What is the Facebook SME Council?

by Startacus Admin

Just last week Facebook announced that it’s Facebook SME council initiative was coming to Ireland. This, comes two months after the same initiative was launched in the UK. So what is the Facebook SME council? We took a look:

Back at the start of May (2017) UK’s Facebook SME council held its first collaborative meeting with a group of 15 UK SME’s. This article on Real Business explained a good bit behind the programme, with Olly Sewell, senior manager of SMB in UK & Ireland for Facebook discussing the initiative in detail.

Fast forward to last week, and Speaking at the launch of the Irish Facebook SME council initiative, Vice President of Small and Medium Sized Business in EMEA at Facebook, Ciaran Quilty said,

"Facebook is delighted to be launching an SME Council here in Ireland. Small businesses are the backbone of our economy, they drive economic growth and new jobs. Digital strategies, in particular mobile, can help businesses grow, and with 43 million people in other countries connected to an Irish business on Facebook, the global market has never been closer to our SMEs."

Going on to say "Through listening, learning and having a better understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing businesses, the council will give us a better understanding of how we can help them grow." - quotes via www.businesssworld.ie

So what do we think this all means so far:

• Facebook SME councils have previously been set up in India, the US, Italy and Germany.

• The relevant country council’s will meet at least twice a year.

• They will work with a number of select SME’s to understand the needs of an SME and how Facebook as a platform can support and accelerate their growth. It’s a good way for SME’s to pass on ideas and feedback directly to Facebook on how Facebook can better support the needs of the SME.

• It’s a way of Facebook sharing best practice, key tools and marketing techniques for the small business owner to grow their business using the facebook platform and facebook via mobile more specifically.

• It’s a way of Facebook doing specific market research to their target audience on what future tools and functionalities would help the small business owner successfully use Facebook as a marketing tool in sustaining, growing and exporting their business products or services.

A win-win for both Facebook and the SME / Startup founder perhaps. Keep an eye out for further updates on this programme over the coming months and we look forward to seeing what comes from this initiative. If you are interested in using Facebook as a marketing tool, you might want to read Facebook hits 2 billion people as Facebook groups gains in importance.

Self Promotion of Startacus too at this point...

Startacus.net is an online and offline platform that has become a leading publication, and information source for a broad range of startups, SMEs and entrepreneurs - both in the UK and Ireland. We have grown a niche audience and a recognised and well respected independent brand which has made us a valued partner for a wide range of organisations, programmes and services looking to support, work and reach out to startups and small business owners.

Of course, if Facebook, or any other startup related organisation, fancies collaborating somehow, we are all ears and can be contacted via this handy info page on working with Startacus. ;) 

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Published on: 26th July 2017