What businesses need to know about Facebook Messenger Rooms and Private Conversations

This article has been updated to include Facebook Messenger Rooms video chat information.

Facebook Messenger Rooms and private conversations

So a little while ago I wrote on how Facebook had made some changes to Messenger around the introduction of Messenger Ads and My Story. Well this week I have come across other Facebook Messenger changes on my personal account. In this article I will be outlining the changes and why they are important for businesses.

Create a Messenger room

First off is the new room chats. Carrying on from the popularity of group chats and as a swipe at other app based chat rooms, this functionality allows for public chats with anyone, not just friends.

These chats are searchable and generally public. So be warned! Some rooms can only be accessed if you have a link, but members of the room can share the link out wherever they please. The upside is that you can join existing ones around a particular interest, set one up, join or leave.

How do I see businesses using Facebook Messenger Rooms?

The big benefit I see for business owners is client research. Like the chat and bulletin boards of ‘old’, these Facebook Messenger rooms offer a wealth of information around topics that interest your fans. For example, rooms of dog owners for pet stores, tech rooms for IT companies, parent rooms for family-focused businesses etc.

Secret conversations

iOS only at this stage, don’t fret Android users I have put in a request as a beta tester. Taking another swipe at the SnapChat and other chat apps, this addition makes for a curious addition to the suite.  Let’s take a tour of a conversation I had.

1. Their image appears like a normal Facebook Messenger conversation.
2. Indicators show if your part of the conversation has been seen
3. How long the person has to see your comment before it disappears & a countdown timer allows you to adjust this out to up to 30 minutes.

Facebook Messenger Rooms Video Chats

At the end of April 2020, Facebook announced the addition of group video chats to Messenger rooms. It’s unknown if it’s a direct attack on the popularity of Zoom. Facebook said that they had been working on this feature for a while but had sped up development due to the global pandemic, COVID-19.

Desktop and mobile messenger room videos

A fantastic way to grow business, run webinars, and remove barriers to entry with customer engagement. The availability of video chats on both desktop and mobile devices is certainly going to benefit businesses who want to continue or grow face-to-face communication and relationship building with their customers.

With the advances in AR and backgrounds, the video chat is certainly going to be a fun way to engage your audience and show some of your behind the scenes personality.

Inviting people to your Facebook Messenger Video Chat

When you create a room, you choose who can see and join it. You can remove people from the call and lock a room if you don’t want anyone else to enter. Read more about the controls you have and how we built Rooms with privacy and security in mind.

How do Facebook Messenger Rooms benefit businesses?

I can certainly see that the adult industry would benefit from the functionality. However as conversations are between people, those wanting to keep their personal accounts private would not use this with their clients. However, if you are open or befriend your clients, you could also offer limited time vouchers or specials that expire.

Expiring offers would certainly be handy if Facebook extends the Facebook Ads platform into the secret conversations. Imagine a custom audience and an expiring voucher. (Though advanced Facebook Ads marketers would be able to do this at the moment)

UPDATE: 10 ways to use Messenger that aren’t all chat bots

I recently came across this article by Larry Kim. Larry is a top expert in Facebook Ads and Messenger Bots. So I wanted to share with you one of the best articles I’ve recently read on business uses for Messenger.

Further improvements to Facebook Messenger Rooms

I am still watching with earnest how they make it work for those of us with multiple businesses or those who are Administrators on other’s accounts.

I’m interested to see how Facebook will integrate Messenger payments and access to the Messenger Room chat.

I consult on the psychology of Facebook. If you’re interested in learning more about your customer’s psychology on Facebook, how to engage your audience on Facebook, or how to grow organically on Facebook – let’s chat!