Decide who answers page messages and when, then say so in an instant reply. Use an away message outside those hours, saved replies for common questions, and answer everything, even with a short note.

Messages from the long weekend

Open a business page's inbox the morning after a long weekend and there is often a small pile: a price question from Saturday, a date check from Sunday night, a follow-up asking whether anyone is there.

Each person wrote expecting a quick answer. Messaging feels like texting, and texts get answered within the hour.

Facebook adds to that expectation. The page itself tells visitors how quickly the business usually replies, and pages that answer almost everything within minutes get a badge saying they are very responsive.

So the speed of your replies is not private. It is printed on the page, for every visitor deciding whether to write.

What a visitor sees before writing

The first does the quiet damage. A page that usually replies within a day tells a visitor comparing three businesses that this one will be the slowest, before they have typed a word.

How the figures are worked out

Facebook looks at how the page has replied recently: how many new messages get an answer, and how long the first answer takes. Messages that never get an answer count against the page.

The figures move with recent behaviour, so a slow spell shows on the page during the very weeks the business is busiest.

Messages answered by phone or email instead do not count. If the conversation moved elsewhere, a one-line reply in Messenger closes it on the page as well.

Say when you will answer

An instant reply goes out automatically to anyone who writes for the first time. Most pages either have none or use a generic thank-you, which promises nothing.

Make it specific: who answers, during which hours, and how quickly, such as weekdays between nine and five, usually within two hours. Add the phone number for anything urgent.

A greeting, shown to people before they start typing, can set the same expectation in advance.

A true day beats a false hour. People wait calmly for an answer they were told to expect, and lose patience with one they were promised and did not get.

Away messages for the hours nobody is watching

When nobody is answering, set the page to away. An away message can then tell people when someone will be back, which turns silence into a plan.

Use it in the evenings, on days off and on holidays, including long weekends like the one just past. Give the day and time replies resume, not just that you are away.

Remember to switch it off again. An away message still running on Tuesday afternoon looks worse than none.

Deciding who answers

Messages go unanswered most often because everyone assumes someone else is reading them. Name one person for each part of the week.

That person needs notifications on their phone, through the Pages Manager app, and a page role that lets them answer. The moderator role can reply to messages as the page without control of its settings.

Cover holidays and busy days in advance, and agree what they can answer alone and what needs the owner.

Mark each conversation as done once it is answered, so the inbox shows only what is still waiting.

A worked example

A wedding planner works mostly alone, with a part-time assistant on weekdays. Couples tend to start looking in the evenings and at weekends, and many write to the Facebook page first.

From May to September the planner spends most weekends at weddings, with the phone in a drawer. Messages that arrived on Friday night were answered on Monday, if they were noticed at all.

The page said it typically replied within a day, and couples who had written to three planners often booked a consultation with whichever one answered first.

The planner set an instant reply giving the reply window, weekdays by noon, with a link to the enquiry form. The assistant was given the moderator role and answers weekday messages, using saved replies for available dates and starting prices.

Each saved reply ends by asking for the wedding date and the rough number of guests, which the planner needs before any consultation.

On wedding days the page is set to away, with a message saying the planner is at a wedding and will reply on Monday morning. On Monday morning, she does.

Saved replies for the questions that repeat

Most messages ask a handful of things: availability on a date, prices, the area served, how to book. Write each answer once, carefully, as a saved reply.

Then personalise it before sending: the person's name, their date, one line that shows their message was read. A saved reply sent without a glance reads like a form letter.

Review them each season, since dates and prices change.

Messages that are really enquiries

Some messages are full enquiries in disguise: a date, a rough figure to spend, a guest count, all in one line typed on a phone.

Answer them where they arrived if the person seems to prefer it; many do. Ask for an email address or a call only when the next step genuinely needs one, such as a written quote.

And record them alongside enquiries from the website form, so a promising conversation does not sink down the inbox once newer messages arrive.

The counter-case

A business that genuinely cannot watch the inbox may be better off turning page messages off and pointing people to the phone and the contact form. An unanswered message does more harm than no message button.

A page that rarely receives messages need not chase the badge either. What matters is that the few who write get an answer in the time the page promises.

For everyone else: decide who answers and when, say so in an instant reply, and keep to it.

Before the next long weekend

  1. Read the response time shown on your page.
  2. Answer every message still waiting, even briefly.
  3. Write an instant reply with your real hours.
  4. Name who answers on each day of the week.
  5. Give them a page role and notifications.
  6. Set an away message for evenings and holidays.
  7. Save replies for the five commonest questions.

Step four is the one that changes the figure on the page. Everything else helps, but messages are answered quickly only when one named person knows they are theirs to answer.

Sending social media visitors to the right place is covered in the one link in an Instagram bio.

Frequently asked questions

Where does Facebook show my response time?

On the page itself, where visitors see how quickly the business usually replies before they write. Pages that answer nearly everything within minutes get a responsiveness badge.

What should an instant reply say?

Who answers, during which hours and how quickly, with a phone number for anything urgent. A true day is better than a promised hour that never comes.

When should a page be set to away?

Whenever nobody is answering: evenings, days off, holidays and long weekends. The away message should give the day and time replies resume.

Who should answer page messages?

One named person for each part of the week, with notifications on their phone and a page role that lets them reply, such as moderator.

Do replies by phone or email count?

Not on the page. If the conversation moved elsewhere, a one-line reply in Messenger closes it there too, so it does not count as unanswered.

Should a busy business turn messages off?

If nobody can watch the inbox, it may be better to point people to the phone and contact form. An unanswered message does more harm than none.

West Coast Media Solutions Inc. provides web design, web development, hosting, digital marketing, and business consulting to organisations across Canada, drawing on more than twenty-five years in the field.

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