Facebook knows that its future relies heavily on the successful use of its platform by small businesses.
The problem today, however, is that there are way more businesses using Facebook Pages (65 million at of the end of Q4 2016) than active advertisers on the network (which is thought to be between 4 and 5 million).
Facebook, of course, needs to close that gap and has announced a set of new updates designed to do just that.
The social platform has made updates to its Ads Manager app (which was released back in 2015) including the ability to switch accounts and the inclusion of a new comparison tool, which will enable advertisers to view (and compare) the performance of multiple ads (up to five) side-by-side. Facebook has also added a new "recommendations" tool which will suggest actions for advertisers to take to improve the performance of their content (including a one-click option to extend the schedule of high-performing campaigns).
Facebook released an update for their Pages app last November (2016) that made it possible for business owners to manage their Facebook, Messenger and Instagram interactions in one "dashboard," which has now been extended to the desktop.
Facebook advertisers also have access to a new "Mobile Studio" tool that provides creative tips and links to relevant apps and tools as well as new "Blueprint" eLearning courses for marketing best practices.
