Wikipedia’s definition of Facebook - a social networking site where users can join networks organized by city, workplace, school, and region to connect and interact with other people. People can also add friends and send them messages, and update their personal profile to notify friends about themselves.

I got on Facebook when I was in college (when only college students could be members), and used it to keep up with hometown friends, keep up with other students I had met, join groups that I cared about, send messages to friends and post fun pictures and wall posts reminiscing from the weekend before. Now that I am out of college and working, I still use Facebook to keep up with friends (maybe a few less pictures and groups), but I also use it now for networking and more business purposes. My personal and professional life are definitely colliding!

Facebook has made itself easier for professionals to use with groups, discussions and ads, but I think the best thing you can do for your business on Facebook is Facebook Pages. Facebook Pages help to build a business presence and engage with customers, co-workers, partners and fans on Facebook. Users can express their support by adding themselves as a fan, writing on your wall, uploading photos, and joining other fans in discussion groups. You can send updates to your fans regularly — or just with special news or offers. Add applications to your Page and engage your users with videos, reviews, flash content, and more. More importantly, it is free and easy!

To get started:

• You need to be a member on Facebook
• Go to facebook.com/business/?pages (or go the bottom of the page and click “advertising”)
• Click “create a Facebook Page” and follow the directions
• Upload a picture (best to use your logo for this)
• Fill in company information
• Take it from there…add photos, discussions, notes, video, etc. (you should see all the categories to edit right there on the page or if not click “edit page”)
• Click “more applications” if you would like to browse what other applications are out there (like RSS Feeds) - you can look or type in the search box
• Publish the Page (in red lettering at the top of the page)
• Ask co-workers and customers to become fans and start getting the word out

Now you know how to get started with a Facebook Page, how do you manage it? We over here at ReachForce just put up our own page, and are still working to get the word out. Luckily, our friend Ellie Mirman from HubSpot has some experience. Look for a post from her soon on how to manage your page and get fans. HubSpot already has 797 fans!