Facebook Introduces New Features To Help Small Business Owners Connect With Fans, Customers
By Melony Roy
MENLO PARK, Calif., (CBS) -- Facebook is rolling out new features to help small business owners connect with fans and customers through the network.
The social network has added two new sections to pages: Shop and Services, to give fans more information about what a small business offers.
Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg introduced the update during a press event Tuesday at the company's headquarters. She announced the social network is now home to more than 45 million Pages and are growing at a rate of roughly 1 million per month.
The new "shop" section will help retail business showcase and sell their product from their Page. While, the "Service" section will enable professional service businesses to display their offerings. For example, a spa can add their services menu to their Page or highlight the line of products they sell.
In a blog post, Facebook says, "the new features for Pages reflect our belief that no matter if you're plumbing company a flower shop, a non profit or a brand, your Page should house the information people are looking for, help you communicate with your customers and support your unique goals."
The network is also updating call-to-action buttons, making them more prominent on mobile. The new look is bigger and located directly under the Page cover photo. To make it easier businesses and people to connect directly, Facebook is testing various new call-to-action buttons, including "Call Now," "Send Message," and "Contact Us."
In the future, Facebook says it plans to add more sections for Pages and call-to-action options because different types of organizations need to highlight different information to meet their goals.
