With well over 500 million people on Facebook, it’s no wonder that businesses are flocking there to create fan pages for their organizations. But what should those pages contain? How should you use them to connect with your customers?

Here are five tips for creating a Facebook page that people won’t ignore.

Connect it all: Use your Facebook page as a launching point for learning more about your product or service. Link it to your website, a testimonials page or a third-party site that sells your product.

Be the resource: Know your audience well enough to anticipate what else they might want to know. If you sell business training, link to other human resources-related and employee-related sites or tools. Think beyond what you specifically sell and build a more well-rounded resource center.

Let them talk: Don’t treat your Facebook page like a one-way broadcast tool. One of the best elements of Facebook is that you can actually talk to your customers and prospects. Don’t turn off their ability to comment on your page.

Let the games begin: No matter how old we are, we like to play games. One great way to get Facebook page fans or to keep them coming back is to create contests and games that hook your audience and entice them to return for more.

Serve with a smile: Use your Facebook page as your customer service portal. Let customers ask questions, post problems or give you feedback.

Facebook is a powerful tool. But just slapping up a page without a strategy will leave you and your page getting chilled from a lack of attention.

Drew McLellan is Top Dog at McLellan Marketing Group and blogs at drewsmarketingminute.com. He can be reached by e-mail at Drew@MclellanMarketing.com. © 2011 Drew McLellan