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"Considering that Facebook applications already monetize heavily through advertising, this news isn\u2019t surprising, but it\u2019s significant nonetheless.  A Facebook Page \u2013 specifically that of celeb magazine US Weekly \u2013 has sold a sponsorship to State Farm.\nWhile the deal is part of a bigger campaign that State Farm is running with US Weekly, according to AdAge, \u201CUs Weekly plans to use Facebook page sponsorships as added value or independent ad inventory for other advertisers after that.\u201D  \nUS Weekly\u2019s Facebook Page currently only has about 3,000 fans, but it\u2019s not hard to imagine other brands, especially those with substantial Facebook audience, selling similar sponsorships soon.  The interesting question is who will control this ad inventory \u2013 the brands, ad networks, or Facebook themselves?\n\n\n\nFacebook has been testing their own ad network for applications, while there are already dozens of third-party networks that specialize in monetizing apps.  It would seem that Facebook would be most interested in selling ads to the actual page owners, in the form of the \u201CBecome a Fan\u201D ads that are increasingly visible when you login to Facebook.  Meanwhile, Facebook already places its standard ads on Pages, as you can see in the US Weekly page. \nIn any event, we\u2019re just at the starting line when it comes to monetizing Facebook Pages.  But expect a host of monetization options to soon emerge, ranging from simple sponsorships like State Farm-US Weekly to cross-promotion of other Pages.\nAdditional Facebook Resources for Brands\n\n- HOW TO: Build Your Personal Brand on Facebook\n- 5 Tips for Optimizing Your Brand's Facebook Presence\n- 5 Elements of a Successful Facebook Fan Page\n"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2009/04/23/facebook-page-sponsorships/>