Facebook has launched a series of new features to help small businesses reach out to consumers and stay updated during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Businesses are facing immense challenges during the Covid-19 crisis, and supporting them is critical to the well-being of entrepreneurs, communities and the economy,” Facebook said in an official blog post.

“We’re announcing new ways for people to support and discover small businesses, along with more tools for keeping businesses informed and connected with their customers,” it said.

The social media giant has launched a new ‘Support Small Business sticker’ on its photo-sharing platform Instagram.

“We’re launching a “Support Small Business” sticker in stories so you can show love to your favourite small businesses. Use it and your photo or video will be added to a shared story where friends can see which businesses you support,” Instagram tweeted from its official account.

When a user posts a story using the sticker, their story will be added to a shared Instagram story, a collective of all stories about small businesses.

This is done to ensure that the followers of the user can see it along with other businesses that people they follow, are supporting.

If a user mentions a business using the sticker, the business can repost the content to their stories or message the people who tagged them. This makes it easier for businesses to connect with potential consumers.

‘Business Nearby’ section

Furthermore, Facebook has also introduced a new Businesses Nearby section for its Facebook app. The feature lets users discover small businesses in their neighbourhood located within a fixed distance,

“Through Businesses Nearby people can learn what’s happening with their neighbourhood shops, message them or order food and buy goods from them through third-party apps. This will also help businesses see more virtual foot traffic as they move online to stay open,” Facebook said.

Apart from this, the social media platform is also adding an update to its messaging platform, Facebook Messenger. The tech giant will be upgrading the Business Inbox in Messenger, making it easy for businesses to communicate with customers directly in the Messenger app. Businesses can also directly install Facebook’s Chat Plugin on their websites.

Businesses can now tag Covid-19-related posts from the Page composer to keep people updated.

Apart from this, Facebook is also introducing a range of new resources related to Covid-19-related information, business tools and best practices in the Facebook and Instagram apps.

“This real-time, in-app information helps businesses more quickly take steps to move their business forward. These complement our existing Business Resource Hub and can be found in the shortcuts on the Facebook app and through businesses’ profiles on Instagram,” Facebook said.

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