Facebook is turning pages into an online shops

Popular social networking site Facebook plans to launch two new sections to make it easier for small companies to run their business by turning their pages into online shops. The social networking site which is now home to more than 45 million pages plans to open two new sections Shopping and Services, will allows businesses to feature their products and services directly from their Facebook pages.

Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg introduced the update during a press event at the company's headquarters in Menlo Park, California yesterday. With the changes, page owners will be able to take advantage of two new sections for their businesses' pages Shopping and Services.

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Shopping, which Facebook first began testing in July, allows retailers to showcase and sell their products from their page and the Services section, aimed at companies that provide professional services like plumbers or salons, lets businesses highlight their offerings. The new sections are still in a testing phase but will more broadly in the coming weeks.

Additionally, Facebook is making it easier for people to interact with businesses through their pages with three new "call to action" buttons currently being tested "Call Now", "Send Message" and "Contact Us". "The new features for pages reflect our belief that no matter if you're a 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," Facebook said in a statement.

"Facebook will continue to add more sections for pages and call-to-action options in the future as it ramps up its features for businesses. "The updates are meant to make companies' Facebook presence more customized based on the type of business they are in," it said.

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The changes could also have significant implications for Facebook's consumer-facing features, like its forthcoming virtual assistant "M". Though the company is still in its early stages of testing the artificially intelligent assistant service, the feature will be able to complete tasks for you, like making appointments or completing online orders. If both of these features become baked-in to businesses' Facebook pages, it could certainly streamline M's ability to get stuff done for you.

Source PTI