Yesterday I talked about top 10 facebook lists that dealt with facebook trivia,the principles of facebook and a few other random facts.

Today I want to concentrate on how to use facebook for your blog or for any other business that you might be in. Some of these tips might seem redundant, but as you go through this list you will see the reasoning behind all of them

1. When setting up your profile on Facebook, use your personal profile ( the profile must be your personal name – NOT your business name )

2. Include detailed business information in your profile – Prospective Facebook business friends are going to be viewing your profile to evaluate whether or not they want to add you as a friend, so make sure you include the name of the company you work for, a link to your corporate Website, a link to your blog (if you have one), your email address and phone number

3. Incorporate the tools you’re already using into your profile. Do you blog, Twitter, Pownce or Linkedin? Do you read feeds? There are Facebook apps available for all these services. If you have already used these tools professionally, why not add them to your Facebook profile?

4. Make sure that you invite your friends, clients, colleagues to be your friends. If you have the personal names of bloggers that you follow, then be sure to add them to your list of invites.

5. Ask for referrals. Referrals from friends or fans are still the most trusted.

6. Set up a Page for your business. Add a widget and Facebook ad. Make it personal – present the human face of your business. And don’t forget to link to your company website and blog.

7. Update your business page frequently. The more often you add content, the more customers will return.

8. Join Groups that reflect your blog/business interests and where your target audience may be hanging out.

9. It is all about Relationships – not selling! Start communicating with people on Facebook. Offer something of value but expect nothing in return. Use Facebook as a brand awareness tool.

10. Promote it – tell everyone about your Facebook Page. Put a link on your website, email all contacts, you could even advertise it on Facebook! Encourage people to become Fans of your Page.

11. Choose the right Facebook applications. There are thousands of free applications on Facebook, but that doesn’t mean every one of them should have a place on your business page.

Think logically about your goals on facebook and choose those tools that will help you achieve your objectives.  Here are a list of the best business applications as well as social media applications that I could find.  Let me know how they work for you or add to the list of ones that you use.

This directory of Facebook applications  is being used by John Jantsch  blog author of  Duct Tape Marketing

• Telephone – With Telephone you can call, send and receive voice messages through Facebook, just like having voicemail on your phone. All you need is the application and a microphone and you can start sending messages to your friends.
• Slideshare – SlideShare is the world’s largest community for sharing presentations. You can upload your own PowerPoint, OpenOffice, Keynote or PDF files and view presentations shared by others. This is a great way to spread thought leadership and expertise through presentations you may have delivered locally.
• CircleUp – For Groups and Events is a lightweight collaboration app for groups and events. This tool facilitates some of the communication needed to promote your group activity and events on Facebook and elsewhere. This is particularly useful if you’ve created and maintain your own group on Facebook or often promote teleseminars and workshops.
• Free Conference Calls - Use Free Conference Calls to organize a business meeting on the fly. With free conference call you can call in from anywhere; your home, mobile, Skype, or any VoIP service. Using this app inside of Facebook can help make some immediate connections a little deeper.
• Facebook Video – Facebook Video provides a high-quality video platform for people and pages on Facebook. With Video, you can upload video files, send video from your mobile phone, and record video messages to your friends. This application is so easy to use that it makes sending video introductions or message a powerful way to network on Facebook
• Testimonials – Use Testimonials to gather your personal and professional references in one place. Encouraging customers and contacts to post testimonials about your work and expertise adds great marketing content to your profile.
• Introductions – Introduce your friends to each other and make new ones. Ask for an introduction to a web programmer or good lawyer. Then make introductions for your friends. This application speeds the process of effective networking by helping focus on giving and receiving introductions in a systematic way.
• Business Cards – Business Cards helps you network better on Facebook. Personalize your card and attach it to your Facebook messages! View postings and network with others! This application is much like the signature common in email messages. It’s just one more way to say business when using Facebook.
• My LinkedIn Profile – Makes it easy to promote your LinkedIn account with a badge on your Facebook profile. Cross promoting social network activity is a great way to extend your reach.
• What I Do – Allows you to promote your services/products to your Facebook network. Display your skills/wares on your profile box and list yourself in a business directory. Recommend your colleagues services and products too.

Steve O’Hear of  The Social Web has this great list of business and career enhancement tools that he uses:

1. Zoho Office Online Suite

2. Slates

3. My Lists

4. SlideShare

5. To Do List

6. TooDooz Project Management

Read the descriptions and more tools on his page  The best Facebook apps for business and career enhancement

Facebook Applications for Social Media Users  created by Charnita Fance of  Social Web Tools

1.   As Seen On

2.   Twitter

3.  Profile.to

4.  Web Link

5.  Ping.fm

6.  My Web Profiles

Go to Charnita’s  Page and read about how these applications and the rest of her Social Media Facebook applications  could help you.

My sincere thanks goes to all of these great bloggers for taking the time and the effort to helping everyone create a positive and successful way to use Facebook for your business.