The jury is still out on the quantifiable benefits of social networking. But one thing is certain; companies are spending countless hours and advertising dollars building their online social network, especially on Facebook.

But is Facebook worth the effort? Many would shout a resounding "yes!" After all, it can be, in theory, free advertising. However, reaching fans is rarely free and is certainly not easy. So companies are racing to advertise, buy and barter their way to a big Fan base.

As most business owners would surely attest, Facebook makes it difficult for businesses and bands to build a large presence on Facebook. Their concern is justified as spamming legitimate members would likely be the first order of business for any company building a branded Facebook page.

Many would argue that Facebook’s efforts to protect their members have made it too difficult for business to legitimately add Fans. There are even 3rd party companies selling Fans for a fee – a disingenuous and controversial method. Facebook’s answer is to encourage business members to buy Facebook ads to drive potential Fans to their fan pages. But for many, advertising on Facebook is likely to produce a scant return on investment.

Creative marketing is key in this arena and Donations-for-Fans has emerged as the newest fan building trend. It seems like a good thing, but is this just another form of buying Fans?

Click through Facebook and it’s hard to miss a Fan-building donation promotion. Raising money to fight cancer and global poverty are some of the most prevalent fundraising efforts, but it is the smaller, local and niche charities that may benefit most.

Take Dress for Success, an organization that promotes the economic independence of disadvantaged women by providing professional attire and career development. Dress for Success is the recipient of our most current Facebook promotion. Although we are known for our padded panties and bum lifters, we are donating our Veronica slimming mid-thigh panty for every fan that we have on October 31st, 2009 (we thought that the Veronica would make a more practical donation!).

As of the writing of this article, Dress for Success stands to gain 644 pair of Bubbles’ underwear. That’s a 300% gain in Facebook Fans for Bubbles and a donation valued at $17,388 for Dress For Success since we launched the promotion on October 5th. Certainly this would be considered a win-win for a small company like us and an important yet minor charity called Dress for Success, and no one was spammed in the process.

So the verdict is in: the businesses, the Fans, the charities and even Facebook wins when companies find creative ways of building their brand on Facebook.

What do you think? Is it OK to buy Fans, barter for Fans, Donate for Fans?