Facebook is rolling out a news feed discovery tool to enable users to click on the information that matters to them most and engage with businesses they are interested in knowing more about. The new tool also enables businesses to like and comment on Facebook posts as a business entity.

The social media giant said it will initially test the waters in the U.S., and is hopeful the tool will be a win-win for both consumers and businesses. 

“As we learn from this initial test, we’ll look to expand this experience to more people and businesses,” Facebook said in a blog post on Thursday (April 15). The company said this is the first time businesses can interact as themselves in order to better connect with potential customers. “With a new dedicated business news feed, separate from your personal one, businesses can more easily engage with their communities and find relevant content from other businesses,” per the post.

Facebook business users can tap the professional dashboard to make it easier to aggregate tools and get a deeper understanding of actionable insights. The new solution also enables business owners to better manage their pages, with streamlined task-based permissions that corral administrators, editors and other users associated with the page’s upkeep.

The company recently built out its eCommerce portal — called Shops — which has to date surpassed one million sellers and over 250 users interacting with goods and services. Facebook introduced Shops in May 2020 to facilitate eCommerce and social selling.

Facebook’s Global State of Business report released earlier this month indicated that small business closures have increased worldwide. About 24 percent of business respondents said they shuttered operations, compared to 16 percent in October 2020. The survey was comprised of 35,000 small business leaders in 25 countries.

Originally Appeared On: https://www.pymnts.com/news/social-commerce/2021/facebook-testing-news-feed-features-for-business-discovery/