The Move Is a Part of the Facebook Communities Summit

Very soon, Facebook Business will roll out new features to support brands to conduct business in novel ways. The launch is centered around integrating Instagram Direct Messages in Facebook Messenger and the ability of Facebook pages to participate in groups.

Instagram Messaging

Businesses can now receive and respond to messages for both Instagram and Facebook on Facebook Messenger. Instagram’s messaging service will be embedded in Facebook’s page inbox enabling businesses to respond to Instagram DMs on Facebook Messenger.

Facebook intends for businesses to respond faster by releasing this functionality. Instagram recently revealed that 150 million customers interact with its platform monthly. Also, Facebook Messenger sees the exchange of 10 billion messages between customers and businesses.

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The service is only for business pages and will be rolled out in the US and Brazil in the coming few months.

Facebook Pages

Currently, only private accounts that are part of a Facebook page can participate in a group chat. Of course, pages can create groups but cannot post or comment in the group as a business page. This arrangement does not create as much impact for a business as much as a business page directly communicating as itself in a group. Facebook will be changing this as well and activating business page interaction on Facebook groups.

New Ways for Pages to Participate in Groups

Over 90 million businesses and non-profits use the platforms to connect with customers and their communities. People who manage Pages find that posting and sharing stories are great ways to get the word out broadly, but many are eager to also engage with their community in more personal ways. So, in the coming weeks, Pages will be able to participate in Facebook Groups and join community discussions in a way that is representative of their business or organization.

What Should Marketers Know?

Facebook has been working hard to get its popularity back at least as an ad platform with marketers, who currently prefer Google and Amazon over Facebook. On the customer level, there is also a concern of Gen Z not preferring Facebook as the go-to social media channel — they prefer YouTube. Hence, the social media giant is trying a combination of things to win both — customers and marketers. The company recently announced re-alignment of ad sets on Facebook and keeping their marketing endeavors aligned with ethical AI.

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While Instagram’s update seems obvious, marketers should note Facebook’s efforts of community building for businesses. The company is clearly trying to create a community within the business that can leverage the platform and sell more.

Industry Quotes:

Small businesses tell us how these updates will help them.

• Anibal Fuentes Perez, Owner, Pavos Extreme, said, “Unified messaging is a great help for customer service since I can work from a single application. It speeds up my work and has facilitated communication with my clients, especially during busy periods such as Christmas, when I receive a large influx of messages from Facebook Messenger and Instagram.”
• Bryn Blanks, Communications Manager, Direct Relief, said, “Direct Relief has seen time and again, from Gulf Coast hurricanes to California wildfires, how Facebook groups serve as a critical source of information and connection in times of disaster. Groups also have the potential to greatly enhance relief efforts by offering humanitarian response organizations ground-level insights into the specific needs of those affected.”
• Jayvee Nava, VP of Community, Peloton, said “Peloton creates Pages for each of their instructors so they can share content in Peloton Groups that have generated strong engagement, allowing them to tap into a broader community and build their brand. One of our instructors told a very personal story in the Mom Group that talked about one of her kids leaving for college. This started a lot of conversation and opened up her brand to so many people! Because one of our goals is to get people to take our instructor-led classes, if members feel connected to the instructor, they may take the next step by taking their class.”

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