Have you heard it before? “We don’t advertise on Facebook. That’s just not the sort of thing (puts nose in air) that weeeee do.”
Time to revisit that conversation. Virtue, a company that manages over 45 million Facebook fans for a variety of companies, has compiled data that shows how each fan of a company (or university!) is actually worth $3.60 in earned media.

What that means to you is for every fan your school has on Facebook, it’s the equivalent of spending $3.60 to get that person to pay attention to your message. So, instead of spending money to get viewer impressions from billboards or direct mail, you can be posting content (just make sure it’s relevant) for free on your Facebook page. This will ensure that your fans interact with your messaging and get more involved with your brand promise.

Full article is here: http://mashable.com/2010/04/14/facebook-fan-valuation/

Pretty cool, right?