Promote Your Content On A Custom Facebook HTML Page [MUSIC HELP]

Having a page on Facebook today has become a very important source for independent artists to connect with the majority of their fans on the internet. With only a few musician based apps on Facebook, such as Reverbnation’s “Band Page” and Root Music’s “BandPages” App, it’s hard to project your content in the creative and original manner you wish to. The Static HTML application for Facebook is the only legitimate way to achieve that overall customization you need to stand out.

To get started you must first download the Static HTML App to your Facebook Page. Once you’ve downloaded go to the NEW tab titled “Welcome” on the left side-bar of your page. This is the edit page where the code can be input. You will also notice a second text field located below the initial one. This allows you to place similar content via code for Fans only, forcing non-fans to “Like” your page in order to view your exclusive content.

Static HTML Edit Screen

Here at Music Without Labels we have been searching for a few coding options to help bring a number of different content types to the Facebook Landing Page for all viewers to experience, current and new. The Static HTML application allows you to use a number of different codes such as CSS, Javascript, and of course HTML, giving you all the possibilities available with most custom websites. This walk-through will show you the steps taken along with the code used to obtain the page you currently see below. We hope this article will give you the insight you need to go off and customize your own page.

Music Without Labels Static HTML Page

Taking a look at the image header located at the top of our Music Without Labels Facebook page titled “The Beat-Play Experiment”, you will notice it is linked to our blog at http://musicwithoutlabels.com. Here is the code for this linked header image.

To personalize this code with your own image simply upload your image to a preferred online network (Facebook will work great for this), then replace the link in RED with your specified URL. To change the hyperlink in the image swap the GREEN text with your own link. The BLUEtext represents the title of your image which appears in the meta data.

Now all you have right now is a header image. I know, nothing really too big, yet. Looking at the main show located below the header image, you’ll notice a background image (with curtains), a soundcloud player in the middle, and 3 image links (social media buttons). Once again I’m going to begin by giving you the overall code we used then guide you through some of the steps to customize everything yourself.

In order to harness the remote background image we used a table which you can see starts the code. This leaves the GREEN text that follows to be the image URL and the dimensions. (NOTE: Facebook pages have a maximum width of 520 pixels.) Proceeding the background part of the code comes the content within the table, which displays on top of the background image. The BLUE text code represents the centered soundcloud player you see on the MWL Facebook Photo above. You can embed all sorts of online content from a number of different services including Youtube, Vimeo, Mixcloud, Soundcloud, and more. Simply copy the embed code from the media you want to post and paste it directly where the BLUEtext is in the code.

Just like the header link image at the top of the page, we used a similar code and added 3 linked images, in RED, within the table. To choose a specified area on the page we used ‘absolute positioning’ which allows you to alter the pixels to a specified location. (This takes a bit of saving and checking your work, so be patient.) The first URL in the code presented in YELLOW refers to the linked URL. Following this URL are the parameters for image positioning and size from TOP, LEFT, WIDTH, to HEIGHT. The second URL in YELLOW refers to the specified image URL (Must upload image to online server to obtain URL).

With so many different variables in this layout there are multiple areas for customization. Creating personalized images and using the codes to strategically position links and images will open a whole new wave of promotion throughout your Facebook Page. Now you are able to deliver content to your Facebook fans in your own way. So we encourage you to get out there and test this code for yourself and don’t be afraid to try different content types and layouts. Please comment with any of your own examples and be sure to contact me with any questions concerning the process. Also, to ensure that your new HTML page is the ‘Default Landing Tab’ go to your “Edit Page” and select “Manage Permissions” on the left then select the new tab in the specified drop-down field.

Written By: Mark G. Valente | Online Marketing Director | @MarkwithMWL | Music Without Labels & Beat-Play, LLC

Instructables – The Heinekamp

Here’s a step by step tutorial that tells you how to make this beauty – the Heinekamp.

It’s awesome that someone took the time to explain exactly how to construct one of these.

How to Make a Contact Mic (Piezo Pick-up) for under $10

Whether you want create noise music by banging on scrap metal, cheaply and easily amplify your acoustic instrument, or just play with wires, you’re in the right place. You will need:

• piezo transducer (radioshack 273-073A)
• 1/4″ audio cable (eg radioshack 42-2381A)
• tape, solder, hot glue, heat shrink tubing, etc

That’s all! It’s pretty simple an inexpensive: two piezos and a six foot cable cost me ten dollars and yield two mics. You also probably going to use pliers, a razor blade, and a soldering iron or hot glue gun if you have them. Kids, we’re playing with things that are hot and sharp, so don’t tell your parents or they’ll get all up in your shit.

Full Tutorial Here

When you hook these piezo mics up to a good amp they can sound really good. It’s because they have a much wider pickup range than most guitar pick-ups so you get some great highs and lows. If you have a guitar you should definitely watch this video:

D.I.Y. DeadMau5 Head [VIDEO]

After seeing the famous house DJ, DeadMau5, at the Treasure Island Music Festival, Michael Cobra‘s 3 year old son decided he wanted to be that for Halloween. Check out this awesome video as Michael creates this perfect DeadMau5 head from scratch to the hit, “Strobe”.

Recording Drums in Bad Settings

We’re all aware that recording drums is such a pain in the ass, and ten times worse when the room you are in has no space or structure for sound. Thanks to 4Track magazine you can be walked through a DIY for those acoustically troubling predicaments. [Click the image above for the article]

BuildYourGuitar.com – Guitar and Instrument Building Resources

BuildYourGuitar.com

A bunch of awesome resources for the do-it-yourselfer musician.