Five Facebook Essentials You Need To Know

If you think Facebook is just another excuse for grown ups to play around on the internet, think again!

Facebook, MySpace and other social networking sites floating around online for our entertainment offer a powerful business building tool if you know how to put it to work. Web 2.0 is fast becoming the ideal solution for customer relationship management for charities, small businesses and independent business builders looking to stay one step ahead of the competition.

There are a few unwritten rules to be aware of if you're intending to build your business through facebook and a whole skip full of official regulations which the facebook guys are only too happy to impose if they find you breaking the facebook law. I'll leave you to read the official rules page for yourself but here is my list of five facebook essentials to keep you on the right track from the start to the finish line;

• Facebook is a social networking site, so be sociable, take your time to build relationships with others within your industry or community and work towards a trusting, honest and mutually beneficial online friendship. This might take a little time but will be worth it in the end. Remember, people don't buy the product, they buy you.
• Don't try to 'sell' your product, service or idea to anyone that comes within earshot or you will quickly become the person others try to avoid and you'll soon start to see your facebook profile losing friends as fast as you add them.
• First impressions count! Think about what type of face you want people to see when they visit your facebook profile (and they will) so if you want to create a positive impression keep your page simple, clean and uncluttered and leave the games, applications and undesirables to those who have time to play. Remember, this is business so treat it that way.
• Understand the power of facebook's built in viral marketing system and use it to your advantage. Don't let it be your downfall! If you join a group, post an item, respond to a thread or update your profile, facebook will tell the whole world about it, so make sure you can look yourself in the mirror if you want to build long lasting relationships with the right people.
• Decide what you want to do and do it. Make a facebook strategy and stick with it. Plan where you want to go and how you want to get there and stick to the plan. Facebook has lots of distractions to take you off the beaten track but start to drift and you will miss out on the true value of social networking sites and end up lost in the playground with all the other fools.