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Facebook recently released three new features, putting the spotlight on new ways to streamline the communication between brands and users in real-time. As the responsibility of social engagement for brands grows, they must ramp up their community management and social media marketing strategy to capture digital authority.
Facebook Mentions
The first is Facebook Mentions, an app that puts real-time events on Facebook all in one place. Starting today, influencers can share live video with their audience right on news feeds. Mentions makes it easy for influencers like athletes, musicians, and politicians to interact directly with their fans and each other.
The next logical step after autoplay video is to start streaming live. While Facebook is limiting streaming privileges to the rich and famous, integrating that functionality into a Facebook-developed app could mean that the appeal of streaming from mobile could rival the likes of Meerkat and Periscope.
These broadcasts can receive comments, likes, and shares right from the news feed. When other public figures start interacting with these livestreams (or even just Facebook friends), it will all be visible right from the news feed.
More than that, app users can keep track of what’s trending and share updates across Facebook, Instagram, and, oddly enough, Twitter as well. This is the best opportunity for community managers, who already keep up with what’s trending with a brand’s userbase, to prepare for the wider release of stream engagement on Facebook.
While the app is not available for brands to use, Facebook fans can download it right away and start interacting with these broadcasts and trends.
Pages Messaging
Also announced today is Pages Messaging. Starting soon, if a customer posts a comment on a Facebook Page, admins can chat with the customer privately in a new window. The message will include a link to the original wall post.
Most importantly, wall posts that receive responses from Page admins will show other visitors that the business has taken the steps to respond privately to the comment.
It’s important to have a team of social media experts ready to respond to comments in real-time. This is another avenue to integrate a brand’s customer service model into visible, measurable results with buyers.
It’s no secret that Facebook Pages essentially serve as a brand’s social home base. Community managers are vital to keeping people engaged with the brand. The attentiveness that comes with a dedicated social media team can prevent a Digital PR nightmare before it happens.
The benefits of hooking up with Facebook Messenger are pretty clear-cut. It’s snappy, convenient, and instant messaging beats checking the inbox for both parties. With this new functionality, more value is put into personalizing each instant message.
Not only that, but with the tools already set in place with Messenger for Business, it’s messages between a brand and a consumer are a two-way street.
This is a relief for public relations specialists and customer service representatives. Facebook is also allowing businesses to create, save, and use answers to common questions. With one tap, Page admins can send these saved responses to customers with the ability to edit them before they’re sent.
This means that brands can set approved messages for social media managers to use for simple questions, but can redirect anything more complex to customer service teams. New pain points can also be revealed more easily with the tools to start a conversation with a real person.
Businesses that message back their customers frequently will get a stamp on their profiles that tell future visitors that they are “Very responsive to messages.” The benchmark to earn this badge is 90 percent of private messages must have responses.
The value in this marker is twofold. Brands can say front-and-center that they have great customer service and can put it to good use. It also puts those brands a notch above their competitors that haven’t worked towards it.
Send Message Button
Facebook is rolling out another expansion of their messaging service with their advertising. Just as marketers could before with “Buy Now” buttons, Facebook will now offer a “Send Message” button to go from seeing an ad to talking directly with a business owner online.
The brands investing in paid Facebook ads get new toys to play with. Their social media experts have a new opportunity to learn about what can cause a user to reach out directly, evoking an evolution in communication across the board.
This new call-to-action is something only Facebook’s popular and robust Messenger app can effectively provide. It’s feature-packed, with ways to make purchases right in Messenger and read receipts built into the platform.
Facebook also allows brands subscribed to their Messenger for Business platform to send rich messages. This means they can send locations, prices, and package tracking information right in the app.
After tapping Send Message, users are taken right to a new Facebook chat window and can start up a conversation with a business right there. Incoming messages include an attachment that tells brands which ad prompted the message.
Capture Authority
These updates are strategically designed to take advantage of Messenger’s strong commercial downloads and use. Though used casually to rival texting, phone calls, and video messaging, these moves are a step towards integrating business into the app past the occasional download.
Ad social giants like Facebook continue to expand brand’s reach and user connectivity, the need for a strong social media team becomes increasingly more essential. Having social media managers at-the-ready for any change is the best way to integrate the apps into business transactions. Facebook and other social media channels will continue to scale as apps and social engagement evolves.
As social media trends towards real-time updates, real-time marketing expertise will become necessary to manage Internet communities efficiently and save brands time.
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