As posted by B2B Magazine, Visa is launching the Visa Business Network on Facebook in order to connect businesses to this social forum and their potential customer base. According to a press release by Visa, the focus of this venture is to help small businesses “Connect with others, manage more efficiently, and grow business.” Visa also announced as an added incentive that the first 20,000 U.S. based businesses that join this new network will be awarded with a $100 Facebook Ads credit.

Controversy, however, has surrounded Facebook and the ability of companies to use this platform for advertising since Facebook’s difficulties with Beacon, including MoveOn.org’s online petition with over 50,000 members protesting the use of this tool. Despite this, the new program offered by Visa is one of over 24,000 applications created on Facebook in the past year in order to appeal to Facebook’s 80 million users. Many companies are still experimenting to find ways to effectively communicate with this market.