Successful selling is quite different than adhering to etiquette. They often overlap, but there's different goals and therefor different processes.

Etiquette: keep your personal stuff on your personal Facebook stream, and since your business is personal it's OK to mention it. A Facebook fan page is specifically designed for things like invitations, constant business conversations, promotions, etc.

Sales: The heavy hitters do both aggressively. They work like dogs to make as many friends and connections as possible. They also capitalize on the aspects of branding that a Facebook page provides. There are things you can do with a fan page you can't do with a personal Facebook account stream and vice versa.

You must meet people where they are. Facebook just happens to be where practically everyone online is hanging out today.

When Google launched AdWords you could spend a few thousands dollars on Google's search ads and build a whopping online business. Then everyone with a million dollar ad budget got on and it became too crowded and too expensive. A few years ago it was MySpace for young people and blogs or newsletters for mature consumers that powered savvy online marketing. MySpace is no longer the big player it used to be in the youth market and blogs seem to be outshined by sites like Facebook and Twitter. You're lucky because right now you can get Facebook marketing right and build quite a successful online marketing campaign.

For long-term success everything needs to be entwined: website, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube (along with other online video sharing networks) and whatever else comes out next week. If you get Facebook right, right now, you can see results. But, it's apt to change. And, it's not a complete marketing plan in and of itself. Your website is a vital part of long-term prospect stickiness. All that means is if you want to keep the relationship fresh, you need to get them to receive your message through multiple means: website, Facebook, email, etc.

We hold free online training weekly on this subject and you're welcome to attend. Stay tuned to http://www.facebook.com/tekanylive for announcements or go to tekany.com to get an account and receive email every time we post updates.