Every Internet Web Marketing campaign we do here in Michigan for our clients has a element of Facebook in to it. Ah, Facebook, a place where we can shoot the breeze with long-lost friends, update our status in real time, and revel in what it’s like to have hundreds–even thousands–of friends. But is that all there is to Facebook? You're not even close. There’s a whole other world on Facebook, and it’s very important to small businesses.

Let’s look at the Super Bowl for a second. Companies spend millions on advertising during the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl commercials are as legendary as the games themselves. Why do this? Because companies and advertisers both know the Super Bowl draws in millions of viewers. To market during the Super Bowl is to market to a huge audience. It only makes sense, right? Well, only if you have the millions to spend on those ads. Now, another media that has over 500 million users is Facebook and that costs a lot less than those 30 second TV commercials.

That’s right... over 500 million users on Facebook and its growing every day. Now, that’s a market that every business should tap into. Facebook may seem to be for young people but it actually crosses generations and demographics. It’s not just a saying when people say things like, "Everyone is on Facebook." While it’s true not every individual on the planet has a Facebook account, almost every group or demographic of people does. Facebook blurs the lines between race, class, age, gender, etc. Facebook is open and embraced by everyone all over the world, not just in your backyard. So why not use it as a marketing tool?

According to Entrepreneur magazine, businesses who don’t utilize social media marketing, such as Facebook and Twitter, will be dead -out of business in five years. That is FIVE YEARS! So, yes, social media marketing is important, and Facebook is the conductor by which much of our social media is channeled.

Let’s look at some numbers: the average Facebook user is on for about an hour a day–and that rate is increasing. That something like 500 million man-hours a day that small business can learn to utilize for their own growth. Even if just a fraction of those 500 million people spend a fraction of their hour a day looking at your business’s fan page, it’s still more people than you were marketing to without a Facebook page.

You have to move away from traditional media that doesn't work. It’s no longer radio jingles and print media. The landscape has morphed into Facebook Fan pages, check ins, and, likes and unlikes. Why is that important, you ask? Well, for one thing, we are a reputation-based economy. And that’s not just a buzz word for 2011. We’ve always been a reputation-based economy. It’s why we had Wendy’s commercials with the owner and founder Dave Thomas. It’s why your local car dealers–and not actors–tell you to "come on down and see us!" It’s why we have the Better Business Bureau and on line consumer reports. We want to know who this business is before actually doing business with them.

Well, what better way to establish your presence and reputation with people than by being on a social network with half a billion users? To say Facebook is the past is a total misconception, and to say it’s the future is a guess at best. But does dominate the present. If you choose to harness and, eventually, wield the power of Facebook (and social media marketing in general), you too can dominate the present.