• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, June 16, 2016

Facebook is giving its Messenger app a homepage. Though seemingly small, the change is part of bold effort to establish Messenger as a communication hub of Facebook-like proportions.

“There’s lots to experience on Messenger,” Facebook notes in a new blog post.

The new homepage will feature the first few “most recent” messages at the top of users’ screens, followed by a new Favorites section, which highlights people that users message most frequently. Until now, Messenger has arranged chat threads in chronological order.

Analysts say the move makes perfect sense.

“It's a no brainer and a natural evolution to hold more consumers in its [Messenger] environment for longer periods of time,” Julie Ask, an analyst at Forrester Research, said on Thursday.

What Facebook is doing with Messenger is a really big deal, experts at OMMA Boston recently agreed. Marketers should be most excited about the direct lines of communication it’s creating between themselves and consumers, according to Josh Engroff, chief digital media officer at The Media Kitchen, and managing director of KBS+ Ventures.

To such an immense degree, the industry has “never really had direct communication between brands and consumers,” Engroff told OMMA Boston attendees. “Technology and media are at a tipping point.” Already, users can order a car via Uber and share a song via Spotify directly on the popular app.

Rarely do weeks go by without Facebook adding some big new feature to Messenger. Among other additions, Messenger recently added group calling, Dropbox file sharing, and Video Chat Heads, which lets users talk to friends from a smaller “chat head” instead of using their full phone screen.

Facebook also recently rolled out Links and Codes, which are simple ways for people to begin conversations with other people and businesses by scanning  a unique “code” they have been given. This can be done in-person -- standing side-by-side with someone -- or virtually. No prior connections are needed.

Facebook Messenger recently surpassed 900 million monthly active users, up from 800 million in January.

By the second quarter of the year, the social giant reportedly plans to begin putting ads directly into Facebook Messenger.