Facebook chat makes conversing with friends, family and colleagues convenient and easy to do. With different options available for real-time conversation you can pick between text messages and Skype-powered video conferencing and group chat.

Here’s a run down of some of the frequently asked questions about Facebook chat features:

Your chat side bar, located on the right sidebar, is populated with the people you communicate with most often. To start chatting with one of these friends just click on their name. A chat window will open. Type your message and press ‘enter’.

If the person you want to chat with is not listed in your chat sidebar just type their name in the search box at the bottom of the sidebar. You can then start to chat as described above.

Open the chat window as you would for a written chat but instead of typing your message click on the video icon in the top right corner.

When chatting with a friend, you can easily add more people to your conversation by clicking on the tool icon in the upper right corner of your chat window. Using the drop down menu, select “Add friends to chat” and enter the names of the friends you want to join you.

You can go offline and show as unavailable to chat to all your friends or just select people. To go offline for everyone click on the tools icon at the bottom of the chat sidebar and then “Go offline”.

To go offline for specific friends click on the tools icon and select “Advanced settings”. You can then type in the names of the people you wish to show as unavailable to where it reads “All your friends see you except”.

Facebook groups allows you to network with a specific set of people in the one place. New features like being able to share documents, automatic group invites to events and group chat are just some of the reasons why Facebook groups are a powerful online tool.

Let’s take a look at some of the frequently asked questions about Facebook groups and how they work:

A big difference is that pages can only be created and managed by an official representative where groups can be created by anyone. Pages are for businesses, organisations, celebrities and brands to communicate with people who like them. Groups are more intimate as they provide a closed space for smaller groups of people with similar interests.

You’ll find ‘Create group’ in the left hand column on your homepage. Click and a pop window will open. Here you can add your group name, members and set your groups privacy settings. When you’re done just click the create group button. You will then be taken automatically to your groups page. By clicking on the tools icon in the top right corner and ‘Edit Group’ you can add a group description, a group email address, group picture and manage your groups members.

You have three privacy options for your group. “Open”, “Closed” and “Secret”. More details about group privacy options can be found here.

In order to join a group you need to click on “Ask to join Group” located on the upper right side of the group page. A member of the group can also add you as a member. Requests to join groups need to be approved by the group admin and so you may have to wait before being approved. For “secret” groups the only way to become part of the group is to be added by an existing member.

Click on the “Notifications” button on the top right of the page and select your desired setting from the drop down menu.

You can also select “settings” from the menu for more advanced notification settings.

Some groups get high traffic and so it’s sometimes necessary to search for a specific post. Click on the search icon in the top right corner of your group and enter names or keywords from the posts you are looking for. The search results will show the part of the post where these keywords appear. Once you’ve found the correct post just click on it to bring up the original post.

You may feel under pressure to increase your page ‘likes’ when you see your competitors with more fans on their page than you, especially as business owners tend to brag about the number of ‘likes’ they have received, but there are numerous valid reasons why you should not buy Facebook fans:

1. It looks odd- There’s something strange about a Facebook page with over 20,000 likes and no interaction taking place. What’s the point in having a large number of page ‘likes’ if nobody takes the time to ‘like’ your posts, comment or share your content?

2. Fake accounts are obvious- When your ‘likes’ show up with multiple accounts having the same profile picture it’s a dead give away that you used a company to buy your fans.

3. It ruins your credibility- Your real customers will notice the sudden change and become suspicious, maybe questioning your credibility.

4. It’s a waste of money- There are so many free ways to increase your Facebook fans and encourage more page interaction with real people that it’s just a big waste of money to spend your budget buying fake Facebook fans.

5. It’s not guaranteed they will stay around- Facebook only allows users to ‘like’ up to 500 pages. Whilst companies selling Facebook fans promise to deliver your quota of paid ‘likes’ within a certain time there is no clause that means these new fans will continue to like your page.

The entire point of building a fan base is to create an active community where you can communicate with people that are interested in you, your company or your topic. A fan base that ignores you is of no use at all.

On Facebook the number of fans you have has no importance. It’s all about the level of page interaction. Buying fake fans will only give you a number.

You can find a selection of FAQs directly on Facebook in the Help Centre but to find the exact answer you’re looking for can sometimes mean searching for a while. Here’s a list of some of the most frequently asked questions about Facebook fan pages:

How do I get a vanity url for my fan page?

To register for a vanity url (a unique, customised username for your page url) go to https://www.facebook.com/username. You can either choose to use the name that Facebook suggests or create your own. Each username has to be unique and therefore you can’t use a name that someone else is already using. The site will tell you if your choice is available. Be careful about your choose of username as it can’t be transferred or changed later on. The username must meet the Facebook standards and terms and needs to be at least 5 characters in length. Once you’re happy with your choose and have found an appropriate name, just click confirm and your vanity url will be active.

How do I get more fans?

In order to increase your fan base you need to be consistent in supplying quality content and encourage engagement with your followers. Over time your following will natural grow and interaction on your page will increase. Obviously the more people that know about your page the higher your chances of them clicking that like button and being active on it, it’s therefore important to share your page url both online and off.

Some effective and popular ways to build your fan count are; to embed a social plugin to your website or blog and to promote your page via your emails by using an application like http://www.wisestamp.com/ that automatically adds you latest page update to outgoing emails.

How do I publish my page updates to my Twitter profile?

To automatically post your Facebook page content to your Twitter stream you can use the application at https://www.facebook.com/twitter/ that will sync your accounts. You can customise which type of content to share or select all posts.

As Facebook allows up to 420 characters per post and twitter only 140 characters, your tweet will be a truncated version of the post with a bit.ly url to your Facebook page.

How do I create a Timeline cover banner?

One of the most noticeable changes is the ability to express yourself with a big banner behind your profile pic. Cover images, like your profile pic, are public and therefore can be seen by anyone. This is a great opportunity to personalise your profile for high impact.

You can either use your own photo (850 pixels wide and 350 pixels high) or create a customised cover using one of the various website applications available e.g. http://timelinecoverbanner.com/

What are the rules about what can and can’t be included on the cover banner?

When designing your cover banner your need to be aware that they’re strict rules about what can and can’t be included. A full list can be found at but here’s a run down of the main points:

• It can’t be an advert e.g. you are not allowed to included prices, special offers etc… (You can however ‘pin’ a promotional image to the top of your page).

• No contact information. You are not allowed to include your website, email address or other such information (this should be added to the ‘about’ section).

• You are not allowed to make reference to Facebook features like the ‘share’ or like’ button (this included placing an arrow that points in the direction of these features on the page).

• No calls-to-action.

Basically any information that fits into one of the designated areas of the page should be avoided. In fact Facebook prefer you to use as little text as possible in your cover banner to be inline with their new visual strategy.

How do I change the size of my thumbnail image?

A Facebook thumbnail pic (the image that shows on all your posts and at the top of your timeline) should be 200 pixels wide by 200 pixels high although as Facebook has been known to crop images it’s best to leave a border of about 12 pixels on all sides.

Should you be using a larger photo you can upload the photo in actual size and then use the ‘edit profile image’ option. Just select ‘edit thumbnail’ from the drop down menu and either click ‘scale to fit’ or drag the image to select the area you want to use.

What should I include in the ‘about’ box?

This is where you can post a brief description of what you do. Around the first 150 characters will show up in the box on your page so it’s a good idea to include your website url and your keywords right at the beginning.

Examples of content you can include in your ‘about’ box include; your website url or blog url, your address, phone number and other contact information.

How do I pin updates?

You can selected an update to ‘pin’ to the top of your page for up to 7 days. By doing this you can highlight a special offer, event or important post and stop it from being moved down your wall as new posts are added.

To pin an update to the top of your page just click on the pen icon in the corner of your update that appears when you hover over it. Then click ‘pin to top’ and the update will appear at the top of your page with a bookmark flag on the top right corner.

Companies invest money into having an instant community so they can boast about the large number of fans they have on their page. Unfortunately that’s all they will get. Just a statistic.

If it sounds to good to be true, it probably is so don’t be fooled into thinking that buying Facebook ‘likes’ will result in instant marketing success. Facebook is a social media network and as such the emphasis needs to be on ‘social’ interaction. On Facebook the importance is the level of engagement not the number of page ‘likes’.

Your goal should be to encourage conversations, connect with your fans and build an interactive community that will comment on and share your content. A real fan will often let their friends know about your page and help send your message viral (the dream of all internet marketers).

A fake fan purchased via eBay or one of the numerous websites where you can buy Facebook ‘likes’ gives no value at all to your company and can in fact have the opposite effect. As fake accounts are often very obvious (many use the same profile image for different accounts) having them show up on your page can damage your credibility and discourage real people from becoming fans as they will view you as desperate and fake.

It’s much better to organically grow your fan base over time by supplying them with quality content and concentrating on developing your page engagement. The end result will be a strong, active and supportive community as opposed to a large number of dud accounts that serve solely as a number.

Facebook only allows users to ‘like’ up to 500 pages and whilst the companies that sell Facebook ‘likes’ promise you a certain quota of paid ‘likes’ there is no guarantee that these new fans will continue to like your page.

Instead of wasting money to buy Facebook ‘likes’ you’d be better off investing time into building a loyal fan base that you can interact with.

Telling people about your page and encouraging them to like it is essential. Once they like it, your page will automatically appear on their news feed, so their friends can see and follow suit. Adding a Facebook ‘Like’ and ‘Share’ button to your websites or blogs for more flexibility for users. Get a Facebook URL with a personalized username is a good way to get more Facebook fans. Placing the URL of your Facebook page in the signature of your email will give more exposure to your page. Uploading lots of photos as well as videos from exciting events on your page, tag friends and ask them to like the page. Advertising offline can be very helpful in getting more Facebook fans. Advertise within your budget in the local newspapers and radio stations. Create a blog about your fan page and make it interesting for your readers. Don’t forget to invite your visitors to your Facebook page and get them to like it.

Images of inspirational or famous quotes and texts that attract people and that would be shared by many people. Following other people will help as they too will follow which means become a fan of others and they will become your fans thus you will get more Facebook fans too. Linking your Facebook account to your Twitter account and use the strength of each site to your advantage. Tweet all updates to your fan page. Give incentives get more Facebook fans. Everyone wants something, therefore giving out incentives like vouchers and discount coupons would attract more Facebook likes. You could also buy Facebook fans as another option to increase your fan base with the type of fans and how many fans you need. Choose the right amount you feel your page can handle but check your finances as it could be costly.

There are many other ways to get more Facebook fans and you only need to get creative enough. Eventually you will get more Facebook fans.

A Welcome Tab for your fan page would make a great first impression. You can get more Facebook likes by showcasing your business or profile and much more. You can even track how this Welcome Tab is being received so you can edit and make necessary adjustments accordingly. You can also showcase your photo stream and multiple photo collection using the Flickr application or you can use Fotobabble which allows users to add voice to their photos they have uploaded and share on your Facebook page. If you are launching a product or an event, the My Countdown application is a great one to build up excitement. You can easily customize its appearance and icon to suit your page. This application will certainly be one to attract more Facebook likes for your page. Sharing videos, MP3s, documents and other files is another way to get more Facebook likes for your page. DivShare is an application that allows you that freedom to post with 200 MB of space. It is an interesting application to add to your page.

Encourage invitations to get more Facebook likes by adding an “Invite Your Friends” button on your page which makes it easier for fans to invite their friends. Adding sub applications of promotions, discount coupons and polls to name a few will get more Facebook likes. Fan Appz is a great application. It has many individual applications in one central location. This application is an excellent app for social media marketing.

Another useful application is the ‘RSS For Pages’ for automatic updates on your page and also is a good application especially for creating a blog tab which consist of ‘Post Image’ , ‘Like’ and ‘Send’ buttons for fans to show their support. Adding in a’FAQ’ tab will help fans reach you by attaching a form. You can also buy Facebook likes by buying more applications.

There are many more interesting and useful applications you can use to help you get more Facebook likes for your page with creative minds creating many new great applications. However, for now, these few ways can be of assistance in making your page a lot more interesting.