First of all, did you know you have a hidden inbox on Facebook?
Try this:
- Click on messages on your desktop
- You’ll see Recent and Message Requests at the top of the drop-down.
- Click on Message Requests
- You may or may not see some messages on this pane.
- Either way, click on “See Filtered Requests.”
- Upon clicking that, you will see your hidden inbox.
Yes, the majority of these messages are spam, but not all of them. I don’t know why Facebook has decided to hide these messages and detach them from the default inbox, but it’s a little inconvenient. I had actual messages I would have wanted to respond to from 4+ years ago.
This is a huge fail for Facebook, which is a company whose mission is to connect people.
In other Facebook messaging news, bots are all the rage now. Not only am I enjoying receiving automated digests from companies and publications I follow on a daily basis, but the ability to automate messaging as a business via the page is a major timesaver.
You can now configure your messaging settings in your page’s dashboard. Instant Replies is the big feature here since you can now automate responses to heighten customer service.
Another cool feature is the ability to display a default message even before a customer sends you their first question or message. This is perfect real estate for a promotion, offer, or pertinent information for new customers.
All of this, alongside the development of bots, has made Facebook messaging a force to be reckoned with.
Will moves such as these take us farther away from email?
Only time will tell us “WhatsApp” with all of this.