Facebook plans campaign to ‘friend’ small business

Facebook plans campaign to ‘friend’ small business

Facebook wants to increase its advertising and get more clicks on all kinds of ads. It believes tapping into the lucrative small business market will help it achieve those goals.

The company plans a campaign called Facebook Fit with workshops in five cities to show small business owners the nuts and bolts of using Facebook as a marketing tool. The small business market has been difficult to crack for digital companies like Facebook and Google. Many of them are struggling just to provide regular content updates or to understand how to use social media, let alone become masters of social media advertising.

Meanwhile, Facebook needs to get more small business advertising to stay competitive with Google and it needs to be sure they’re seen as a strong partner to small business owners.

[blockquote cite=””] Facebook has updated its technology to make it easier for business owners to use. The company is targeting those who don’t have the time to sit down at a desktop PC and update pages or ads.
[/blockquote] [blockquote cite=””] We’re hoping they’ll want to become advertisers if we can help them just spend a few dollars to help them promote a product.
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• Facebook is also creating small business advertising products that will be affordable. For example, companies will be able to spend $10 to promote a post on other Facebook pages, something they were unable to do in the past. Facebook pages will remain free.
• Facebook is in a good position to get more revenue from small businesses simply because so many of them already use it. But the company must still convince them ads are a good investment.

[/list] Facebook has held workshops for small businesses in cities and towns across the country the past two years, often in partnership with local chambers of commerce and business groups.