For many of us, FaceBook is a great way to stay in touch with people and maintain personal contacts. But it can be a great business tool as well - you can stay connected to your customer base, market to new customers, manage online reputation and learn from peers.

And the opportunity keeps growing. Last month FaceBook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the company reached 150 million registered users with half of them actively using the service everyday. “If FaceBook were a country, it would be the eighth most populated in the world, just ahead of Japan, Russia and Nigeria.” - says Zuckerberg

Specifically, event planning and managing groups on FaceBook have also continued to grow, and it is a great place to learn from peers and share resources. Here is a list of a few of the most popular groups and current member count:

Meeting Planners International (MPI) - 1,333 Members

Event Planners Gather by BizBash - 1650 Members

Event and Meeting Planners Forum - 1486 Members

Event Planners Forum - 711 Members

You can find a list of all groups here.

In addition, many event related services have built applications to integrate with FaceBook. Below are few applications that can help event planners to grow their business.

1. Zvents Event Map: Zvents intuitively connects people with their interests and favorite sources of entertainment.
2. Neighborhoods: Meet the people in your neighborhood! The Point2 Neighborhoods application shows you who lives close to you, what they’re up to, and what’s happening in your neighborhood. Get to know your neighbors today.
3. SocialCalendar:With over 9 million users, SocialCalendar makes it easy to manage and remember birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, get-togethers, movie-going, and other social occasions. Plus, use it to give gifts, flowers, or virtual gifts for any occasion.
4. iLike: iLike lets you add music, playlists, and videos to your profile, dedicate songs to your friends, and see who’s going to what concerts. Bonus: get free mp3s matching your tastes, and beat your friends at the Music Challenge.
5. LinkedIn Contacts: Allows you to see and share your LinkedIn Contacts.
6. More Friends: To find more friends on a friend’s list takes time. Not to mention you might already have 200+ friends. Through the More Friends Application, you can find those common friends that haven’t appeared on your list yet.
7. FaceBook® for BlackBerry® smartphones: FaceBook® for BlackBerry® smartphones provides automatic, wireless access to FaceBook services - status updates, photo uploads, messaging, pokes and event invitations - for free!
8. Loopt: Where It Is: Share your location and status with friends. Link your Loopt mobile subscription to your FaceBook profile and share on the fly.
9. Where I’ve Been: A detailed, interactive world map, show everyone where you’ve been, lived and where you want to go. It includes a zoom tool and all the US States and there is no need to create an account on any third party site. Have Fun!

For most industries, FaceBook is probably not the best resource to manage and grow customers. However Event Planners have a unique opportunity, considering most people go online to find and register for events. And most FaceBook users will attend at least one event every year and will share the event online with friends.

By using FaceBook you can stay connected to your base, keep events organized and effectively market upcoming events. If it has been awhile since you’ve looked into FaceBook or thought it was just for kids it, maybe it’s time to check it out again - with a new perspective.