Facebook adds online guide for small businesses

Facebook has introduced a step-by-step online guide that would help small businesses use the social networking site.

Billed as an "online education centre", the new webpage at Facebook .com/business, offers directions on such things as how to set up a profile page, create targeted ads and deals, and interact with customer feedback online.

According to analysts, the timing is interesting, coming only a week after Google began pulling the plug on all company profiles on its Google + social network. The search engine giant says the move is only company policy to restrict Google+ access to individual users, a position that has sparked much controversy in recent days.

Facebook's new business webpage does not come with any new features, but hosts a lot of information that may be handy for small businesses, in one place. Analysts say, rather more importantly, it works as a well timed reminder that unlike Google+, Facebook encourages companies to use its service for company branding.

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

This is the second time in a month that Facebook has come out with its own feature launch close on the heels of Google+ news. Earlier this month, Facebook announced a partnership with Skype to bring video chat features within the social networking site, just a week after Google+ created ripples with its own video chat feature called Hangouts.