**GUEST POST** San Francisco State University senior Roxanne Cobbs has been an active member of this semester’s public relations class — and has functioned as a very responsible leader for two small groups, the 2nd of which investigated the topic of “Facebook for Business.”

Roxanne’s group put together an excellent power point presentation, and she agreed to write a Guest Post for my blog. She told me she’s having fun observing the social media craze and hopes to play a role in changing the world of advertising.

Facebook is COOL, but it has a way to go to reach the polish and professionalism of LinkedIn

As the world of SM keeps growing, so does my desire to obtain more knowledge about it. Every day I learn something new, enforcing the message that I need SM in my life if I want to be cutting-edge in the business world.

Having just completed a group project advocating the use of Facebook for business, I’ve gathered some interesting tidbits to add to my ever-growing list of SM need-to-knows.

So why use Facebook for business?

One key reason is its viral nature. Facebook can further assist companies in finding their target market by browsing or searching personal profiles through keyword usage. It’s also great for advertising because of its amazing reach — 276 million members and growing daily.

Facebook has a huge assortment of business applications like the demographic filtering which allows extreme precision in targeting your desired market. Of the more than 15 apps we researched, I chose my top three to help you and your business:

RSS Connect

Promote your blog — with RSS feed you can add your blog or any RSS feeds to your wall, with feeds being updated automatically and easily shared.

IEndorse

Use this app to help build relationships and your personal reputation by sending and collecting endorsements, and then post them on your Facebook Professional Profile.

My LinkedIn Profile

Keep the networking system flowing with the use of this cross-promotion app. Input your LinkedIn url or profile name and a LinkedIn badge will appear on your Facebook profile.

Though my research taught me that Facebook can be a good SNS for business purposes, I remain by my opinion that LinkedIn is much superior. LinkedIn is a polished site that resonates professionalism. It lacks the clutter and distractions of Facebook, focusing solely on professional connections — and the experts available on the site. It is not a personal, social site with information about your friends and families, but rather a site where you can network with other professionals who can aid you in your business endeavors.  

by Roxanne Cobbs

Click link for an upclose and personal view of the team’s research on Facebook for Business.

Next post: Social Media Strategy works in everyday life, too.