Figuring out the value of a Facebook fan has become more complex for many small-business owners, ever since the social-media giant began asking businesses to pay to 'promote' their posts.

对很多小企业主来说，自从社交媒体巨头Facebook开始要求企业付费来“推广它们的帖子之后，计算一名Facebook粉丝的价值变得日渐复杂。

Under a program rolled out in May, businesses pay Facebook Inc. anywhere from $5 to hundreds of dollars to promote a post to the news feeds of users who have 'liked' their page, plus Facebook friends of those users. The price depends on how many users a business wants to reach.

根据5月出台的一项计划，企业可以向Facebook公司支付五美元至数百美元不等的费用，将该企业发布的一个帖子推广至曾经表示“喜欢其主页的用户所订阅的资讯中，同时也推广至那些用户的Facebook好友中。支付的价格视该企业意图发送帖子的用户数量多少而定。

The giant social network, which has to balance users' desire to broadcast messages against the need to keep the ecosystem tidy, has always limited the number of posts users receives via their news feeds. According to the company, the average business post reaches 16% of its fans. The Promoted Post program is supposed to make it possible to increase that reach.

Facebook必须在满足用户广播信息的需求和维护干净的网络生态系统之间进行平衡，所以一直对用户随订阅的资讯接收广告帖的数量进行了限制。根据该公司透露的数据，平均每条商业广告帖可以让16%的粉丝接收到。此次的推帖计划意在让接收广告的用户数量进一步提高。

Richard Bishop, of Mountain Home, Idaho, is among the many entrepreneurs who are irked about being asked to pay to reach a larger percentage of their Facebook fan base, which they have spent time and money building.

来自爱达荷州芒廷霍姆（Mountain Home）的理查德·毕夏普（Richard Bishop）是众多感到苦恼的企业家之一。Facebook要他们付费来获取更大比例的粉丝群，而他们此前已经花了时间和金钱来构建粉丝群。

Mr. Bishop says he puts out an average of 35 posts a week, and estimates that he would need to spend a minimum of $9,100 a year if he opted to pay fees to promote each one of them to his more than 1,500 followers.

毕夏普说，他平均每周要发出35个广告帖，如果他选择以付费的方式向他的1500多名粉丝推广每一条帖子的话，估计他一年支付的费用至少会达到9,100美元。

Facebook 'lured us in with free Facebook pages,' says the 35-year-old caterer, referring to small-business owners like himself who have built marketing programs around Facebook. 'Now all of a sudden they're saying a minimal percentage of your fans will see your posts unless you pay. They devalued the value of a fan.'

这位35岁的酒席承办商说，Facebook“用免费的Facebook页面诱惑我们进来。现在突然之间他们又说你必须付费才能让最低比例的粉丝看到你的帖子。他们贬低了粉丝的价值。他说的“我们指的是像他那样已经围绕Facebook制订了营销计划的小企业主。

Using social media has long been a particular challenge for many small-business owners, who often don't have a large staff or the free time to manage Facebook, as well as the other outlets.

使用社交媒体对很多小企业主来说一直就是一种特别的挑战，他们往往没有庞大的员工队伍和空闲的时间，不能像经营其它直营店那样来管理Facebook上的营销工作。

A July survey of 400 U.S. businesses with between $5 million and $50 million in annual revenue found that 77% spend a quarter or more of their marketing efforts on social media. Slightly fewer, 73%, said they have added social-media management to the duties of at least one employee in recent years. The survey was conducted by Edge Research and commissioned by software company Vocus Inc.

7月里对400家年营业收入在500万至5000万美元之间的美国企业所作的一项调查发现，77%的企业把四分之一或超过四分之一的营销工作都用于社交媒体的营销上。73%的企业说他们近年来至少让一名员工另外承担了处理社交媒体业务的职责。该项调查是由软件企业沃开思公司（Vocus Inc.）委托Edge Research机构进行的。

Facebook's expanding menu of fees has rankled some small-business owners who say they were initially drawn to the social-networking site because it is free to join and has a massive user base, now one billion monthly active users. Many have come to rely on Facebook as their main marketing vehicle to keep their operating costs low. And some even use its business pages in lieu of a company website.

Facebook不断增加的付费项目已经引起了一些小企业主的不满。他们说当初他们被这家社交网络所吸引是因为注册免费，而且它拥有庞大的用户群，目前每月的活跃用户达到10亿。很多小企业已经对Facebook产生了依赖，将其作为主要的营销工具，以维持低水平的运营成本。有的企业甚至用Facebook的商务网页替代了公司的网站。

Having to pay for social media puts small businesses at a disadvantage over larger rivals, says Eric Yaverbaum, co-founder of SocialMediaMags.com, a magazine publisher in New York. 'They don't have the same amount of money to compete with the big companies,' he says. 'They're going to have to reshape their online sales strategy or bow out if they can't afford it.'

纽约的杂志出版商、SocialMediaMags.com网站的共同创办人埃里克·亚维鲍姆（Eric Yaverbaum）说，被迫向社交媒体付费让小企业在较大的竞争对手面前处于不利地位。他说，“他们没有相等数量的资金去和大公司竞争，他们将不得不重新调整他们的网络销售策略，如果财力不足，他们就得退出。

According to Facebook, Promoted Posts are gaining considerable traction. In an emailed statement Tuesday, it said the program 'has significantly increased over the past three months.' The company declined to provide specific data.

按照Facebook的说法，推帖计划得到了相当大程度的关注。10月9日的一封电子邮件说该计划“在过去三个月里增长显著。Facebook公司拒绝提供具体的数据。

Among those using the feature is Joe Sorge, co-owner of four casual restaurants in Milwaukee and one in Madison, Wis. Since the Promoted Posts launched, he has been spending about $1,000 a month on it, mainly to highlight new menu items and special events. He says he is seeing results in the form of higher sales. 'Before I didn't have as much control over whose feed (a post) showed up in,' he adds.

乔·索尔格（Joe Sorge）是使用推帖功能的用户之一，他与人共同经营着威斯康星州密尔沃基（Milwaukee）的四家休闲餐馆和麦迪逊（Madison）的一家休闲餐馆。自从推帖计划发起之后，他每月要在这个项目上花费1,000美元，主要是重点宣传新的菜品和特别活动。他说销量的提高让他看到了效果。他补充说，“在此之前我对广告帖发送到谁的资讯订阅中无从控制。

In its efforts to educate wary businesses, Facebook has compared Promoted Posts to search advertising, where organic search results are free but companies pay extra to show up in sponsored search results. The company is also providing businesses with data on how many people have seen their posts and what percentage of this group came through the Promoted Post program.

为了说服态度谨慎的企业，Facebook把它的推帖计划比作搜索引擎广告，系统的搜索结果是免费的，但是企业要在赞助的搜索结果中显示就得额外付费。Facebook公司还为企业提供数据，让其知道多少人看过他们的广告帖，以及这些人中有多大比例是通过推帖计划查阅帖子的。

The initiative is just one example of recent moves by Facebook to prop up its sagging stock price with new money-making products. In late September, the social network debuted a gift service that lets users send real-world presents such as cupcakes or flowers to friends. And earlier this month, it rolled out a version of promoted posts for individuals, which charges users $7 to amplify a personal announcement, like an engagement or the birth of a newborn.

这项新的创意只是Facebook最近利用新的赚钱产品来支撑其不断下跌的股价的举措之一。9月底，这家社交网络首次推出了送礼服务，让用户可以给朋友赠送纸杯蛋糕或鲜花等真实的礼物。本月初，Facebook还推出了个人版的推帖计划，用户支付七美元就可以扩大个人声明的发布范围，比如订婚或者孩子降生的消息。