I read my blogmate Kathy Allen's most recent post, "Should your business sell on Facebook?" with great interest. While I agree with Kathy that, in general, the answer to that question is an emphatic NO!, I would like to elaborate a bit on Kathy's post. Why? Because Facebook clearly can be a tremendous opportunity for most any business today -- an opportunity that cannot be ignored. But not as an ecommerce platform. Instead, Facebook's greatest opportunity for businesses today is as a hugely leveraged publicity and PR platform.

Some businesses have caught the drift, and are doing Facebook right.

Take, for example Southern department store Belk. Instead of trying to use its Facebook page as a vehicle for ecommerce, the company has wisely positioned it as a source of customer giveaways, discounts, and beauty and fashion tips. So, rather than scaring away customers with sales come-ons, Belk draws them in with all sorts of special offers -- and encourages them to share the wealth with friends and family.  When the company recently offered a 20% discount coupon for anyone who "friended" Belk on Facebook, the word spread like wildfire. And even though I live far, far away from the nearest Belk (I live in California, and the nearest store to me is somewhere in Texas), I read about the 20% discount more than once or twice in my Facebook news feed. And I'm sure millions of other people -- who hopefully lived closer to a Belk than I do -- also got the word.

THAT'S the way businesses can and should use Facebook to their advantage.

If you go to the Pepsi Facebook page, you'll -- among other things -- get the latest news on the Pepsi Refresh Project (where the company gives away millions of dollars each month to "change the world") and the PepsiFilms short film contest.

Again, instead of scaring people away with sales pitches, they're drawing them in with opportunities and fun things to do.

There's a right way and a wrong way to take your business to Facebook. Do it the wrong way, and you're going to waste a lot of money and have very little to show for it. But do it the right way, and your company will open up a brand-new marketing channel that will pay off for many years to come.