebook.com/socialmedia4nonprofits” type=”Social Media 4 Nonprofits” invite=”true” content=”Join Social Media 4 Nonprofits Fan Page”>

Main description: A good description is important as potential visitors use it to decide whether or not to visit your Page. Therefore, spend some time writing a compelling paragraph about your organization. Remember to consider your users’ WIIFM (what’s in it for me).

Here is the piece of code you need to change for the description:

<fb:request-form method=”post” action=”http://facebook.com/socialmedia4nonprofits” type=”Social Media 4 Nonprofits” invite=”true” content=”Join Social Media 4 Nonprofits Fan Page”>

Invite button: Although it may seem insignificant, you should choose the wording on the invite button that takes users to your Facebook Page. In my example, the button says “Check it Out.” Once a user clicks on it, she or he is directed to the Social Media 4 Nonprofits Facebook Page.

You can change the wording on the invite button by tweaking the following piece of code:

<fb:req-choice url=’http://www.facebook.com/socialmedia4nonprofits?v=app_7146470109? ‘ label=’Check It Out’/> “>/>.

  Test the Friend Invite function. After selecting from your friend lists, a dialog window will open up giving you a preview of how the invitation looks.

See above screen-shot.

The User’s Experience

Are you wondering what happens after you send the invitation? No problem. Let’s take a look.

Depending on the user’s settings, she might receive an email through her personal account notifying her of the invitation. If the user opted not to receive notifications, then the next time she logs into Facebook, a notification will be waiting on her homepage, under “Requests.”

If the user has received many Page invitations, the notification looks like this:

However, if the user only receives a couple of  invitations, the subject of each invitation will be displayed on her “Requests” box.

When the user clicks on either “See All” or the subject of the invite,  she will see the detailed version of the invitation:

At this point, the user have 3 choices: to visit your page, to ignore your invitation or to block you from sending more invitations. It is always best to exercise prudence when sending invitations. People don’t like being inundated with the same page request over and over. Don’t risk being “blocked” by your own friends.

Facebook Friend Invite is a powerful tool that can help turn your supporters into active advocates of your cause. Use it wisely and you might just see your Facebook community increase exponentially

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