Facebook for Business announced updates to Pages’ messaging capabilities earlier this month, and we’re all for making communication between brands and their audiences easier. But can it be too easy?
“Over a billion people visit Pages every month looking for more information from businesses.”
-Facebook for Business
We’re always fans of helping brands and consumers communicate more clearly, so we love a number of these updates.
Send private messages to a Page from a local awareness ad.
You can now add a “Send Message” call-to-action button to your local awareness ads. What a great idea! Encourage prospects to initiate a private conversation with your business to learn more about your products or services, RSVP for an event or to place an order. A private conversation fuels a more intimate connection between brand and consumer. We’ve already begun brainstorming ideas on how to best utilize this new feature for our business and clients alike.
Reply to comments privately with a message.
We love this one! If a customer (or prospect) posts to your wall, you’re now able to respond privately in Messenger. The message links to the original comment, so the person who posted the question understands why he’s receiving a message from you. Plus, a notation is left under the person’s comment on the page letting others know that you responded privately and didn’t ignore him. This new feature applies to many situations, including order tracking and quoting.
“Very responsive to messages” badge
Here’s the new feature we’re not sure about. We love prompt responses and timely communication, but does every question require an immediate answer? Pages that respond to 90% of messages with a median response time of less than five minutes will now showcase a “Very responsive to messages” badge.
As a small business owner, are you glued to your social networks 24/7? Whether we’re waiting on customers in our store or working on a client project, sometimes its best to give our full attention to the task at hand (like driving, for instance). Is it even advisable to jump at every social notification during these times? We’re interested in hearing from small business owners and professionals on this one. Will this new feature help or hurt small businesses?
“Messaging has become a preferred communication channel for people, and now people and businesses on Facebook can start real-time conversations with each other in more ways.”
-Facebook for Business
Page admin tools for managing messages
As a Page admin, how can you handle the increase in messages these updates should deliver? Saved replies, for one. While your communication with clients and prospects should be personal, it will be handy to save replies to common questions for easy retrieval later. Only save the replies you’ll use most often though. Otherwise, you’ll be digging through so many saved replies to find the one you want that this cool feature won’t be helpful. You’ll be able to edit saved replies, so you can still personalize your message.
Related reading: Facebook Messenger Is Now a Platform — And Open For Business
Comment on Facebook Pages’ new messaging capabilities
Which one of these updates will most help your business?
What do you think about the “Very responsive to messages” badge?
Do you manage your company’s Facebook page or do you delegate it to someone else?
p.s. If you need help making Facebook work for you business, we’d love to talk!
A fan of communication,
Jaime
Let’s chat (on Facebook, a new project or otherwise):
clearly conveyed communications 
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