By Mikal E. Belicove|For Entrepreneur.com|July 27, 2010

If your company or brand has a Facebook page, whether you like it or not, you now have a new customer service platform. Customers will flock to your Facebook page not only to become faithful fans, but also to access support, ask questions and (unfortunately) post complaints.

According to the 2009 Cone Consumer New Media Study, 62 percent of social media users believe they can influence business decisions by voicing opinions via new media channels. This fact alone should be motivation enough to treat your Facebook page as a customer service platform.

If your company has a customer service or technical support department or team, it should be assigned the task of monitoring the Facebook page for customer service and tech support issues. But beware. Customer service and tech support reps are notorious for providing canned, impersonal responses, especially when replying via e-mail and live chat, and on Facebook that type of approach doesn’t fly.

On Facebook, maintaining a conversational tone is imperative. If a customer service or technical support representative can’t be conversational, either train the individual or keep him assigned to support channels where canned and impersonal responses are still somehow acceptable.

Keep in mind that unlike an e-mail response, your responses on Facebook are potentially visible to everyone and can leave a lasting impression. Always put your best foot forward by adhering to the following guidelines:

Read the rest of Social Care: Managing Customer Service via a Facebook Page