Original broadcast: January 28th, 2010

With over 300 million active users across the world, Facebook has evolved far beyond the college student hangout it began as. A rapidly growing number of businesses are learning how to use Facebook to create real business value by supporting existing customers, finding new customers and creating online communities of around their products and services.

MyVenturePad presented this live, interactive webcast to explain how small businesses can quickly and easily get started on Facebook, as well as provide more advanced tips and techniques for growing your Facebook presence.

Our panelists:

Clara Shih is the author of the newly released bestseller, The Facebook Era: Tapping Online Social Networks to Build Better Products, Reach New Audiences, and Sell More Stuff about Facebook and Twitter for business, which has been featured in The New York Times, Fast Company, CRM Magazine, and is being used as a textbook at Harvard Business School. Clara is also the founder and CEO of Hearsay Labs, which provides software to help companies manage and measure their social media presence. In 2007, Clara created the first business application on Facebook with her Faceconnector application, which integrates Facebook and Salesforce CRM. Previously, Clara led the social networking initiatives at salesforce.com.

Jonathan Smart is a small business owner who has been successful in using Facebook and other social media tools for his business. He's the president of the Jimmy Smart Allstate Insurance Agency in Columbus, Georgia, helping clients with insurance for homes, autos, renters, landlords, boats and more. The Smart family business has been in operation for over 79 years, and Jonathan has been in insurance all his life. An active user of Facebook, the Jimmy Smart Agency also uses Twitter and other social media for marketing and customer support.

Steve King is a partner at Emergent Research and a Senior Fellow at the Society for New Communications Research. Steve's research is focused on identifying, analyzing and forecasting global trends and shifts impacting small businesses, including the growing small business role Facebook and other social media are playing. Steve is the blogger in residence at MyVenturePad.