Australia recently underwent one of the largest natural disasters in history. Record-breaking temperatures and months of severe drought have fuelled a series of massive bushfires across Australia. Although most of Australia was affected, the south east coast of New South Wales, a popular tourist destination was one of the hardest hit areas as more than 2,000 homes were destroyed. In addition to the houses, farms, resources and even local businesses were affected deeply. Taking all this into consideration, Facebook has decided to take a stand and help Australia out.
Facebook has announced a new set of support measures to be taken for small businesses affected by the recent Australian bushfires in order to help them make best use of the platform to get their business back on track.
According to Facebook: “Australia is going through a difficult time. Unprecedented bushfire events have taken a huge toll on communities across the country. If your small business has been affected by bushfires please [get in touch] and a Facebook Small Business Support Specialist will reach out to understand your business challenges and offer guidance and assistance.”
From one-to-one specialist business consultations to general Facebook business page coaching & advising and even $200 in Facebook ad credits, Facebook is willing to offer their assistance to those in the impacted regions free of charge.
In addition to this, in the towns affected by the bushfire, Facebook will be running a series of workshops in order to support “empower local businesses and communities with the digital skills required to thrive online”.
A member of the Facebook Community Trainer Network will be hosting the workshops that will cover everything from the basics of managing your online presence to using ad targeting tools. In order to help encourage more visitors back to the areas affected by the bushfires, Facebook will include specific content for tourism businesses as well.
The fact that Facebook is making an effort to actually be present in the community and offering assistance by providing direct advice and notes is something that we should appreciate.
