A new feature follows the recent Facebook announcement that it is working on integrating with Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp.
Facebook news
Facebook announced that page owners will soon be able to receive and respond to Instagram Direct messages through their mailboxes on the Facebook page.
Why should you care?
The update will save time for brands managing Facebook and Instagram pages. Accessing requests from multiple applications on a single UM platform will simplify customer service problems and help brands respond to direct messages from subscribers in one place.
Many business owners have already begun to say that a unified messaging platform would be very helpful in solving customer service issues. “It speeds up my work and makes it easier to communicate with customers, especially during stressful periods, such as Christmas, when I receive a large flow of messages,” said Anibal Perez, owner of Pavos Extreme.
Facebook Unified Messaging for Facebook pages is launched less than two weeks after CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced Facebook plans to integrate its three applications: Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp.
Providing advertisers with the ability to receive Instagram Direct messages through their inbox messages on Facebook pages is consistent with Facebook’s three-application integration initiative. Facebook said at the time that it was still in the early stages of an integration project, but planned to complete it by the end of 2019 or early next year. The fact that this happens within a few days after the company announced its goal of integrating the three applications shows how quickly it tries to make it happen.
What other news?
• The update will be released in the coming weeks, first in the USA and Brazil.
• Page owners will be able to receive and respond to Instagram Direct messages from their Inbox on the page, both on the desktop and on their mobile device using the Pages Manager application.
• Facebook announced this during the Community Summit, an annual event held at the company's headquarters in Menlo Park. More than 400 leaders of communities and small businesses took part in it.
For SMM specialists, this is news, yet another reason to think about how to use a new opportunity in promoting your business in social media!
