FB exec to lead digital boost campaign in Cebu

CEBU, Philippines — Facebook Philippines Country Director John Rubio will be in Cebu tomorrow to promote digital boosting among entrepreneurs.

Rubio will lead the company’s campaign called “Facebook Community Boost”, a global initiative that provides digital skills training to advise entrepreneurs on how they can get started and to help existing local businesses, government, and nonprofits get the most out of the internet.

The event, which will be held at the Radisson Blu Cebu, is part of Facebook’s commitment to help the Philippines build for the future.

Facebook is helping communities and businesses of all sizes thrive in their digital transformation journey.

Since 2011 Facebook has invested more than $1 billion to support small businesses.

“Boost Your Business” initiative has trained thousands of small businesses in the US and hundreds of thousands more around the world.

More than a million small businesses have used Facebook’s free online learning hub, Blueprint, and more than 70 million small businesses use free Pages tool to create an online presence.

Statistica Research Department forecast shows that by 2023, the amount of Facebook users in the Philippines is expected to reach 49.9 million, up from 41.2 million in 2016.

With more than two billion monthly active users, Facebook is the most popular social network worldwide. Popular activities on the social network include watching videos, liking content via button, reading articles and messaging friends on 1-1 basis.

In July 2016, Facebook Messenger surpassed one billion monthly active users, placing it directly next to Facebook-owned competitor WhatsApp. Facebook successfully managed the transition from social network to mobile social platform, nearing one billion monthly active users and with mobile accounting for 77 percent of the social network’s total advertising revenue in 2015.

Mobile is also the keyword regarding the online market in the Philippines. In 2014, 41.28 million people accessed the internet through their mobile phone. In 2021, this figure is projected to amount to 66.64 million mobile phone internet users.

As of July 2016, the internet penetration among the population in the Philippines was 43.5 percent. (FREEMAN)