As 2009 comes to a close, more and more clients are asking whether or not they should create a Facebook fan page. That inquiry is usually immediately followed up with, why should I become a fan of your Facebook page? What value are you going to be providing to your Facebook fans?

I’m not going to tell you NEED to have Facebook fan page, because I don’t believe that is entirely true for every business. If you don’t have a concrete strategy and plan to not only acquire Facebook fans but also keep your fans interested and engaged with your brand, product, and/or service than you probably shouldn’t waste your time. You can’t just create a Facebook fan page, post some photos, and write a few witty wall posts then expect droves of fans to want to become your fan. You have to approach Facebook from your fans’ point of view – what’s in it for me?

People love free stuff. When it comes to Facebook, the actual dollar value of that free stuff really doesn’t matter. Whether you are running a large sweepstakes or offering a simple money-saving coupon for a consumer product, there needs to be something given to your consumers that adds value to their experience of becoming your Facebook fan.

Also, the value you provide through Facebook shouldn’t end after you acquire each fan. Your Facebook fans should be offered continued value and treated differently from the masses for as long as Facebook remains the social media mecca - as noted by it's steady growth to 350 million active users.

If you’ve haven’t started your Facebook fan page strategy, don’t feel out of the loop. There are still many big brands that are just getting started with Facebook. As an example, Subway Restaurants launched their official Facebook fan page on Dec 24th.

Why should someone become a fan of Subway's Facebook fan page? Well, Subway is running a promotion to give away $50 gift cards to 10 Facebook fans a week from now through the end of January. They are advertising their gift card give-away promotion using targeted Facebook ads and also leveraging the immediate viral power of Facebook to promote the give-away. As I began writing this blog post, Subway Restaurants had 39K fans. When I got around to posting it about an hour later, Subway Restaurants had over 60K fans. I told you people love free stuff.