With 750 million active users (as of July 2011 - source), Facebook has become a must for businesses to establish a presence.

In addition to being able to target specific demographics through Facebook advertising, more and more businesses are taking advantage of Facebook Pages.

What is a Facebook Page?

A Facebook Page is a page for businesses, organizations, or special interests that can be created from any normal Facebook Account.  It's a way for your business or organization to connect to potentially millions of Facebook users and showcase your company, product, or idea.

Setting up a Facebook Page is easy and it's free.  Facebook offers many tools to track interactions with your page to measure its effectiveness.  Facebook also offers control over how users can interact - from allowing any users to post anything to giving you complete control over who can post what type of content to your wall.

Facebook includes the ability for you to set a specific landing page for visitors to your page so that they don't necessarily have to go straight to the wall.

It's important to remember that your Facebook Page should be used as a public relations tool to keep your audience informed of what's going on with your business or organization. 

What Should I Post on Facebook and How Often Should I Post?

The type of business or organization your page is setup for has a major impact on the type of information you should provide on your Facebook page.  Let's look at a few examples:

• For a Retail Business, it's a good idea to keep your page updated daily or weekly with specials, sales, and new product information.  Keep the information fresh.  It's also a good idea to suggest products that are fitting for the season.
  
  
• For a Service Business, you should let Facebook users know what your business is doing with the community.  Focus less on selling and focus more on promoting your organization's good deeds.  Let fans and friends know who you are working with or what you have recently done.  It's good to check in with your fans at least once a week.
  
  
• For Non-Profit Organizations, use your Facebook Page to talk about the causes you are undertaking and keep users updated with information.  Call for volunteers, notify users of fundraising drives, etc.  Update your fans as often as it is necessary to put out information.
  
  
• For All Businesses and Organizations, anytime you are featured in the news make sure you post a link to the coverage.  It's also a good idea to promote any events your organization is holding by using the Facebook Events which can be shared with all of your fans.
  
  

Most Importantly - don't use your business or organization Facebook Page to go on personal rants or to put out any kind of information that you wouldn't want broadcast from your Website or to your customers in person.  Keep your posts professional and on topic with what your Page is promoting.

How do I get more people to "Like" or "Recommend" my Facebook page?

There are several ways you can increase your Page's activity without having to spend a penny.  Below are a few easy tips to get started. 

1. Make sure you invite all of your friends to become a fan of your page.
   
   
2. If you have other employees or members in your company or organization that use Facebook, you can ask them if they will invite their friends to become fans of your page as well.
   
   
3. Add the Facebook "Like" or "Recommend" button to your website in a visible place.
   
   
4. Include the Facebook button on your website so users can jump directly to your Facebook fan page.
   
   
5. Include a link to your Facebook page in your e-mail blasts or newsletters.
   
   
6. Let customers know through your advertising mediums that they can find you on Facebook.
   
   
7. Offer special promotions or giveaways to your Facebook Fans to encourage more users to become Fans. 
   
   

Remember - the more your customers are thinking about you, the better chance they will decide to use you when they are looking for your product or service!