Facebook now has over 500 million active users and is the 2nd most visited site in the world after Google. Given these facts, Facebook offers a huge potential to profit and grow your business, and it’s free to create your business page.

A Facebook business page, sometimes called a fan page, is more than just another way to connect with prospects and customers online. Your business page can drive more traffic to your company website, build your e-mail list, announce special offers and promotions, provide value and improve your relationships with your prospects and customers. As business pages are public, you can communicate directly with the people who “like” your page. When a person joins your business page, it is published in their News feed so all their friends can see, giving it a viral quality.

The following outlines five steps required to create and profit from a Facebook business page. This assumes that you already have a Facebook account. If you do not, you’ll need to register - it’s free.

Step 1 - Define your Facebook Page’s Goals and Purpose

Ask yourself, “What do I want to accomplish with my Facebook page?” The ideal is to use your Facebook page to generate revenue and grow your business. Since there are many ways to accomplish that, a better question to ask is, “How do I want to use my Facebook page to grow my business?”

You don’t need to know the answer right now, but it’s important to have the direction and goal before creating your page. Some examples of goals can include traffic generation and building a community of loyal prospects and customers.

Step 2 - Identify and Research Your Audience

Now that you’ve brainstormed your goals, you want to make sure your audience is represented on Facebook before you create your page. Take a few minutes to jot down your target audience. Then spend some time on Facebook making sure they’re present and that your efforts will be profitable. You can do this by checking out groups, or other fan pages, that are relevant to your niche market.

Step 3 - Plan your Facebook Page

Once you know your goals for your page and you’re comfortable that you have an audience, the next step is to plan the look of your Facebook page. You can create a number of tabs, each designed to help you achieve your goals. For example, a Welcome tab is a common choice for any successful Facebook page. You can adjust your settings so that’s the first page anyone sees when they come to your Facebook page. Other tab options include video, e-mail opt-in tab, and reviews.

As you’re planning your Facebook business page, consider what content you can offer that will provide the most value to your prospects and visitors. You can provide content that is relevant to your industry and motivates people to interact and take action.

Step 4 - Create Your Facebook Page

Visit http://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php to create your page, and follow the instructions on setting up your profile. Once you have created your Facebook fan page, you will need to add photos and information in order to make it attractive to users.

Since you’ve already planned your page, adding the tabs you want your page to display should be fairly straightforward.

Step 5 - Maintain your Facebook Page

Your work isn’t done once you’ve launched your page. In order to make it a profitable success, you need to network and connect with relevant people. Share links from your fan page on your profile, and invite friends, prospects and connections to become fans. Promote your Facebook page on your email signature, website and other social networks to which you belong. Integrate your business page into your existing marketing tactics and strategy.

To generate interest in your page, post relevant inks, create discussions, publish pictures and content. Finally, analyse your Facebook stats, such as the number of interactions you have had with fans each day or week, the number of comments you had on your posts, and the demographics of your fans. Make sure to compare these statistics with your sales figures, so you can calculate your conversion rates and measure results.

Good luck with your Facebook business page, and go out there and connect with your target audience. Profits will naturally result from your dedicated efforts.

Kris de Leon is CEO of KDL Interactive, an Internet Marketing and Social Media Agency. He helps business owners generate more leads and customers online, build brand awareness, and engage a loyal following.

Feel free to contact Kris directly for any consultation on your Internet and Social Media strategy: kris@KDLinteractive.com +1-702-635-9571