You know you need a Facebook page for your business. You may even think you know what kind of stuff you want to put there.  But before you go one step further, you should think about this question:  if my Facebook page is successful in engaging customers, what will that look like?

For an example, take a look at a page I’ve set up for a little hobby website of mine, RepublicTigerSports.com.  (I cover local sports exclusively focused on my hometown.)  The season is just starting, and last night was a good example of what an actively engaged Facebook audience looks like.  In about 6 hours, here’s what people posted to the page, out of the 1,300 fans:

• 3 user-generated wall posts
• 14 comments on my posts
• 12 clicks on the “like” button

That’s about a 2.5% participation rate — but keep in mind, I’m only talking about a single 6-hour period.  Most traditional websites are lucky to get participation of around 5-10% over a much longer period of time.  I could never get that kind of comment rate if I merely posted sports updates to my website.

The point of the example is that a Facebook is a great way to engage people.  And engagement is more important than building up a huge number of fans.  That’s because engagement — getting people to take action, even if it’s just clicking a “like” button — is a sign that you are building a relationship with your followers.  And that’s the point of pouring time and energy into social media in the first place.