Here are ten reasons to be active on Facebook:

1. Meet your peers

   Facebook is not just for college kids anymore. Members are typically older and more mature than on other sites, and there are more white collar users.

2. Find business contacts

   With over 150 million active users, and predicted to be 500 million by 2011, not only are your friends on Facebook, so are your prospects, your customers, your strategic alliances... and, of course, your competitors. You need to be on too.

3. Instant gate opener
   

   Because so many Facebook members enjoy using the platform and tend to log in on a regular basis, you can easily begin a dialog with highly successful--even famous--people who were previously otherwise unreachable.

4. Build relationships

   Facebook members are open to connecting. By engaging in conversations with your prospects and customers, you can better adapt your marketing and business services to meet their needs.

5. Raise visibility

   By posting relevant information regularly, you can consistently appear in the News Feed of your strategically chosen friends and, as a result, significantly increase your visibility and credibility as an expert in your area.

6. Develop your personal brand

   The lines between business and personal have become blurred. You can reveal as much or as little about yourself as you wish, allowing you to personalise your brand. You don't have to live in a glass house though; it's important that you protect your private life.

7. Target your niche

   Users volunteer vast amounts of information about themselves on Facebook that you can readily access. These kinds of demographics, psychographics, and technographics would previously have cost fortunes to access. Author, John Battelle, calls Facebook a "database of intentions."

8. Get rapid top Google placement

   Facebook has a special free feature specifically for businesses called "Pages," which are different from your personal Profile. (Click on the link at the very foot of Facebook.com for "Advertising.") Pages get indexed, providing optimal search engine positioning as Facebook is currently the fifth most trafficked website in the world, according to Alexa.com.

9. Place targeted ads

   With Facebook Social Ads, you can run a series of extremely targeted advertising for minimal cost and increase your visibility. Facebook Social Ads may have a slightly lower click-through rate than likes of Google Adwords, however, these ads are great for directing users to your Facebook Business Page, for example.

10. Free marketing

    Aside from paid ads, Facebook is totally free to use and with regular activity you'll end up with more traffic, more subscribers, more paying clients - and possibly coveted media attention too.

The Australian Businesswomen's Network recently presented an exclusive webinar on how to harness the power of Facebook Pages to drive your business. The webinar looks at: The importance of planning your Facebook posts How to plan your Facebook page posts Posting ideas for your Facebook page - whatever industry you are in How to often to post and why When to post your content when people are listening How to attract more LIKERs to your page, both on and offline How to keep your LIKERs there once you have them! Download the recording from our website here. Free for StartUp and Growth members, $39 for Community and Non-members.

Mari Smith is a Relationship Marketing Specialist and Social Media Business Coach. She helps business owners, independent professionals, and entrepreneurs to strategically grow their businesses using creative online marketing techniques. She's passionate about showing fellow professionals how to develop powerful profitable relationships using an integrated social media strategy, particularly focused on Facebook.

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Visit Mari's blogs for two free e-courses: 21 Keys To Profitable Relationships at marismith.com and 7-Day Facebook Marketing Tips at whyfacebook.com.