Facebook. It’s the 500 lb gorilla. It’s the elephant in the room. It’s big, it’s bad, and every business and brand across America wants to know…”how do we get on Facebook?”

When businesses first began to use Facebook for online marketing they found themselves limited to several (inadequate) options: start a group, tell employees to market the company through their personal profiles, or, start a fake profile (the non-profit Compassionate Action for Animals used to run a “personal” profile by the name of “Chris P. Carrot”). Now however, Facebook Fan Pages allow businesses to stake out a legitimate and rich presence on the world’s greatest social network.

The benefits of establishing a Facebook Page for your business are myriad:

• Only legitimate representatives of a business can set up a Facebook Page for that business (unlike Groups which can have an infinite number of informal fan-clubs watering down the “social capital” of your brand)
• Facebook Pages combine the familiar dynamics of a Profile with the benefits of a public web presence. Like Profiles they feature a fully-functional Wall, structured information, and the ability to integrate with almost any Facebook application. Unlike Profiles, Facebook Pages are designed to be SEO friendly and contain a Discussion Board (aka a “web forum”) by default.
• Free promotion! If you have a personal Facebook profile login and look at the right-side of the page you should notice a section that says “Highlights.” Your business or service’s Facebook Page can show up in other people’s Highlight sections, even if they aren’t yet a fan!
• Detailed tracking. Facebook Pages come with analysis for page-views, fan growth, and content ratings right out of the box.

Hopefully the above details have whet your appetite for social networking, but a few words to the wise before you “jump in” and put yourself on the map. When you create a Facebook Page you are creating a separate entity totally separate from your personal Profile (Facebook doesn’t even require you to be a Fan of your own Page). Facebook, however, is very clever at trying to make you blend the two worlds. Little links on other Pages say “add this to your Page’s favorites.” Watch out and don’t endorse products or brands that aren’t closely tied to your business. You don’t want all of your Fans thinking that you are a paid spokesperson for Mountain Dew (or something more risque). Another pitfall to avoid is cross-posting. Each time you make an entry on your professional Facebook Page Wall you are given the option to forward that entry to your personal Facebook Profile. Exercise this option sparingly and press the “Skip” button whenever you are unsure. Being able to manage both worlds (professional and private) from the same interface is convenient, but constantly telling your fifty closest friends that they can save tons of money on car insurance will only hurt your credentials in the social media world.

In summary:

• Get Fans, not Friends. There is no need to network with total strangers through your personal Profile.
• Use discretion when posting. Even if you don’t share everything that you post on your professional Facebook Page, be sure to keep your marketing efforts sane. Repetitive posting will only annoy your Fans.
• There’s always more to learn. Watch this space for more tips and tricks on utilizing Facebook and other major social networks.