I grabbed a bagel sandwich at Bruegger’s today, which is somewhat of a weekly habit for me. On a large poster in the store depicting their fall sandwiches, I saw it in the lower right corner: Become a fan of Brueggers on Facebook. I’ve seen similar exhortations lately in restaurants, retail stores and on brand Web sites.

Now, I had my Blackberry right there with me and could have pulled it out and fanned Brueggers on the spot. But I didn’t. And I spent a good chunk of my lunch thinking about why I had no desire to fan this brand. I eat there regularly, I enjoy their food, the service is good… but frankly, I just didn’t feel like I’d get anything out of becoming a Bruegger’s fan on Facebook.

I’m suffering from Facebook Brand Fatigue. I’ve noticed that my inclination to fan brands has decreased lately, just as more and more bands seem to be coming around to Facebook and creating pages. I’m fans of 22 brands on Facebook, ranging from TV shows to restaurants to beer to my cousin’s Celtic band. In most cases, I’ve hidden fan page updates from my news feed, which pretty much defeats the purpose of being a fan (other than the notion of “tattooing” my profile with cool logos). I mostly use Facebook to keep up with friends and family and it’s hard enough to catch all of their updates, let alone sort through the tons of fan page items flood the stream.

The brands that I enjoy being fans of generally don’t update too much on Facebook (a quick way to ensure I hide them) but offer just enough content to keep me interested or curious. For example, The Big Bang Theory posts a video clip each Monday, which usually gives me a laugh (or 17) but then allows me to go about my Facebook business for the rest of the week without interruption from them.

There are plenty of brands I love and am loyal to, but I feel like I’m burning out on fan pages. What does it really do for me to fan Bruegger’s on Facebook? If I became a fan of every TV show I watched, restaurant I ate in, merchant I bought from or city I visited it would completely overwhelm my Facebook experience.

So, here are my new rules for becoming a fan on Facebook:

1. I gotta love ya. I mean really, really love ya. I need to be an actual FAN of your brand, not just a customer, user or visitor. I will only fan brands that I am passionate about and would wholeheartedly recommend to my closest friends.
2. I need to see the value that your page provides. What do you offer me as a fan? How is it different than just visiting your Web site? I will only fan brands that offer me real value that I can’t get elsewhere from them on the Web. Can you give me cool links, exclusive video, or a place to offer my feedback (and get a response)?
3. I won’t fan sites that post too frequently or auto-post feeds from a blog or Twitter. I don’t want to fan brands only to have to hide them. I will only fan brands that don’t disrupt my Facebook experience by clogging my news feed.

Three simple rules, for starters. What are yours? How do you make the decision what to become a fan of on Facebook? And once you do, how do you interact with those pages? Share your strategy in the comments.