Help for authors timid about technology
Facebook page titles are like a tattoos. They stay with you forever.
Facebook is generally forgiving. They let you change your page if you make a mistake or change your mind. Except for one thing: the title of your fan page. So, this is the most important decision you make on Facebook because there is no going back.
The only way to change your page title is to start a new page and try to get your fans to move from one page to the other. You may have noticed that we had to do this with the Author Tech Tips Facebook page a few weeks back.
Here are some tips so you can avoid our mistake.
What is a Facebook Page Title?
The page title is the first thing people see when they see your page. It is also all they see when someone suggests the page to them.
Tip 1 Keep it timeless
There is a chance that you will have your Facebook page for 20 years. Will it still be cool then? Don’t pick something too trendy. I would recommend picking a fan page that is the title of your book. You can also setup a fan page in your own name.
Tip 2 Keep it short
If your title is too long then people won’t take the time to read it. The general rule of thumb online is that shorter is better.
The exception to this rule is if your title helps explain the page. For example, Claire Culwell’s Facebook page does not just say “Claire Culwell” like I would normally recommend. It says, “Claire’s Story; Abortion Survivor“. The fact that Claire survived an abortion is remarkable and it has caused her page to spread organically. The title makes people want to know more.
The best name would have been Claire Culwell: Abortion Survivor. But now she has over 5,000 fans so changing the name would not be worth the effort. This is why picking the right name at first is so important. Know of a well named Facebook page? Leave us a comment and let us know.
Tip 3 Keep it ad friendly
Several months ago we started a Facebook page called 
PracticalCourtship.com. The page was meant to go along with the Practical Courtship website. The page got great attention but with one problem. PracticalCourtship.com is too long of a title to fit on a Facebook ad.
Do you see how the title wraps around the ad like that? This is very bad and there is no way to fix this without starting the page over again. Or not placing Facebook ads.
See how much cleaner this is? Make sure your Facebook page title will look good in an ad even if you never expect to advertise on Facebook. You may be surprised down the road and you don’t want to be bound by a bad page title. Know a poorly named title? Let us know in the comments.
Suggestions & Examples
Here are some do’s and don’ts of Facebook page titles using the recommendations from above.
Do: Mary DeMuth
Don’t: Mary DeMuth author of Thin Places (too long)
Do: Rick Green
Don’t: Rick Green for Texas Supreme Court (Not timeless. What if he wants to run for something else?)
Do: Author Tech Tips
Don’t: AuthorTechTips.com (does not fit on an ad)
What are some good Facebook titles that you have noticed? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
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I love Cheryl Ricker's page, A Friend In the Storm. Not only is it the name of her book, it's just awesome to get that note, "new email from 'A Friend in the Storm.'" It makes me smile every time.
My recent post I once was LOST…
How do you go about making sure that a facebook page title would fit in an ad properly? I understand that one could go through the trouble of making a page and then try out an ad to see how it looks just to have to delete that page and start over with a new title. Instead, is there a certain number of characters and spaces that fit on each title line of an ad?
Also, a suggestion based on experience: look out replacing "for" with "4" in a facebook page title, especially if the page or group is associated with a national organization.
I am currently helping to admin "Students 4 Life! FAU Addition." This facebook group was created before I was involved with this organization. The problem with this title is that if one were searching on facebook for local chapters of the national organization Student's for Life of America, they would type in "Students for Life." Even if they searched specifically for "Students for Life FAU", they would not be able to find our group page that replaces "for" with "4." FAIL
this is def very hard to do and accumulate fans but these tips help. id love to see a write up on the differences between groups and pages. its a pain to know which one to set up.
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Oh wow! I love your website at practicalcourtship.com! Christians need more resources like these. Bravo! And the information you just shared here about fan page titles is exactly what I was looking for. Thanks a ton.
I have difficulty liking facebook, however I have a blog to promote. I did make a facebook page but haven't maintained it. My only facebook friends are family and very close real life friends. Can you convince me it is a good idea to commit time to a facebook page? It seemed like just more of the same stuff thats on my blog and I felt the time would be better spent on the blog itself. The FB page is called Writing Tips Hosted by Jude — I guess if the title breaks after the second word it would look okay in an ad. I get lost in FB and seem to go around in circles.
Thanks for an interesting blog, I came here from Randy Ingermanson's newsletter.
~ Regards Jude
I, too, would like to know how many characters fit on a line, so I will know if my ParentingfromtheSource.com breaks in the right places.
Love your website with all the great, practical explanations and advice.
Thanks, Carole