Adding a notch to its social belt, Amazon is launching brand pages. This means marketers will have yet another social site to maintain and operate.

Registration for brands is free, and you can create a Facebook-type page that’s a bit more focused on products. A “hero widget” at the top of these pages looks an awful lot like a Facebook cover photo. The pages also include social links and “merchandising widgets” to highlight certain products.

According to Amazon, “You can enhance your words with an image or a product. And you can plan ahead, scheduling the release of a series of posts on successive days.”

This is one of those initiatives that will either be a step toward monetizing social, or it will fall flat and become one of those “Remember Amazon Pages” warnings. Amazon, of course, is banking on the former.

“With a personalized Amazon Page, you extend your reach to Amazon.com customers and encourage immediate sales through a familiar and trusted purchasing environment,” the company writes in its FAQ. “Link to content on Amazon.com, feature products, and lifestyle imagery about your brand.”

Amazon Analytics promises to gather “a wide variety of metrics” to help you prove increased sales and ROI.

(Image via)