Facebook may have started out as a social networking platform for college students, but it’s now a standard method to keep in touch, network, and share information – for all ages and all walks of life.

While Facebook is clearly a personal tool it can also help your business.  The key is to share information, not push your product.  Facebook is an exclusive social network and gives people the ability to choose their friends.  Offering useful information, answering questions, and participating in general will open more channels for you.   Spamming or selling will close them.  If you have a business that benefits from ongoing conversations with clients Facebook is a clear asset.

Just as individuals on the site accumulate friends, businesses collect fans. When someone becomes a fan of your company, the news shows up on their friends’ pages. And so on. This creates a ripple effect similar to word-of-mouth advertising, but many times more powerful. And did we mention it was free?

Here are some ideas for getting the most out of this amazing tool.

• Even if you already have a personal Facebook profile its good to make a separate one for your business. If you’re unfamiliar with Facebook, the site offers easy instructions for creating a company profile.
• What information should go on your page?  An overview of your business.  Useful tips demonstrating your expertise. Testimonials from your customers. Links to your website and your blog, You can also open up a discussion by letting fans write on your Wall.
• Like any web page, your Facebook page must show activity, or it will languish. Update your page frequently so your fans have reason to keep coming back.
• For more ideas on setting up your page and which elements to include, visit other business pages (check out ours, for instance. And please feel free to fan us!) Here are some other examples of successful Facebook pages with lots of active fans.

Related posts:

1. Facebook Page Basics: Welcome to Tabs
2. Go get your permanent Facebook address before it gets taken!
3. Add Facebook comments to your WordPress blog to increase… yes, commenting!