Social Networking is the new buzz term that everyone’s heard and most people think they understand. You’re good with the Facebook and the Twitter, right? You know how to Poke people and Like pages and Retweet … but do you know how to make the most of these Social sites as outlets for promoting your business? You may think you’ve got this stuff down, but over the next few weeks, I’ll be offering some tips to help you utilize the Social Networking monster.

We’ll start with Facebook, as it’s probably the most popular right now, and the most all-inclusive as far as audience and what can be done with it. For an example, let’s follow the birth of a Fan Page I made recently for a production company.

1. Sign up

Obvious, right? This can actually be tricky, especially if you already have a personal account. What you’ll want to do is set up a free email account with a provider such as Google or Yahoo for your business if you don’t already have a dedicated business email—if you do have one, use it. This will be the username you use to sign in, and it will keep your business page as a separate entity away from your personal account. Business pages are different from Personal pages—you’ll have the option when you sign up to choose your account type.

2. Get connected

The first thing I did after the signing up was Suggest my page to my own friends and colleagues who I thought might be interested. Then I went searching about for higher profile Fan Pages—for example, the production company I was working with produces short horror films, so I “Like”d the Fan Page for FearNet.com. From there, it’s easy to find like-minded pages, who in turn may “Like” you back, and by spreading the like, you also increase your opportunities to have your message seen … which leads us to …

3. Be active

Once you’ve gotten settled in and started developing a base of Fans and Pages, start posting! With my project, I made sure we had some good, solid videos up on our real Web site, and then I posted about them from the company’s Facebook page. Sure, it sounds like basic advice, but surprisingly, once people establish their business’ Facebook presence, they let it stagnate on everyone’s Pages list. You don’t want to be one of those annoying over-posters, but you definitely have an opportunity to let people see what your company is up to and provide them with your contact information—all for free and all on one of the most viewed sites around.

For most freelancers, self promotion has been part of the deal since day one, and most of us are used to hustling around, trying to stir up interest, business, and traffic on our own. Facebook may be a household name, but there’s a huge difference between keeping your old high school friends abreast of your kid’s latest achievement and promoting your business with a professional Facebook image, and even if you have a pretty good grasp of the beast, there’s always room to learn more.