Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) is reporting that the number of small businesses with active Facebook pages is up to 30 million, up 5 million from numbers provided just six months ago. Last November, Facebook began counting small businesses in a different category in order to distinguish between that and other types of stores. This uptick represents a large potential market for Facebook, who began working in recent months to be more proactive and supportive to small business needs.
The announcement of this increase was made during the press question and answer period during a small business event called Facebook Fit. Other questions came to Facebook director of small business Dan Levy that revolve around the issue that Facebook users don’t reach as many potential users unless the small business is paying for advertising on the site.
Small business users are concerned that at some point, businesses will not be able to reach a potential market or even their own Facebook fans with normal posts. They will have to use paid advertising to be sure that any content reaches them at all.
Levy conceded that Facebook ads are the best way at present to ensure that users see a small business’s content, but he reassured guests at the event that Facebook will continue to evolve with the market and user needs and will consistently ensure that their decisions are made with users in mind.
When asked about what can be expected from Facebook for small businesses in the future, Levy said that the team will be working on building and refining more mobile tools. Of the 30 million active small business Facebook users, 19 million of them are mobile users, so the focus will be on creating ways for small businesses to beef up their mobile marketing.
