Facebook revamps its line of business tools following threats to its ad targeting business – TechCrunch

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Facebook today announced the launch of new products and features for business owners, following the threat to its ad targeting activity brought on by Apple’s new privacy features, which now allow mobile users to not be tracked in their iOS apps. The social media giant has repeatedly claimed that Apple’s changes will impact small businesses that rely on Facebook ads to reach their customers. But he failed to stop Apple’s changes. Instead, the market is moving into a new era more focused on user privacy, where personalization and targeting is more of an opt-in experience. This has forced Facebook to reach out to its commercial advertiser base in new ways.

As the ability to track consumers declines – very few consumers opt for tracking, studies show – Facebook is rolling out new features that will help businesses better position themselves with relevant audiences. This includes updates that will allow them to reach customers, advertise to customers, chat with customers through Facebook apps, generate leads, acquire customers and more.

Earlier this year, the company began testing a way for customers to explore businesses from Newsfeed posts by tapping on topics they were interested in, such as beauty, fitness, and clothing, and explore content from other related businesses. The feature allows people to discover new businesses that they might also like, and would allow Facebook to create its own dataset of users who like certain types of content. Over time, this could even turn the feature into an ad unit, where businesses could pay for a higher placement.

But for now, Facebook will expand this feature to more users in the United States and launch it in Australia, Canada, Ireland, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, South Africa and the United States. UK.

Image credits: Facebook

Facebook also makes it easier for businesses to chat with their customers. They are already able to buy ads that encourage people to message them on Facebook’s various chat platforms: Messenger, Instagram Direct, or WhatsApp. Now, they’ll be able to choose any messaging platform they’re available on, and Facebook will default to the chat app featured in the ad based on where the conversation is most likely to take place.

Image credits: Facebook

The company will also link WhatsApp to Instagram, as part of the effort. Facebook explains that many businesses market themselves or operate stores on Instagram, but rely on WhatsApp to communicate with customers and answer questions. For example, Facebook will now allow businesses to add a WhatsApp chat button to their Instagram profiles.

This change, in particular, represents another move that ties apps separate from Facebook more closely, at a time when regulators are considering breaking down Facebook for antitrust reasons. Already, Facebook was interconnecting Facebook’s Messenger and Instagram messaging services, which would complicate such a teardown. And more recently, it has started to integrate Messenger directly into the Facebook platform itself.

Image credits: Facebook

In a related change, businesses will soon be able to create ads that send users directly to WhatsApp from the Instagram app. (Facebook also already offers ads like this.)

Separately from this news, Facebook announced the launch of a new business directory on WhatsApp, allowing consumers to find shops and services on the chat platform as well.

Another set of changes introduced involves an update to Facebook Business Suite. Businesses will be able to manage emails through the inbox and send remarketing emails; use a new file manager to create, manage and publish content; and get access to a feature that will allow businesses to test different versions of an item to see which is the most effective.

Image credits: Facebook

Other new products include testing of paid and organic lead generation tools on Instagram; requests for quotes on Messenger, where customers answer a few questions before their conversations; and a way for small businesses to access a set of tools to get started with Facebook Ads, which includes a Facebook ad coupon as well as free access to QuickBooks for three months or free access to Canva Pro for three months .

Image credits: Facebook

Facebook will also start testing something called “work accounts,” which will allow business owners to access their business products, like Business Manager, separately from their personal Facebook account. They will be able to manage these accounts on behalf of employees and use single sign-on integrations.

Business accounts will be tested for the rest of the year with a small group of businesses, and Facebook says it plans to expand availability in 2022.

Other efforts it has in store include plans to incorporate more content from local creators and businesses and new features that allow users to control what content they see, but these changes weren’t detailed. for the moment.

Most of the products announced are either rolling out today or will start appearing soon.

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