Nobody can deny that, right now, Facebook is the top social media site being used by people across the globe. Statistics as of April 2011 reveal that Facebook has over 500 million active users and half of them log on to their accounts in any given day. In fact, most people spend, on average, 55 minutes a day using Facebook.

In terms of active pages, more than 700,000 businesses are currently on Facebook and across these pages, there are more than 5 billion fans. Mind boggling isn't it?

Time to Jump on the Bandwagon

For those who have not yet jumped on the bandwagon, particularly people in business, now is the time for you to jump in. If you don't, quite simply, you and your business are missing out.

Being on Facebook, particularly if you're running a business, is an amazingly effective way of attracting more people who can become your potential clients - if you do it right. Not only that, you're expanding your horizons because you're reaching a global market - should you choose to do so.

First Steps

A good start is to set up a business page separate from your personal Facebook profile account. Why? Facebook business pages are indexed by the big search engines such as Google. It's one more way to get your business more traffic and increase your potential for profit moving forward.

When picking a name for your page, you can use your business name or choose a specific one that will easily catch attention. Avoid using generic words that are likely to cause spam. But be warned - once you've chosen your page name, you can't change it so take your time and choose wisely.
Once you have a few people that like your business page, you are able to choose a "vanity" URL for your page. Once again, choose wisely as you cannot change your mind once you've chosen a name.

Remember to link your Facebook page with your other social media accounts. This will help you save time when updating your other pages because with only one post, the other social media accounts automatically get updated such as Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.

Spread the Word

Promoting your Facebook page on your websites is a great way to build a following. In fact, each time a Facebook user "likes" your page, Facebook puts a link back to your business page on the profile of the visitor's profile page. This means even more exposure for your business page. 

You might be interested in this upcoming event...

NEW: Social Media for Small Business Webinar Series

Practical ways to use social media to grow your business

Online Webinars - Starting 28 May 2013

NEW webinar series: designed to dispel the myths about social media and arm small business owners with skills and know-how to make social media a powerful force for business development and bottom line results.

Experts will present practical ways to use social media to:

• Build brand awareness for your organisation
• Network and make connections all over the world
• Build your personal profile and position you as a credible authority
• Drive traffic to your website, blog or social networks
• Convert social media followers to leads and leads to customers
• Grow you reach with suppliers, staff, resources, alliances, sponsors

Learn more about the Social Media for Small Business webinar series.