Facebook launches new business guide

Facebook has launched a new guide for entrepreneurs on how to make use of the site, as the competition with Google+ for small business users heats up.

The “educational program”, called Facebook for Business, explains the basics of using the social networking site to promote a company or brand.

A video rolled out by Facebook highlights the different business uses of the site, such as creating a page, building polls, targeted advertising and sponsored stories.

The video states that Facebook is now an “essential” part of customers’ lives, with social media able to “empower customers to spread the word for you. The world has gone social – be part of the conversation.”

The creation of Facebook for Business follows the social networking site’s move in March to allow users to migrate their personal profile into their business page.

"Facebook allows small businesses to create rich social experiences, build lasting relationships and amplify the most powerful type of marketing – word-of-mouth," a Facebook spokesperson told GigaOm.

"We created Facebook.com/business to make it even easier for people to reach these objectives and grow."

Facebook’s attempts to ramp up its business presence comes hot on the heels of the launch of Google+ which is anticipated to provide the first serious competition for the site in recent years.

However, Google+ appears to have plenty of work to do to catch up with Facebook’s business-focused apps.

The site, which launched in June, has so far restricted itself to personal profile, advising business users to use individual pages to represent whole companies.