It takes a lot of work to build a strong base of followers on your Facebook page, but it can be very easy to lose them if you treat them like marketing targets. Exact Target has proved this in their new a new study, The Social Break-Up. 1,500 web users were asked about their motivations for unfanning, unfollowing and unsubscribing from marketing campaigns on Facebook. Here are their top reasons:

Consumers understand now more than ever that they are in control of marketers' messages and will punish irrelevant, voluminous or boring messages by cutting off marketers means of direct communication. - Jeff Rohrs, principal of ExactTarget's Marketing Research and Education Group

A quality Facebook page community is about the users and their discussions about your products. Consumers want you to be part of the conversation, but they don't want you to dominate it. People are here for conversation, so company posts that are too frequent, repetitive and promotional are going to drive your "friends" away in a hurry.

Posts about your TV ad or your clever viral video aren't that interesting either. They may generate a lot of comments on the wall, but they don't offer anything interesting about your product and the they get old fast.

Your company Facebook page can be one of your most effective sales tools, if you don't treat it like a sales tool. Here are some Facebook ideas that will keep your followers sticking around.

• Make it about your product. Encourage conversation about you product, how it is used and how it is working for others. People want to hear from each other more than they want to hear from you. Meaningful product discussions between customers will keep followers interested and it will create the content that will attract others gathering information for purchase decision. Encourage reviews, ask questions, and solicit ideas.

• Share something unique. Many join company Facebook pages for access to coupons and unique promotions. Fans of your brand also value exclusive content like photos, videos and information about special events. Give people a reason to join your page and treat them like VIPs. If they are spending time with your page and sharing the good word about your product across the web, they are the best VIPs you can get.

• Post daily. As we've seen above, frequency is important so don't overdue it or post something to fill the space. Increase frequency if followers are asking questions and looking for more information.

• Show your personality. You are starting a discussion here - people want to talk to other people not a machine or a press release. Be open, inviting and personable. In some product categories, this may be the only human interaction a customer has directly with your brand.