Facebook's rise within the college student community has enabled it to grow into a dynamic yet professional environment which is very effective for marketing your business (or yourself). Not as personal as MySpace and not as static as Linked In, Facebook offers a great middle-of-the-road solution for business professionals.

The thing to keep in mind when using Facebook for your business is that it's true value is in building new business relationships and strengthening old ones. Here are three tips for those of you who may be new to the Facebook scene.

1. Build a great profile...not a good one but a great one! Your Facebook profile will be the center point of your Facebook strategy. Provide details about your business, skills and background. Also, include some person interests. A good profile is great for search engine optimization outside of Facebook. When creating your profile, think about the reasons why someone would be interested in talking to you and write about it...keep it engaging, fun yet professional.

2. Reach out to people you know and others within the industry. Think of Facebook as a giant networking opportunity. Send messages within Facebook to others in your industry, request to be friends, start a dialog. Don't be shy...

3. Reach your target market through friends. As you make connections look at the friends of your immediate friends and start to build new relationships through them. This will quickly expand your network with the right kind of people that you are trying to reach.

If you are apprehensive to send a message to someone, post on their wall. If someone posts a message to you, make sure you respond on their wall. And remember, be social...your next sale may depend on it.