Facebook broadens search device to include 'likes'

Small businesses could experience an unexpected bump in attention as the world's largest social networking site, Facebook, introduces new search tools.

Now, when users input an item, friend or interest in Facebook's search field, any article related to the search that has been "liked" by a person in the user's network will appear - including pages, groups and businesses, Top News reports.

However, the new search tool may not work as effectively as intended. One search the news group did found that one item with 32 likes came up before another with more than 100 likes.

Social media continues to be a growing venue for online marketing. A recent survey by Daryl Willcox Publishing found that 35 percent of small to medium-sized businesses use social media daily to stay in touch with customers and other businesses.

Facebook was not the most popular social media site for businesses - LinkedIn came out on top with nearly three-quarters of firms reporting using it. Facebook and Twitter followed with 64 percent and 63 percent.