Just last week Facebook launched a Subscribe button for websites. It's similar to Twitter's Follow button, except for Facebook profiles. With 1 click you can subscribe to the person's Facebook public status updates.
TabSite was able to move quickly and create this functionality for TabSite users to add to their fan pages via our Facebook widget! It's a great tool to extend personal branding, making it easy for speakers, realtors, and more to gain subscribers that can then get their profile status updates.
The Subscribe button for fan page tabs works just like the Subscribe button on a Facebook profile; once clicked, the subscriber will begin seeing the public posts of the person they have subscribed to in his or her News Feed, alongside updates from their friends and the Pages they have Liked. Similar to the Like button, the Facebook Subscribe button can be easily added in TabSite.
TabSite has added the Subscribe feature to our Facebook Widget available at the Gold Plan level for Facebook fan pages. Simply drag the Facebook Widget (shown left) to your TabSite tab work area. Next click on the "Subscribe" tab (as shown below).
Simply add the full profile url such as http://facebook.com/maris, choose a Subscribe button layout style with the count to the right (button_count) or count above (box_count) width, and you are ready to go! TabSite also allows you to adjust some other variables as shown for your Subscribe button.
On the TabSite tab on your fan page, the feature will appear like below for those who have not subscribed and see the lower image for a view of the button for those who have subscribed.
History of Facebook Subscribe:
It was three months ago that Facebook announced Subscriptions, an optional feature that lets you control what types of stories you get from your friends and non-friends in your News Feed. Subscriptions are meant to help you keep up to date with people you're not friends with.
In other words, these are one-way friendships, allowing you to subscribe to a public figure, celebrity, politician, journalist, or anyone else who wants to post public updates via their Facebook profile. It benefits both parties: the subscriber (could be you), who wants to use Facebook to receive a person's updates, as well as the public figure (also could be you), who wants to share with their audience on Facebook. Subscribe is particularly helpful for figures who want to extend their company brand via their Facebook profile posts, and it's also useful for brands as a "brand extension" where you can hear more from the brand via their CEO or other key persons whom you "subscribe" to.
This new Subscribe feature in the Facebook widget will let you subscribe to a person's content via the Subscribe button on a fan page tab. Similar to subscribing to a news website, blog, and so on, those subscribed have the opportunity to get shares from you in their News Feed and Ticker.
With the launch of the Subscribe button, you no longer have to decide who should be friended and have access to your profile posts. Instead, it allows one to be “followed” by others in the same model that Google+ and Twitter both have. All you have to do (as anyone can do) is enable Subscriptions as part of your Facebook profile account.
TabSite is pleased to be one of the first to release the Subscribe button as an option to add to fan pages. Perfect for realtors and other brand ambassadors, the Subscribe button is available now to all TabSite Gold Plan users. View it live on Mari Smith's tab.