Facebook recently released a feature called Universal Inbox that allows businesses to manage Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger messages in one app. Facebook decided to create this feature to simplify account management, which small businesses struggle with.
“Some people have been flipping through different apps to manage their various presences,” said Benji Shomair, global head of pages at Facebook to Ad Week. “And other people would actually have multiple phones open.”
With Universal Inbox, advertisers can easily track comments, reviews, and direct messages from Facebook, Instagram, and Facebook Messenger. Advertisers can then respond through the Universal Inbox instead of having to log into each individual service. Although this is an option, advertisers can still directly respond to Instagram comments through the Instagram app should they choose to do so.
Additionally, advertisers do not need to leave the inbox to view users’ publicly displayed information. Instead, they can simply tap the user’s profile from the inbox.
Because Facebook pages receive nearly five billion messages each month, this new app will undoubtedly lift a weight of burden off of small businesses’ shoulders.