Facebook
People are silhouetted as they pose with mobile devices in front of a screen projected with a Facebook logo, in this picture illustration taken in Zenica October 29, 2014. Facebook Inc warned on Tuesday of a dramatic increase in spending in 2015 and projected a slowdown in revenue growth this quarter, slicing a tenth off its market value. Facebook shares fell 7.7 percent in premarket trading the day after the social network announced an increase in spending in 2015 and projected a slowdown in revenue growth this quarter. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic

Facebook introduced a new feature on Aug. 5, wherein, businesses can communicate with their customers through private messages. This feature allows firms with Facebook page to send messages users privately, in response to any post or comments posted by the user.

Businesses can now get a “send message” button in ads that appear in Newsfeed. This will allow the social media’s users to click a button and send private messages to the firm. In case, users leave a comment on a company’s Facebook page, then the company can send a private message to the user, reports Reuters.

Users can also use their discretion to block private messages from businesses. As part of the feature, users are encouraged to generate faster responses to users’ comments or queries. Businesses that reply to 90 percent of messages and respond approximately within five minutes will be rewarded with "very responsive to messages" badges on their business pages.

Facebook as a favorable advertising platform

With the new feature, Facebook aims to target more small and medium based firms based in emerging markets. The new feature could allow businesses to get social customer support power, which would not be a viable option, if they intend to buy it through third-party Page management tools, reports Tech Crunch.

Facebook is hopeful that by giving businesses direct access to customers, it can prove its platform as a lucrative destination for advertising. Facebook has taken several initiatives to make its platform an ideal advertising medium. Last month, the company had announced that it will share 55 percent of its ad revenue with video content creators. In May, Facebook had teamed up with IBM to help clients in delivering more personalized advertising. The partnership aimed at integrating Facebook’s ad targeting technology with IBM’s tools.

Facebook has also realized that it generates maximum revenues through mobile advertising. While announcing its Q2 earnings for the year, the company revealed that revenues generated through mobile advertising accounted for nearly 76 percent of all ad revenues in second quarter of 2015, in comparison to 62 percent witnessed in Q2 2014.

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