Facebook logo (Photo : Retuers)
Social network giant Facebook rolled out a new feature on Aug. 5 that allows businesses to send and receive private messages from customers as a part of the Facebook's drive to make its Messenger app as a stand-alone messaging platform.
According to Reuters, the new feature will give businesses the option to add the send message button in their ads that appear in the Newsfeed. Users will then have the option to send a private message directly to the business' mailbox. On the other hand, when users post a comment on the Facebook page of a certain business, this allows the business to send a private message to that user.
With these new features, Facebook is aiming to persuade small and medium enterprises especially those from developing markets like Brazil and India to advertise on its Messenger platform.
In order to encourage quick response from the business to the users, Facebook will award a special badge to businesses that responds to at least 90 percent of all their received messages within five minutes after it was received.
Additionally, in order to avoid spam messages, users will have the option to block private messages sent by a specific business. Facebook will also add a note on a business' page in order to tell visitors how long it takes for the enterprise to respond to messages.
Facebook director of pages product marketing Benji Shomair told CNet, "Our ultimate goal is to facilitate communication between consumers and businesses in the way they prefer most. When people message the page, they have expectation for a response in a timely fashion."
