A Facebook presence can be set up in minutes, but it can take much longer to get it working effectively for your training business.

Many businesses use Facebook purely as an opportunity to post link upon link but in fact, to work as a business tool, activity needs to take place as part of a dialogue, not a one-way broadcast.

Here are ten tips trainers can use to turn a basic Facebook presence into something that potential clients will value and return to.

Whilst you could feasibly run a personal Facebook profile for your business, a fan page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php) allows you to create a public business persona that is separate from you as a private individual. Furthermore, it provides a hub for the community you’ll be looking to create around your brand.

Once you’re up and running, just as with Twitter, one of your regular tasks will be to post links to stories you believe will interest your fan base. The biggest difference between Twitter and Facebook in this regard is that with the latter, you have much more room to comment – and it’s a space worth using. Adding your take when posting material personalises your page, adds value and encourages interaction as users are more likely to add their thoughts if you have already kicked off the debate.

While you might receive client enquiries direct from your Facebook fan page, your main aim will probably be to direct interested fans to your own website where they can view more information about your training services. Posting links to your blog posts will help draw fans through to your site and again, you can use the comment function to add a little context and extra value to the post.

Now you’ve started thinking of your fan page less as a publishing space and more as a forum where fans can post, comment and respond, you can start putting the ‘Discussion’ tab into action. Here you can create threads relevant to your training courses, invite questions and interact in more detail with fans and potential clients.

While your fan page might represent a business entity rather than an individual, this doesn’t mean it should be virtually anonymous. Fans engaging on your wall will generally want to know who they’re speaking to. Consider posting an image and bio in your ‘Photos’ tab, and if you have several admins, consider using initials (e.g. Thanks for your input ^NP) to indicate who is posting.

Small, exclusive rewards can help show that you value your fans and appreciate their interactions. For example, you could offer exclusive downloads of course materials, a discount voucher code or e-book excerpts. Such items cost you little, but could be extremely valuable to your fans.

In the beginning, getting people talking can be tough, so it can sometimes pay to run a competition to encourage comments. For example, you could post a photograph taken at a recent course or training session and invite your fans to post a caption in the comments. The best caption could be rewarded with a free telephone training session or, if you’re feeling really generous, a free place on your next course

Facebook has an ‘Events’ tab that will allow you to create virtual invites for your courses and workshops. This means that you can keep your fans updated on the very latest courses that you are offering, as well as reminding them about the events as they draw near.

You probably send dozens of emails a day, so why not include a link to your Facebook fan page in your email signature? This could prove an effective way to build interest in your page and in the early stages, could be a useful way to make sure current clients know it’s there. You can also add your link on your training materials, and anywhere else you think it will attract the attention of potential fans.

Just like any form of online marketing, you’ll only get out what you put in. Making a success of your fan page takes commitment and sustained effort. Think of your fan page as a virtual extension of your business. You should expect to come in and interact every day to keep fans happy, to make it work as a client retention tool and to maximise your chances of winning new and repeat business.