We all talk about it, the perception is you have to use it at the same time many don't understand it. If you look at the statistics, Facebook users by 2015 will exceed the total world population at that time!

There seems to be too much hype, way too much confusion and a lot of disinformation out there.

The situation in Australia according to 2011 Sensis E-Business Report is that overall 18% of businesses that are online use social media for business purposes. Whilst not overwhelming and without any basis to what constitutes a positive impact, 51% of those businesses saw their social media presence as being positive; however 48% saw no impact.

I would suggest that the low level of negative impact, being 1%, lies in the fact that most businesses do not have the tools to measure this.

So the question is - Must you have a social media presence for your business? The simple answer is - why not? I know - this isn't an answer to the question.

So is this something you need to know about for your business?

For now - FB Timeline is limited to use with just personal profiles. There is no schedule set for brand pages making use of this feature.

Given Facebook's history with design changes, it's likely that Timeline is on the radar for business brand pages as well.

We are going to explore what the timeline means for marketers.

Ever get hit with a stream of FB posts from an individual? Or are you one of the millions who is supposed to be FB page once every now and again in the vain hope of promoting interest?

Well it is now shown that after about three hours your forgotten flash in the pan. In a report compiled by Facebook page analytics company "Edge Rank Checker", they have identified that the average post lifetime is three hours 7 min. How do they come at this magic number? Each post has a "lifetime" derived as being that time span where the level of growth in engagement with that post is less than 10% of the largest growth of engagement as measured hourly.

Okay so everyone's got a different idea as to what makes a business successful and I'm certainly not going to try and suggest that this recommendation is the one and only ingredient you need in your business. I would however, suggest that without this your business will not be successful. So what do we all need an integral part of our business strategy plans and branding? Quite simply it is a matter of having CLARITY.

Clarity is that single strong and unwavering sense that our daily choices are grounded in with an authentic sense of purpose that we have. Clarity enables us to paint a picture of something in a way that others can clearly understand. With clarity we are able to form the right sorts of decisions and asked the right sorts of questions about our business, what it stands for and what we have to offer our customers.

Without clarity we lack direction, we waver from our true path and can be distracted by the irrelevant.

In my own business as with the hundreds of other businesses that I have worked with over 37 years I never cease to be surprised at the confusion that business owners find themselves in when it comes to defining a clear position of what their business is about. You are not alone if you struggle with defining clarity in your business but until you are really clear and inspired by a clear position or description of your own business, what you do, who you do it for and how you do it with complete and utter honesty will remain as confusing to you as it does to your customers.

May I also suggest that what you first believed to be clarity around your business will probably need to be refined. As you ask yourself more questions and delve into the areas you may not have considered before in attempting to define clarity of your business, you will generally find that how you originally saw it will need to be changed. This is an evolutionary process that should be revisited on a regular basis. There is no doubt that this process takes work and if possible should involve those close to your business to help you define clarity around what your business is about and stands for. Do not fall into the trap of believing that in defining clarity around your business you need some sort of technical definition or some smart advertising catchphrase.

It will be a feeling and it will provide direction. Clarity is a living breathing "thing" that you must be able to experience at first hand as an owner, staff member or customer and most importantly it should be visible. Everything you do must embody and reflect that statement of Clarity. Whilst being all of these things, you should remember that it should also most importantly exhibit perfect simplicity and obvious complexity inspiring you and those around you.

So what does clarity provide you with:

• clarity enables you to turn purpose into profit
• clarity can be conveyed through stories
• clarity can be as simple as pricing your goods at $50 rather than $49.99
• clarity gives you permission to ask yourself what to leave out
• clarity enables you to amplify without a height
• clarity lets you do more with less
• clarity embraces the truth
• clarity lets you anticipate your real needs
• clarity is about measuring just one perfect thing
• clarity enables you to turn your beliefs into decisions
• clarity is a potent brand promise