How did Facebook become the most popular platform for small businesses?

By Riya Upveja-

The concept of running a business on online media and social media platforms has become widely popular. People who wish to begin a new start-up or to grow their business are approaching these platforms. There are several options available to choose from to promote any kind of business like youtube, Instagram, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, and many others but the most approached platform out of all these is Facebook.

Facebook is an American online social network service that is a part of meta platforms. It was founded in 2004 by CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

The Initial idea of Facebook was launched in 2003 by the name of Facemash which was created as an application to judge the attractiveness of fellow students. The application was shut down just after 2 days but even in such a short time more than 450 people joined facemash. The success of Facemash prompted Mark Zuckerberg and so in January 2004 launched Facebook in which people could post photographs and personal information. Facebook became very popular among students and even students from other schools started to join by June 2004 more than 250,000 students from 34 schools joined Facebook. Today it has more than 3 billion users all around the world and is now the largest and most popular social media platform in the world.

As Facebook has a large number of people connected all around the world it makes it easier for small businesses to reach the masses and expand the range of their business. Facebook helps small businesses to grow in many areas:

Cost-effective exposure for your brand: Creating a Facebook for Business page is free. Once developed, the page serves as a central location for your brand where visitors can find out more about you, what you do, and the services you offer. Customers may simply find out about your business's hours, location, images, and promotions by visiting your Facebook for Business page, all without having to pay anything upfront.

Connect with customers: Your Facebook for Business profile might help in spreading the word online. If properly run, your page serves as a platform for community development and interaction with both potential and loyal users. It's a place where you can speak with clients face-to-face, address their inquiries, and share products and services they'll find useful. Let customers know they've been heard by responding directly to their comments on your Facebook page. Also, by giving your customers content to tell their Facebook buddies how much they adore your company, your published articles can aid in the expansion of your community.

Reach target audience easily: You can select particular audiences to reach with your promoted posts on Facebook for Business based on their geographic region, age, interests, and more.

For instance, if you recently launched a yoga studio, you could promote a post from your page to reach men and women in the 20-mile area around your studio who are between the ages of 20 and 65. For a reasonable price — maybe $20 to $50 for several days of exposure — you can get in touch with them.

Mobile optimized experience: Important company information will be available on your Facebook page for mobile users who may be potential consumers.

If you run an online store, Facebook provides you with the resources to design numerous "Shop Now" or "Learn More" chances that will take viewers to your website and let them make a purchase there. Creating a gateway to allow customers to purchase through your Facebook page is a no-brainer given that more than half of Americans have completed successful mobile purchases.

Provides tools for branding: Finding out if your message is engaging with your audience can be difficult, whether you are analyzing the effects of a hoarding advertisement, a flier, or social media advertisements. Your Facebook page can be used as a tool to quickly test new ideas with your followers (using naturally made posts on your page that you can boost to gain more views) or potential clients (with Facebook ads to your target audience).

As Facebook provides so many tools to promote businesses at a low price it helps small businesses to reach out to their target audience in a short time with a small budget, it has become broadly popular, especially for small businesses.