Facebook has been a messaging platform for many years. Friends on Facebook can send private messages to each other, as well as to groups of friends.

Did you know Facebook Pages have their own separate portal for messaging? This is designed for businesses to better interact with their customers. Visitors or customers can ask a question or send a message to a business through the “Message” button on the Page. It is up to the business owner or manager, then, to check the Page and respond to messages. This is not done through the standard Facebook personal messages area.

You can check your Page’s messages by going to your Page and clicking “Messages” at the top. The button is next to Notifications, Insights and Publishing Tools. You must be logged in as an Admin of the Page.

I recommend checking your messages regularly and responding ASAP. Some businesses choose to display a note about their “responsiveness,” such as, “100% response rate, 2-hours response time.” This shows your customers you care about them and are active on social media (and not closed down).

This is one more way to provide superior customer service. In addition to managing your text messages, emails, mail and spoken requests, stay on top of your Facebook Page messages. You may have a favorite means of communication, but your customers will use them all. Don’t lose a customer because you never check your messages!