Cover Story: The Top 50 Fastest-Growing Facebook Cross-Channel Retailers

◆ Seven of the top 10 fastest-growing Facebook retailers encourage and manage fan participation, maintaining open walls (defaulting to "Top Posts") and making sure those walls are free of spam and off-topic discussions.

◆ There's been an interesting battle going on all year between Bass Pro Shops and Cabela's, with Cabela's gradually catching up to its rival, as Bass Pro Shops just missed making this list. Bass Pro Shops is more sales-oriented with its Facebook strategy, while Cabela's takes a more engagement-oriented approach. Bass Pro Shops defaults visitors to a brand wall that promotes sale items and sweepstakes (and pays little attention to fan posts as evidenced by the spam in its "Top Posts"), while Cabela's opens its wall to fans, encouraging them to post about their hunting and fishing experiences, and keeps its wall free of spam.