Facebook has recently rolled out a few changes, with an emphasis on Groups, Events and small businesses.
During the next few months, it’s especially important that you stay up to date with all the new tools FB is introducing as it could strengthen the digital side of your business and allow you to connect with your audience in a more meaningful way.
Facebook Shops
On May 18, 2020, Facebook released the State of Small Business Report which outlines its take on the economic downside for small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, FB has made some recent changes to help allow small businesses, who weren’t online before, to build an online retail space natively within the FB platform.
Introducing Facebook Shops, making it free and simple for a business to set up an online store for their customers to access on both FB and Instagram. This means any business, no matter what size or budget can seamlessly create an e-commerce business.
Some of the nifty elements of Facebook Shops:
- Customizable fonts and colours
- Connect with customers through WhatsApp, Messenger or Instagram Direct to answer questions/offer support etc
- Allow for global customer reach
Facebook Messenger Rooms
Facebook also recently announced Messenger Rooms, a conference call without the formality. After all, FB is all about using technology to bring communities together and allowing them to connect. Connecting is especially important during a pandemic, as human connections help maintain physical and emotional health. Feature highlights:
- Allows up to fifty people to video call
- No time restrictions
- You can invite people from Instagram & Whatsapp
- Users don’t need to have a Facebook account
- Share rooms through News Feed, Groups and Events
- You can make it public or private
Facebook Events
Facebook Events will soon include a new feature that allows hosts to charge a fee to attendees. By adding this monetization feature, it allows small businesses to create a new stream of revenue that was potentially lost in the recent COVID-19 pandemic.
For example, if you’re a fitness instructor, you could now host a class on Facebook and charge guests to attend.
Facebook COVID-19 Update tag
COVID-19 Business Update tag: This feature allows businesses to communicate COVID-19 updates and changes to their audience.
Final thoughts: Stay in the know
Not all of these features are available in Canada quite yet, but we’ll be updating our followers with all the latest information and news as it comes out. Like and follow Legendary on Facebook to receive updates!
If you’re a small business owner or brand, you should definitely be taking advantage of all these new features as the potential to grow your revenue and brand awareness could be substantial. With these changes, Facebook is allowing small businesses to essentially establish and grow their entire business through their platform. Why? Because FB makes a lot of money from small businesses and advertising revenue.
Check out our post on content marketing mistakes to avoid.
