This month I’m continuing to share advice with you on the ins and outs of this behemoth called social media. Last time we talked about LinkedIn, this time we’re going to get into something more personal—we’re going to face Facebook.

I have so much to share on this topic that I’m going to break it up into two articles. First we’ll talk about why you have to (yes, I said have to) take the plunge into Facebook, and then we’ll talk specifics on how to actually set up your business page. If you’re one of the more than 500 million people who are already on Facebook, you can use this information to review and improve what you have. In the next article, I’ll dive in to how to get people to “like” your page once it’s up and running, how to drive traffic to your page, and how this will benefit your other marketing tools—especially your website.

Do I Have To?

There are two types of people reading this article right now. There are those who have hopped on the social media bandwagon. You understand why you need to be there and you understand the value of your time investment. Then there are those of you who still haven’t quite made the connection. You aren’t yet willing to embrace it in your personal life, much less your professional one. You wonder how can such a personal tool like Facebook be good for business?

So for the second type of person reading this article, the reason your business needs to be on Facebook is pretty simple—so many, many eyes. That’s it, the reason you need to be there is because there is a massive number of people using this tool day in and day out. Some never leave it, some use it more than their inbox, some even check it before their morning shower. But don’t take my word for it. According to Facebook’s press room, there are more than 500 million active users on Facebook, 50% of them log on every day, and people spend more than 700 billion minutes per month on the site.

Now let’s break down those facts even further to something printing specific. Who is the average print buyer? Women age 25-40 prove, time and time again, to be your primary customer. Now consider this, according to research from the Oxygen Media Insights Group, 34% of women age 18-34 check their Facebook page the very first thing in the morning, 21% have checked it in the middle of the night. According to marketing charts, women Facebook users outnumber men in every age group, and 45% of all Facebook users are age 26 or older. Nearly a quarter are over age 35.

One other key consideration, Facebook ranks amazingly high on those search engines. If your Facebook page contains the right kind of content (i.e.: a lot of words people would use to search for you—more on that later) your Facebook page may quickly appear in the number one spot when someone searches for your company.

Convinced? Great, now let’s talk about the fun part: creating a dynamic, fan-filled Facebook page.

Step One: Get Personal

Step one in creating a Facebook business page is to create a personal page. Every administrator of a business page has to have a personal page. So, even if you don’t plan to use it, create a personal Facebook page at www.facebook.com and sign up right there on the homepage. There are only six fields to fill out and you’re on your way! You can add a photo and additional information about yourself if you like. Now, let’s get to business.

Step Two: Get to Business

Once you’ve created your personal page, click on “ads and pages” on the left side of your personal profile page, then on “create a page” at the top. Choose Local Business and then the appropriate category—I would recommend “professional services.” Choose your page name and you’re off to the races! The next few steps are pretty self-explanatory and as simple as filling out the fields, but there are many considerations along the way to ensure you are building the most effective page possible. Here’s what to keep in mind: