• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, April 21, 2011

Facebook has teamed with American Express OPEN to launch a national contest aimed at helping small businesses use the social network to connect with customers. Through the "Facebook Big Break for Small Business" promotion, five small business owners will win an all-expense paid trip to Facebook headquarters for a two-day, social marketing "boot camp" and $20,000 cash prize. Companiescan enter by visiting www.facebook.com/OPEN and submitting responses to a brief questionnaire describing how they would utilize the competition’s winnings to improve their business.

Submissions will be judged by a panel of experts including startup guru Guy Kawasaki and Federated Media CEO John Battelle. Ten semi-finalists will be chosen to compete in a final round of judging where OPEN Facebook fans will be asked to vote for the five winning entrants. Training sessions from the Facebook boot camp will be posted on the OPEN Facebook page and the OPEN Forum. American Express says nearly half of small businesses use social networking sites to engage with customers and market products, up from 10% in 2009.