Facebook is not one of those networks that stands still. Facebook is constantly innovating their service for the users and businesses. Sometimes these are great changes and other times they fail. This is the thing I like about Facebook. They aren’t afraid to fail at doing something different.  One change they announced last year was the new messaging service for pages.

The service will be launched very soon. One of the first ways the new messaging will be used is in local awareness ads. These are similar to regular ads but it will feature a call to action on the ad that says “send message.” Facebook says this will be a personal way for people to connect with brands. This has great potential for brands to answer questions and talk to customers. Its a better way then the current message system on the page. One of my biggest gripes is that notifications don’t always work when a new message is received on a page. When you notice that you have a new message it could be days later.

If you enable the local awareness ads make sure you have someone available to answer questions. People will get upset if their questions/comments aren’t addressed in a timely manner. Its the cost of doing business in the social world. People want instant communication.

The second way Facebook is integrating messaging is the ability to privately send a message to someone who comments. I liken this to a Twitter Direct Message. When someone comments on a page you will see a message option next to their post. When you make a comment directly to that user it will show to the general population that you answered the person. This is a great feature because you want people on your page to know you care and have responded.

The last thing Facebook is doing with messaging is letting people know how well your page answers messages. This will help people identify responsive pages on Facebook. If you are a business who may not want to use the service, such as a sole proprietor or another small business, put in your info about when you will contact people. Don’t leave them guessing.

I think this is a great feature that will allow real time messaging. As for the logistics of the messaging service is unclear to me. I would hope It should tie directly into the messaging app. However, Facebook could make it a separate app, similar to what they do with the pages app. Either way it would be welcome to allow brands to be more proactive. It should be rolled out very soon.

PHOTOS: By Facebook