Until now private communication between users and Facebook page owners was not an option, but the ‘Private Messages for Pages’ feature will make this possible. The feature is currently under testing. Marketers who prefer to discuss customer service matters privately will find this feature useful.
For an internet marketing company, the biggest drawback of the feature is that private messages won’t generate news feed. This means that if people use the feature for asking general question or talking positively about the company, the firm will not be able to benefit from the possible positive effect of other people viewing this interaction.
The feature will allow people to send private messages to page owners regardless of whether or not they ‘Like’ the page. Although users are free to send messages, page administrators can not initiate a private conversation unless the users have made a comment or post on the page. Earlier page owners could send messages to users who ‘Like’ their page through the ‘Send Update’ feature, but this was disabled in September. However, whether or not to accept private messages is in the hands of the owners.
Until now users did not have any way of contacting page owners directly. Now Facebook not only features page owners, but also offers links to their profiles. This enables fans to send private messages to the owners. Although it is not yet accessible to everyone, Facebook has confirmed that a feature that enables private communication between pages and people is being tested.