Facebook has been through a lot lately.
First it was the restrictive news feed algorithm, which was a blow to advertisers. Then came the bombshell report of private information sharing, Mark Zuckerberg’s subsequent appearance before Congress, and the revelation that Zuckerberg and other Facebook executives have been deleting their sent messages.
Pretty much the only thing Facebook has going for it at the moment is Messenger Platform 2.3.
While it’s by no means a solution to Facebook’s slew of recent problems, it is—at the very least—a boon to brands, with Messenger addressing businesses’ needs with this release. According to their launch post, Messenger Platform 2.3 “provides new tools to make customer interactions more seamless.”
Let’s take a look at what the new Messenger update entails and how it can help out brands.
Customizable Customer Chat Plugin
Have a Messenger plugin on your website? You can now customize the greeting text of your chats and the plugin’s display colors to match your brand’s identity. This is a simple yet effective step in creating a personalized experience for your customers. It may not seem like a huge change, but it does show that Facebook is willing to acknowledge a company’s needs (at least in terms of branding).
Effortless Contact Info Sharing
Facebook has created a convenient way for customers to give brands their contact info through Messenger.
“If a business asks for a person’s contact info, they can send a quick reply button that will auto-populate with the person’s email or phone number that is associated with their Facebook profile,” the launch post explains. “The person can then easily select and share it with the business. If the person has more than one email address or phone number connected with their profile, they will be given the option to select which they would like to share with the business.”
This change will not only benefit your customers, but it will make things easier on you, too: getting contact info is simpler than ever, and it can help eliminate the time-wasting back-and-forth that can be caused by typos or other miscommunications.
Two New Metrics
In the Messaging Insights API, Facebook is unveiling two new metrics designed to help you monitor engagement levels within Messenger: Open Messaging Conversations (your total number of open conversations) and New Messaging Conversations (conversations started by people that haven’t messaged you before). These metrics are designed to enhance understanding of what type of engagement you’re getting through Messenger.
Now you can more easily determine if the bulk of your messages are from people who have never interacted with you previously. This could indicate, for example, that your latest advertising campaign is working, or perhaps that a recent change you’ve made to your website and/or Facebook page is prompting questions. In other words, these new metrics are useful tools that can provide helpful insights into how customers are interacting with your brand.
New (and Improved) Message Tags
Two new tags have been added to help take some of the hassle out of your message organization: Community Alert and Confirmed Event Reminder. Plus, the Issue Resolution tag is being expanded “to support more use cases.” More support for any issues a business may face is always a big deal—and, in this case, it’s an even bigger deal since it’s coming straight from Facebook.
With all of these new changes, Facebook Messenger is a stronger tool than ever for businesses, whether you’re using the plugin on your own website or communicating with your customers through your Facebook Page. If your brand hasn’t been using Messenger much, now may be the perfect time to start!
Interested in other ways your brand can benefit from being on Facebook? Contact us today and we’ll help you strengthen your social media presence.