Without a doubt the biggest single source of potential customers online is on Facebook.
This is why Facebook is also frequently the biggest source of frustration for marketers who can't crack the code and actually make Facebook profitable for their company.
How can they not make a profit from over a billion potential customers? Facebook marketing can be tricky and not as easy as it would seem.
A lot of otherwise very smart marketing people have taken a shot at Facebook only to find that their efforts have not paid off on the bottom line.
The initial surge of excitement quickly abates when sales don't proportionally follow Facebook likes.
However, there are others who have cracked the code and found a way to leverage Facebook for hefty profits.
Those that are making money in Facebook have found the answer in Facebook ads, Facebook apps, the Facebook fan page or by driving traffic from Facebook.
The most successful Facebook marketers have found a way to leverage at least two or maybe three of these aspects to really push their business to new heights.
A billion people and a built in ad making tool made Facebook a marketers dream.
Unfortunately, for some marketers that dream turned into a nightmare as they struggled to find a way to make it all profitable.
Increased competition drove advertising prices higher.
As a result, Facebook advertising did not work out for everyone the way they had planned.
If you have a programming mind then the idea of making an app for Facebook may be very appealing.
If you are more of a marketer and have a good idea for an app you can always outsource the development of the app.
In either case you need to have an app that is appealing to enough Facebook users to make it profitable.
The uncertainty of this type of approach means that it's not the best approach to making money in Facebook for everyone.
Facebook fan pages are another popular way to try and attract a buying audience.
The problem is that just because you put up a fan page does not mean people want to buy anything.
They may want to have fun, interact, learn things but not necessarily buy anything.
The key to all of these making money in Facebook techniques is to tap into that enormous database of customers.
You must drive traffic to your Facebook fan page or your app.
The more traffic you can generate from within the Facebook experience the better off your business will be.
There are several tricks to making money in Facebook but there are no real short cuts.
You need to develop great content in whatever form and get the message out to a significant audience.
Your target is right in front of you so some marketers mistake that for "shooting fish in a barrel".
But the reality is you must develop or offer a great product to an audience that wants and needs your product.
The fundamental rules of marketing still apply even on Facebook.