Announcing Boost With Facebook’s Summer of Support and Our Continued Investment in Helping Bring Businesses Online

Facebook is kicking off a new initiative — Boost with Facebook Summer of Support — during which we’ll help millions of people get the digital skills and information they need to navigate these challenging times and get back on track. The program starts today and will run for six weeks, featuring free on-demand online training, live sessions and conversations around topics like reimagining customer service, creative reinvention, going from brick and mortar to digital and more.

Over the course of the six weeks, we’re offering topical training sessions to teach you things like how to get creative with your mobile phone, build your online presence, understand Page insights and more. You’ll also hear from speakers like Marcus Lemonis (Host of the hit TV show “The Profit”), Magic Johnson (basketball legend and entrepreneur), Monique Nelson (Chair and Chief Executive Officer, UWG) and Kevin O’Leary (Chairman of O'Shares Investments and TV personality), who will offer tactical tips to help your business succeed. We’re also spotlighting small business owners, like D'Andra and Mikaila Ulmer, owners of Me & the Bees Lemonade and Emmie King, owner of Nandy’s Candy who have insights to share about how they’ve been adapting their businesses.

Because there are many worthy topics to cover, we’re focusing on a different theme each week. Learn more about the themes, below:

• The Changing World (June 24 - 28) The world is in a state of accelerated change. It’s not just about the pandemic; innovation itself has put us in a permanent state of flux. To thrive as a business, you need to understand how to respond to this new paradigm.
• Resilience (June 29 - July 5) Sometimes opportunity can look like a setback. The businesses that succeed are the ones that can reframe a setback as a new way forward. Find out how to stay resilient in moments of change and make your downturns work for you.
• Reinvention (July 6 - 12) That one transformative opportunity might just be out of reach — and you just might have to try a little reinvention to fully grasp it. We’ll show you how remaking your business can help you unlock these new opportunities.
• Re-Emergence (July 13 - 19) Once a crisis ends, how do you enter into the new landscape? Successful re-emergence into the market means understanding which parts of your business to keep and what needs to evolve.
• Customers & Commerce (July 20 - 26) If you’re an asset to your customers in times of uncertainty, you stand to gain when the economy picks up again. Learn how to make your business essential, through customer-focused processes and smarter commerce.
• Community (July 27 - 31) Essential businesses help communities stay strong and flourish, whatever their size or composition. Learn how to keep your business a vibrant and important member of your community — however you define "community."

Bookmark the Boost With Facebook Summer of Support site and check back through the end of July as we continue to release new content.

We know that the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic left many small businesses closed or with limited ability to operate, and as a result, social media has quickly become an online “Main Street.”

To ease this transition, we’re launching an Online Business Guide to help you move your business online or further transform your business in today’s rapidly changing environment. Our guide offers step-by-step instructions to help you establish a digital presence, connect with customers for free and get started with advertising, so you can ultimately grow your sales online.

We’re lifting the curtain on an original Facebook Watch show starring fashion designer, TV personality, author and former small business owner Tan France called Boost My Business. In each episode, Tan meets with small business owners from around the country and helps them find creative solutions to common challenges, like boosting online sales, acquiring new clients, encouraging website visits and more. Check out the first two episodes now and learn how you can apply these lessons to your own business.

We remain committed to small businesses and will continue to explore new ways to support you. Earlier this year, we announced $100 million in cash grants and ad credits to help businesses through this challenging time, and last week we committed over $200 million to support Black-owned businesses, Black creators and nonprofits serving the Black community. Boost With Facebook Summer of Support is just one more step we’re taking together on the journey to helping get you back to business.