FACEBOOK will offer £4.2m worth of free ads to start-ups and small businesses in Europe, the social network has announced.

Speaking at the DLD conference in Munich, Facebook's chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg announced that 50,000 European small businesses will be able to claim credits worth $100 (around £80) each to use on the site, in a bid to help start-ups reach a wider audience through social media. The credits will be available to small businesses in the UK, France, Spain, Germany and Italy.

Facebook has also teamed up with the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) to run a series of events in the UK this year, to educate small businesses on how to create a business page and engage with customers through the site, Sandberg revealed.

The announcements coincided with the publication of a new report by Deloitte, which examined the impact that the social network has had on the UK and Europe.

According to the report, Facebook supported the creation of 35,200 jobs in the UK last year (including 7,500 from the Facebook app market), while boosting the UK economy to the tune of £2.2bn.

"Today's report shows Facebook is about a lot more than sharing pictures or keeping up with friends," said Sandberg.

"As the Deloitte study highlights, social media is proving particularly valuable for small and medium-sized businesses, which form the backbone of the European economy."

The social network, which is expected to hit one billion users by August this year, has increasingly courted the small business audience in recent months – with the launch of Facebook Places and Sponsored Stories adding to its Business Pages – with businesses' ad spend representing its primary revenue stream.

A spokesman for Facebook said that they will be announcing details of how businesses can apply for the Facebook Ad Boost programme over the coming weeks.