Are you ready to utilize your Facebook page as a real-time communications tool? Facebook recently added features and tools to Page messaging. And with announcements made at the F8 conference this week related to the Messenger App, the communication tools now available to Page owners are something to be taken seriously in your Facebook marketing strategy.
To be clear, we are talking about two things here:
- The “Messages” tab / function on your Facebook Page, and the tools that go along with it.
- Facebook’s Messenger App, which people can use within Facebook or as a stand-alone product to connect with your Page.
Large companies can dedicate a whole customer service team to stay on top of Facebook messages, but as a small business owner, you need to think more strategically about your time.
If you want to jump on board the growing Messenger App wave, then there are some considerations and steps to take to get ready to successfully manage real-time communication through Facebook.
Let’s start with these 5 questions when using messages and the Messenger App for your business:
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What is the purpose of your Facebook business Page?
Maybe your Page is an interactive community, and you are monitoring comments and messages throughout the day already. So jumping all-in with the Messenger App and new message features makes sense.
But what if your Page is a more like a showcase for your business, while you have a Facebook Group for more one-on-one interaction with your community. In this case, you want to carefully weigh the time you have available before aggressively advertising Messenger as the best way for people to contact you.
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Do you have the necessary resources to guarantee a “quick” response time?
People expect a quick response in the digital world, so make sure you can realistically meet expectations.
Use the features available on your Page’s Messages Tab to set up Saved Replies and Auto Replies, and consider including your message response policy in your Page’s About section.
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Do you have a customer service / customer response system in place?
Systems are key for small business owners and solopreneurs. Take the time now to set up or re-visit your customer service / customer response system, so as the Messenger App’s features expand, you can keep up.
There are tools built in to the Messages Tab on your Page, like Labels and Notes, that can help you keep track of people / messages right on Facebook.
Or you may already have a customer service system in place that you re-direct people to from the Messenger App.
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What can you streamline in your replies?
The Saved Replies tool is helpful if you answer the same question over and over in messages. Or maybe you’d rather send people to another site / form / video when they ask about a specific topic.
You can set those replies up now before actively promoting your availability for messaging.
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Is this the best way to communicate and/or respond to your audience?
Depending on your business, and time constraints, consider if this is the best way to respond to your audience. With Facebook claiming over 1 billion monthly users and now the Messenger App claiming over 900 million monthly users, you may find that your audience is much more responsive to messages through Facebook products than traditional email.
This is something we will all be watching, as Facebook continues to add more tools and features to its products, so stay tuned.
One new tool you can test now is the “message link” for your Page, that you can place anywhere, and let people know they can message you directly through it.
Here is our LCS Page message link, so if you want to test it out, send us a message: http://fb.me/msg/leaguecomputers
Your Page’s message link is simply your Page’s vanity URL at the end of
http: // fb. me /msg/ <— your page username goes at the end
Note: If your Page’s URL is still full of numbers and characters like this:
http:// www. facebook. com /pages/ your-page-name/857469375913?ref=ts
then follow the steps from Facebook to claim a “vanity URL” here – https://www.facebook.com/help/409473442437047/ and then use that when sharing your message link.
Let me know if you have any questions about these tips, and look for a second post with specifics on some of the top features soon!
About Terry League