It’s so cool when things come together. I had just been thinking about creating a custom landing page on Facebook when Shashi (NetSol’s Social Media Swami, in case you haven’t had the privilege) asked me to check out a brand-spanking-new app from Hy.ly that lets you quickly and easily create a welcome tab. It was definitely easy, but the verdict is still out on quick…I’ll get to that later.
New to Hy.ly? They create apps that make social networking a little easier. I tend to ignore the whole “Is this the next killer app” hype, but a big ol’ yes may be applicable in this case. Plus, Hy.ly’s app is free for the first 30 days, and then only peanuts per month thereafter. (Can you get cheaper than $1.99/month? I think not.)
Here’s how it works:
Earn Hy Points
You need to earn 100 Hy points to cash in on the free 30 day trial. Not a biggie, though. Just “like” them on Facebook and you get 100 points. You can also like other apps in development to earn more Hy points (50 points/like). Take note everyone, because this is a super clever way to grow your social media following. “Want to try it? Like us first.” Love it!
Customize a Template
Pick from 1 of 5 templates and customize it. Play around with colors. Add your logo, a photo or image for the welcome message, and a background image (if you want—I didn’t). Because my website’s design is so clean (lots of white and gray), I kept my tab simple to ensure continuity in the whole branding department.
Add Welcome Message
This was the hardest part! You’re allotted space for a very short, two-sentence welcome message to introduce your company. Think long and hard about what you want to say so you can retain your company’s “voice” yet still make an impact. Don’t just reiterate or try to condense what’s in your Facebook page’s About Us blurb, though, because About Us is visible right next to your welcome tab’s message.
Socialize
This was quick and easy. Just add your username for various social networking sites, from Twitter to YouTube to WordPress.
Publish
This should also have been a quick and easy step, but it was not. You are asked to redeem your Hy points to publish your website. Even though I had 100 Hy points from liking Hy.ly on Facebook, something happened and my points were not recognized. I was redirected to their home page and liked a couple of the apps in development to ensure I could publish. Because I didn’t know how to get back to the Publish page, though, I had to start all over again. Granted, it didn’t take long the first time to set up the welcome tab, but now it was going to take twice as long. Learn from my mistake, because after playing around on their site, I realized I should have clicked on “my apps” at the top of the page. The welcome tab that I had been working on appears as pending right alongside the one that is currently published.
Final Verdict
Killer app? For small businesses with small budgets: yes! Hy.ly is definitely easy to use, just be sure to bank extra points before starting so it’ll be quick to use as well!
*In the interest of full disclosure, Hy.ly provides certain complimentary services to Network Solutions.
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