For 350 small business people on Monday, it was all about learning the tricks of standing out on Facebook. The social media giant brought its Boost Your Business team to 601 Spring for a 2-hour session that featured best practices, great ideas, advice and networking- all in the hopes that small businesses, startups and entrepreneurs will see the value in using their unique media platforms.

The tips came fast and furious and some seemed almost counter-intuitive. For example, businesses who utilize Facebook Live were told they need to do so for at least ten minutes to allow viewers to find them and log in. The world of Facebook Insights was explored as a way that businesses and organizations can understand who (age, gender and time of day) is engaging with their content. Pages Manager, Ads, Objectives and Audiences were all discussed in detail, and finally, the audience was given tips on how to actually measure success with a particular post or ad.  It was a great day and three local businesses walked away with $500 to spend on Facebook ads. Unfortunately, if you missed this event, it appears the next closest will be in Jackson, Miss. in September, but you can still access the helpful content shared through Facebook Blueprint.