Visit the Facebook Pages...page

Facebook recently made it easier for users to change existing personal profiles into business pages. The move is irreversible; your friends become "Fans", your account changes to a business account, and the list of available features changes.

The strongest reason to make the change, or to choose a business account if you are just getting started, is compliance with Facebook's terms of use agreement. Technically, you're not allowed to use personal pages for business. I have not heard many stories of people getting banned for violating this rule, but it is a possibility. An even stronger one now that they offer this option.

This is probably good news for anyone whose "personal" account has been moonlighting as the company page, especially if you are only using the network for marketing and advertising purposes, and not to keep track of college buddy's recent fishing trip. Your profile also will not turn up in user searches. This is a good thing; it means not having to constantly reject friend requests from family members, or having pictures from last weekend's party accidentally show up on your work account. People looking for companies will still find you, though, and that's who you need.

This should also make it easier to have a company-owned account. Ownership of a Facebook page cannot be transfered; this makes it problematic when starting a company page. If an employee starts and maintains your company page, and then leaves the company, they can take the page with them. This new option makes it easier to start a company-owned account, and give employees admin privileges as needed.