At F8, the Facebook developer conference a few interesting announcements have been made to do with their messaging platform “Messenger”. The abridged version is that Facebook have opened their platform up to developers who wish to integrate their apps with the Messenger interface. Already if you’re composing a message and tap the three dots in composer you’ll find a rather imposing list of apps that are already compatible with the app which users can use to “enhance their conversations with GIFs, photos, videos, audio clips and more”
The second announcement, possibly something of a surprise is the emergence of Businesses on Messenger. Seemingly designed to allow businesses to offer a modern take on customer service through the Messenger platform, which at 600 million active users per month potentially offers businesses a deeper reach than they may otherwise have through their existing market and growth.
With Businesses on Messenger, people can have rich and personal conversations with businesses. For example, after purchasing something from a website, people can choose to receive updates in Messenger and continue their conversation with the business in the app.
Once there, people will be able to receive relevant messages from the business including order confirmations and shipping status updates, and will be able to take basic actions like modifying, tracking or returning an order. People will also have the option to ask a business questions, make requests and get quick responses. This whole set of interactions and features are unified in a single, ongoing thread between the person and the business.
For those in the know and speak “developer”, you can check out the Facebook Developers Blog Post about the messenger platform and how to integrate your app with it.
Are you a heavy user of the Messenger app, if so; would you utilise it to discuss purchases or business dealings?
