It’s important to understand that today’s customer views Facebook as a customer service channel. If your business has a Facebook page, visitors expect that they’ll be able to connect with you through Facebook. That contact can happen in many ways, from a visitor posting to your page, commenting on your posted content, or sending you a message. Facebook is making changes to the Messages folder you need to know about to ensure you’re not missing any customers who are trying to reach you.

Facebook is rolling out a new feature called Message Requests. This is where messages sent by people who are not your friends or followers will go. You will receive a notification of these messages which allows you to decide whether or not you want to respond without the sender knowing you’ve read the message. This Message Requests feature will replace the current Other Messages folder, which has proven to be problematic and hard to use on smartphones.

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The new Message Request feature, as well as the original Other Messages folder, was designed to cut down on the amount of spam messages Facebook users received. That being said, it is a good idea to check your Message Requests as they appear; spam messages can be dismissed with a simple swipe, while legitimate customer inquiries deserve a timely response. Social media messages and texts are rapidly replacing telephone calls and even emails as the preferred contact method for today’s customer; now is a good time to make sure these tools are fully integrated into your customer service systems.