Facebook Aims to Save Small Businesses Time with New Suite

Image via Facebook

Facebook recently announced the launch of Facebook Business Suite, which serves as a hub for business tools that can be used for mobile or desktop experiences on both Facebook and Instagram. Included are posting, messaging, insights, and ad tools that can be used across this large social media ecosystem.

Facebook referred to internal research indicating that business owners have longed for better ways to utilize its apps, but are usually too busy running their businesses to learn how to do so.

With the Business Suite, Facebook is hoping to make things simpler for businesses so they have more time to focus on other aspects of their companies. Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg described the offering as "a new interface to help businesses save time and stay up- to-date by managing their pages or profiles across our apps."

"It allows them to post to Facebook and Instagram at the same time, and manage and receive messages, notifications, and alerts in one place," she added. "They can also easily see what’s working and learn what’s resonating with customers with Facebook and Instagram insights."

With Business Suite, businesses can see critical alerts, messages, comments, and other activity across Facebook and Instagram that require attention on the home screen. The thinking is that this will make it easier for businesses to prioritize and manage activity throughout a given day. To save even more time, Facebook recommends setting up personalized saved replies for common questions, and creating shortcuts for streamlined responses.

From Business Suite, business owners can also draft a new feed post for both Facebook and Instagram, and schedule it to be published when it makes the most sense for their respective audiences. The Insights tab will show reach, engagement, and post performance for both social media services and, of course, you can turn posts into paid ads from the Suite.

According to Sandberg, the company intends for Business Suite to be the main interface for companies of all sizes, but notes it was built for small businesses first. The offering is already available to small businesses globally, and it will be expanded to larger businesses in the coming year.

Upon the announcement of Business Suite, Sandberg acknowledged the hardships many small businesses have faced in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The last few months have been tough for small businesses everywhere and, while there are reasons to be optimistic, there is still much uncertainty ahead," she said. "But whatever happens, Facebook will continue to do all we can to help them adapt, survive, and thrive online."

Facebook acquired Instagram back in 2012, although it is somewhat surprising that it has taken eight years for the Company to put the business offerings together in such a cohesive way. Nevertheless, these new offerings should be quite useful, since more and more businesses are relying on social media and their online presences, especially as they continue to push forward through these uncertain times.