I was an early adopter of Facebook.

Actually – to date myself in Internet terms – I was an early adopter of Friendster. And then MySpace. And then, finally, once it opened up to more than just college students, Facebook.

Now, I’m not bragging about my Social Media savvy here. Rather, I’m admitting that I am an Internet Addict. And because of my addiction I’ve noticed a few things . . . a few things about how companies use Facebook to engage a wider client audience.

Here are a few practices I suggest avoiding.

Posting a Zillion Times a Day

No one is that interested in your company’s goings-on. Not even your mother.

For the most part people don’t use Facebook to find out what’s new with the corporate sites they’ve trusted enough to “Like.” In fact, they have little tolerance for too much interaction with companies.

It’s a personal tool, so when you use it for your company you’ve got to keep that in mind and respect that your fans have let your company into their inner circle.

I suggest updating once or twice a day in pre-determined and thoughtfully spaced out intervals. What does that mean? That means don’t post twice, right in row, at lunch time. It means post once around lunch and a second time as you’re leaving for the day.

Think about how you check your own personal Facebook and take your own habits into consideration. I check mine around lunch and then when I leave for the day. If your corporate Facebook follows suit then I’ll see both of your posts before they’re buried in my news stream. And I won’t be frustrated that I saw your company’s posts when I snuck on to Facebook on my iPhone around 10 a.m., and then again at 3 p.m. You get the idea.

Including a Link and Only a Link in Your Status Updates

Think about it. If you were in a business meeting and someone asked you about what your company has been up to lately, you wouldn’t write down a link to a recent Press Release and mutely pass it over to them, would you? If you would, then we’ve got more to discuss than Facebook practices.

When given a chance to show personality, passion and enthusiasm for your company, TAKE IT.

Sounds like a no-brainer, right? But you have no idea how many corporate Facebook pages I’ve seen that just throw links up, SMACK! in their status updates. No explanations, no engaging text. Just the ugly URL to whatever it is on which they want to direct their audience to click. Avoid this.

No Logo

Now I know internally everyone thinks the picture of a seedling depicts the potential growth your clients companies could see if they just sought out your services. But I can guarantee these potential clients with whom you’d like to engage – as well as a fair share of your current clients with whom you already engage – will have no idea who your company is or what it is your company does.

If you think your logo needs a bit of dressing up to attract Facebook fans, by all means (after discussing it with your marketing team) dress it up a bit. Just don’t forget it.

What are some Facebook tips you suggest?

Life Sciences companies are frustrated with uploading their products. This leads to a non-viable, out-of-date on-line product catalog.

Many life sciences companies, like Thermo Scientific and Bio-Rad have several thousand products available to sell in their catalog. The task of transferring all those products into an on-line directory could be daunting, to say the least. The process is extremely time-consuming and at a minimum, it may take one employee a whole day, each month to keep up with this necessary evil. Is there an alternative or are they stuck with the cumbersome task of organizing their data to fit into a non-intuitive, industry-specific product catalog?

To add fuel to the fire, not only is it difficult to add or update products, but one well-known directory only recommends quarterly updates. Both of these factors quickly translate to an out-of-date product directory. The key to being successful in this space is updating and editing often to keep the offerings fresh and viable. If buyers enter the directory and take the time to search for products to purchase, and find that most of the products are no longer available or they can’t find the latest and greatest, they will go somewhere else. It only takes one bad experience to cause this potential buyer to leave and find an alternative. This could mean a lost sale for the supplier.

Is there a solution or an alternative? JAZD Markets has conducted significant research and is making great progress in developing a user -friendly tool, with the supplier’s needs in mind. Specifically designed to cut down the amount of time it takes to upload or edit products going into a product directory.

This will give the Life Sciences’ companies and their employees access to real-time product adds and updates. The ultimate goal is to give the buyer a great experience. If they are finding all the best choices and are finding the most current offerings, it makes purchasing fast and easy. The buyers will quickly come to rely on this resource and come back again and again.