Africa: Facebook Mobile Connection Increases In Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa

Now that there are more mobile connections around the world than there are humans on the planet, people are spending more time on mobile, and they expect to be able to do more from their phones and tablets.

They expect information to be available at their fingertips and that people and businesses will reply to their messages as soon as possible. These trends have far-reaching conclusions for businesses, the biggest of which is that it's never been more important to make your business easily accessible on mobile.

“With more than a billion people visiting Pages on Facebook every month, Pages are the best place for businesses, and in particular small businesses, to reach the people who care about their business and want to learn more exactly where they are – on mobile. We are committed to providing the 45 million businesses with better ways to achieve their goals and supporting these with the right tools” says Helen Smyth, SMB Community Engagement for Facebook.

"For people on Facebook who want to learn about or interact with a business, a business’s presence on Facebook is the best place to do this because it the simplest way to find all the information you need or take action, where you already spend time, and because it is a place to have a genuine and trustworthy interaction with the businesses you care about” Smyth continues.

A few weeks ago we updated messaging features for Pages to help people and businesses connect faster and more conveniently. Today we're adding new features to Pages to make it easier for the more than 45 million active businesses on Facebook to highlight important information and reach their goals. 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.


New and more prominent call-to-action buttons

Call-to-action buttons bring a business's most important objective to the forefront of its Page, whether it's encouraging people to book an appointment or browse an online shop. And now, Page call-to-action buttons on mobile are more prominent, making it easier for businesses to use their Page to accomplish their goals.

The new look of the call-to-action button on mobile is bigger, brighter and directly under the Page cover photo.

We're also testing several new call-to-action buttons on mobile, including “Call Now”, “Send Message” and “Contact Us”, making it easier for people and businesses to connect directly. Over time, we'll add additional calls to action to further help businesses drive their unique goals.

New sections for Pages

Until now, Pages have been largely the same for every business. Now we're beginning to add new sections to Pages, so different types of businesses can prominently feature the information that is most relevant to their organization.

Today we're announcing two new sections for Pages. The new Shop section helps retail businesses bring their products to the forefront of their Page, while the new Services section enables professional services businesses to showcase a list of their offerings at the top of their Page. So now, for example, a spa can add their services menu to their Page or highlight the line of products they sell, helping people get to know their business faster. And understanding the services and products a business offers is key to deciding to work with that business.