Facebook has launched paid online events for small businesses, giving them the ability to earn money from virtual events.
As more people are relying on live video and interactive experiences over the past few months as a result of Covid-19, businesses have moved to online events when they can’t meet with clients face to face.
According to Facebook, in June the number of live broadcasts from Pages doubled compared to June 2019.
It also found that only 19% of businesses were getting any financial support, according to a survey in its State of Small Business Report.
Facebook’s offering combines marketing, payments and live video features, helping small businesses to transition to online events and the company has pledges not to charge any fees for the service for at least a year.
This will include transactions on the web version of Facebook, plus Android and anywhere Facebook Pay is used, so businesses will be able to keep 100% of the revenue. Facebook says it asked Apple to reduce its standard 30% App store tax, which it refused so if customers purchase events via the Facebook app on an Apple device businesses will receive only 70%.
Facebook is also currently testing paid events with Messenger Rooms for personal and interactive gatherings.
All Pages that meet the platform’s partner monetisation policies can now start charging for online events. You can find out if you qualify for this via Facebook’s website.
Naturally, you’ll need to have a business page on Facebook to access this, so take a look at how to create a Facebook business page if you haven’t got one already.
Author: Hannah Williams, Small Business Editor
Hannah is Small Business Editor. She writes news, tutorials and buying advice tailored to very small companies, covering software from Excel to Sage and hardware including laptops.