Further fashioning itself as a customer service platform, Facebook will now let businesses -- along with organizations and public figures -- feature message boxes and event information
right on their Web sites.
“This allows you to bring the conversations you have with people on Facebook to other places on the Web and on mobile,” Yugal Jindle, a front-end engineer
at Facebook, notes in a new blog post.
A jewelry shop owner, for example, now has the option to have a conversation with a customer on his business’s Facebook Page or Web site via a
messages tab. Additionally, Facebook is making it easier for businesses’ to feature events on their Web sites, and let consumers “subscribe” to those events.
The
changes are part of a broader effort by Facebook to upend the business of customer relationship management. The social giant also recently announced plans to position Messenger at the center of
business-to-consumer communication.
Earlier this year, the social giant launched a Page plug-in so Page owners could more easily connect with customers, fans and followers.
The company
also recently added new ways for customers to send private messages to Page owners and new tools for Page administrators to manage and respond to messages.
As such, Page owners were invited to
add “Send Message” call-to-action buttons directly on their Facebook ads. For Page owners’ edification, incoming messages include an attachment showing which ad prompted a person to
reach out.
Page owners can also reply directly to users who message them.