Facebook connects about 210M people to a business in Australia: SMB research

Facebook has released research statistics about Australian small and mid-sized businesses’ performance on its platform. Its new SMB research shows that almost 210 million people from around the world are connected to a business in Australia.

Data provided by Facebook to Fairfax Media shows the extent to which small businesses are creating Facebook-based enterprises. Analysis by researchers Morning Consult for Facebook of over 1,000 Aussie small businesses shows that more than one in three small and medium-sized businesses on Facebook built their business on the platform.

Up to 46 percent said they hired more employees because of the increasing demand from Facebook. Digital and social skills are important when hiring a new employee, according to 62 percent of respondents.

Facebook is also helpful when it comes to boosting sales. Sixty one percent said they have better sales because of the platform.

Selling products and services in other cities, state or countries is easier through Facebook. Fifty nine percent of respondents agreed to this.

Facebook's new head of SMB for Australia and New Zealand Kaylie Smith confirmed that the country is a rich SMB market. "We are enabling a different kind of commerce, enabling Australian small businesses to connect with markets globally,” she said. She did not provide an exact number of how many Australian small businesses use Facebook.

"Before Facebook, one mum would recommend to another mum something they had discovered, or liked, over a coffee in a cafe," Sydney Morning Herald quotes Nourished Life founder Irene Falcone as saying. She added that it is something they can do now with Facebook on a much bigger scale.

The social media giant has also launched new tools which seek to enable SMBs to better target audiences and convert them into sales. The new tools include multi-country lookalike targeting and language matching capabilities.

Dynamic language optimisation allows businesses to place multiple languages within one ad set. Facebook can then match the right language to the right user.

Multi-country lookalikes, on the other hand, can allow businesses to create an international "lookalike" to locate their best customers in a combination of countries of their choosing. Smith said they really explore and work on building cross-border and borderless platforms.

Business owners may no longer need a multinational advertising budget to compete as they can do it themselves on social media. Falcone's experience of using Facebook, for instance, has been positive as she believes in the significance of making a brand authentic.