Five Golden Rules of Facebook - by Patty Mooney

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According to the latest statistics at Facebook's "Press Room," there are more than 400 million active users as we speak. More than 35 million of them update their status each day. There are now more than 1.5 million local businesses with active pages on Facebook.

As an entrepreneur and business owner, I knew that Facebook would be as useful to me as my membership in our local San Diego Chamber of Commerce for many of the same reasons. It's a way of keeping myself and my "status" in front of many pairs of eyes. I rarely talk about business at my personal site, but I recently started a Fan page for Crystal Pyramid Inc. and am starting to accrue fans. And there I can share pieces of advice about business, photos from interesting video production gigs, and other tidbits that will be of interest to our fans. Just as one finds when attending local networking events, you will probably not reap any immediate benefits, but your database of people interested in your business will grow, and if nothing else, it's a great tool to keep track of friends and associates.



Here are five Golden Rules of Facebook for the business person who wants to use Facebook as a way to enhance and acquire business.

1. Keep your personal page separate from your business or fan page. I have been known to indulge in a game of Bowling on my personal site, but it's critical to keep your business page "businessy." Friends and colleagues who are really into Mafia Wars, Farmland and all kinds of other applications will try and woo you, but these apps will rob you of your precious time. Any post that does not pertain to your business should be summarily deleted.


2. Keep It Positive. As many times as I have felt lured to post scathing reviews of restaurants, companies, or people, I have not gone down that road. Why? Those kinds of negative rants only reflect on you. Also, as they say, "Any P.R. is good P.R." So why give any press to people who don't deserve kudos or recognition? My mom always used to tell us, "If you can't say anything positive, don't say anything at all." This rule has held me in good stead for five decades, and for good reason. To attract the positive in life, you must emanate positivity.


3. Make positive comments on people's status updates. Not every status update needs or deserves a response, but when someone wins an award or achieves recognition, add a congratulatory comment. You never know who may read and appreciate what you have said, and become a friend, a fan, or even a client.


5. Post at least twice a week. Make sure you share stories, quotes, photos and videos that will be of use to others and not a running commercial about yourself. Be the good-hearted person you are, and have a consistent presence on your site. When people are ready to use your services, they will come to you because you are one of their Facebook friends.