Why make a Facebook fan page? Having more than 500 million unique users who spend an average of 55 minutes per day, Facebook is the number one social networking site. Facebook’s user interface allows for quick communication and the ability to create fan pages at the click of a mouse has made Facebook extremely popular.

Brand name business pages on Facebook have been joined 5.4 billion times. Not only that there are an estimated 1.5 million local business owners using fan pages to grow their revenues. Facebook has hooked up with major payment gateways such as Visa, eBay and Paypal allowing users to purchase directly on Facebook.

Facebook provides a huge targeted audience that opens up a world of opportunity. Facebook allows every business as well as individual users to create fan pages for their favorite celebrities and their own homegrown businesses.

Large brands can also create their official pages on Facebook that have a huge, immediate fan following around the world. The fan page is highly useful for spreading first hand messages about the brand and also to collect immediate and frank feedback from your customers.

What makes Facebook even more exciting is the way it allows you to laser target your message to the customers that you want to attract. It also provides analytics and page insights that give good feedback and measurement on user activity.

The possibilities provided by Facebook to reach out to customers are endless, and all of this can be done at minimal cost with maximum impact. But while doing all of this as a marketer, you need to remember that the customer and you are on a level playing field, with both having equal opportunity to express. The customer is free to share his positive as well as negative experiences with your business, which can influence other customers watching you carefully.

This is where you need to learn from dedicated professionals who understand the dynamics of the medium, which is very different from what conventional media marketers are generally used to. When set up properly, Facebook can help put you in front of your customers.