Almost overnight, Facebook Pages have become one of the most powerful tools in the music marketing toolkit. But beyond the massive number of eyeballs that Facebook offers, why are Fan Pages so powerful?

During a MIDEM session last week with Rachel Masters of Red Magnet Media, Aaron Ray of management and new media firm The Collective admitted that when they first ramped up Linkin Park's social media presence, they assumed that fans wanted exclusive content. But they were wrong.

"It turns out that the number one reason that fans go to social networking sites is to meet the band and forge a personalized connection with them," according Ray whose clients have ranged from almost unknown new bands to Kayne West.

New data compiled by eMarketer, confirms Ray's assessment and adds lessons from major consumer brands that can be applied to music.

Engagement, interest and constant connection keep fans coming back on Facebook. "It’s about making sure that we do our job every day to give those fans some sort of meaningful value,” states Alexandra Wheeler, Starbucks director of digital strategy.  “Having 10 million people on Facebook who like us would be useless if we did nothing with it.” 

There are other successful Facebook strategies from major brands that can be applied to music:

• Social media marketing agency Cone found 77% of new media users want brands to offer them incentives online. Additionally, 28% would like to be entertained.
• Coca-Cola, with 19.8 million Facebook fans, used a year-long social media campaign, Expedition 206, to keep its Facebook page constantly updated with content posted by brand ambassadors.
• Oreo launched an interactive game on its Facebook page in September, MediaPost reported, and the brand jumped from 8.5 million fans in August to 15.2 million in November. The campaign continues and was also recently extended offline, with in-person events.

 How are you using Facebook pages to engage your fans?