Many small businesses have turned to social media websites like Facebook to advertise their products and services. According to Facebook, about 30 million small businesses regularly update pages on the website. In addition, about a million businesses pay for advertisements there. With more and more users on Facebook, businesses must compete for space in a person’s newsfeed. From late 2013 to early 2014, the number of followers who viewed posts from small businesses dropped by about half.

2. Many small businesses have turned to social
media websites like Facebook to advertise their
products and services. According to Facebook,
about 30 million small businesses regularly
update pages on the website. In addition, about
a million businesses pay for advertisements
there. With more and more users on Facebook,
businesses must compete for space in a
person’s newsfeed. From late 2013 to early
2014, the number of followers who viewed
posts from small businesses dropped by about
half.

3. In early June, Mark Zuckerberg and his team
began a tour of five cities with the aim of
showing small businesses how to make the
most of advertising on Facebook. The first event
took place in New York and included several
local business owners who had positive
experiences with advertising on the social
network.

4. During the events, the Facebook team is
promoting new tools that allow for more
focused advertisement efforts, such as a
“lookalike targeting.” This method allows
advertisers to market products and services
to potential customers similar to their current
clients.