Facebook announced at its F8 developer conference that the new Messenger Platform will allow its users to create and share content with third-party tools. For example, a user can create animated GIFs with an external app and share it with a friend, who can open the piece of content with the app or download it.
In addition to the new platform, there is also Facebook Businesses on Messenger, aimed at improving social media communication between users and brands. Businesses will be able to reach customers directly during and after purchase.
Here’s a real-life scenario – when shopping on your website, a customer can start a conversation with you by:
- choosing to receive updates on things like order confirmation and delivery status,
- asking questions about the order,
- receiving customer service responses.
These messages from your brand will be displayed alongside messages from friends. Think of all the ways you could leverage this – you could send customers information, follow up with customer service, or upsell other products.
At present, Facebook Messenger for businesses is available only to retailers Everlane and Zulily, whilst Zendesk is supporting their live chat experience. In the future this platform could be beneficial to businesses looking to get closer to their customers. What do you think of it? Would you consider using Facebook Business on Messenger?
