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Facebook woos small business owners: For as little as $10 YOU can advertise says Sandberg

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By Noel Young, Correspondent

May 6, 2014 | 3 min read

In its drive for more advertising, Facebook now wants to “friend” small business owners - showing them how to find new customers by creating Facebook pages and buying ads that appear on individual Facebook users' pages.

Sandberg: Do it from a mobile phone!

The company plans a campaign called Facebook Fit, social network COO Sheryl Sandberg has revealed, with workshops in five cities to show small business owners the nuts and bolts of using Facebook as a marketing tool.

"They don't have enough customers. This is their No. 1 problem and we can help them solve it," Sandberg said in an interview with The Associated Press.

Greg Sterling, an analyst with the mobile technology research service Internet2Go, said the small business market has been difficult to crack for digital companies like Facebook and Google, the San Jose Mercury News reported.

Many owners with Facebook pages are reluctant to advertise, limiting the revenue the company can make from small businesses.

"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," Sterling said.

Sandberg said Facebook has updated its technology to make it easier for business owners to use - targeting those who don't have the time to sit down at a desktop PC and update pages or ads.

"Now they're able to manage their pages from a mobile phone. Two years ago, they couldn't," Sandberg said.

Facebook says it is used by 25 million small business users worldwide.

Facebook is also creating small business advertising products, that Sandberg said will be affordable. For example, companies will be able to spend as little as $10 to promote a post on other Facebook pages, something they were unable to do in the past. Facebook pages will remain free.

"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," Sandberg said.

Sterling said Facebook was in a good position to get more revenue from small businesses simply because so many already use it. But the company must still convince them ads are a good investment.

"They have to make it really simple, affordable, measurable -- a small business owner has to be convinced of the success and efficacy of the ad campaign.”

Workshops are planned as part of Facebook Fit in New York on June 3; Miami on June 19; Chicago on July 10; Austin, Texas, on July 24; and Menlo Park on Aug. 5.. Information is available at http://fb.me/fit .

The blurb cajoles business owners , "Join Facebook this summer as we host events across the U.S. to help small businesses achieve success. With leaders from Facebook, Intuit, LegalZoom and Square, you’ll get tips on marketing, legal services, finance management and more." Tickets are a bargain too: $25.

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