Facebook just made a major change to Comments, and it’s a big hint at the future of e-commerce

The next wave of Social Media E-commerce Tools is here. Selling through Instagram, Snapchat and Messenger has been up and running for a while now, and it seems to be working, with recently for Messenger on business websites. Facebook launching the beta version of a plugin That launch also seems to have prompted Facebook to on the news feed (some of you may have seen this a while back, or may not see it yet — that’s all part of programs) overhaul their Comments User Interface Facebook’s A/B testing Look familiar? I’m sure I don’t need to show you a screenshot of the 37 different conversations that I have currently active in Messenger to show you that Facebook comments now look like the group chats that you spend five minutes trying to figure out for. how to turn off the notifications Comments on Facebook have been moving towards a more conversational format for the last year or so, but this is . the first major, eye-catching redesign This latest change to probably one of the most engaging parts of the Facebook platform— the comments — seems, in my view, to have : two key objectives Objective 1: Turn comments into conversations Facebook has been working towards this for a while now. It’s something that I think they’ve been intent on achieving because a conversation, by definition, expects a direct reply. A conversation is also usually had by a small group: let’s say 2–3 people. If a conversation grows any larger then it becomes a forum that requires administration and organization to avoid derailment. I’d also expect color changes to the Replies in the near future. A conversation on Facebook, or in Messenger? Lastly, in real life, if you want to listen in on a conversation, or participate, one must (usually) actively enter it. The purpose of additional comments behind the button is into a conversation. It’s designed both to commit you to your course of action, and provide Facebook with a record of your interest in the conversation being had. hiding Reply to represent this active entry Objective 2: Tidy up comments for video content The move towards video content has been a macro trend across the Internet, from news websites, to social media and corporations. There has also been speculation that Facebook is starting to over other forms, providing it is well formatted, subtitled and relevant. prioritize video content Facebook has experimented with a few different ways of tidying up comments, the most obvious being their algorithm, which chooses which comments rise to the on posts with significant engagement. Again, s is rife, and it is certainly far from perfect at moving the most relevant and well considered comments to the top. Top Comments top of the heap peculation on how this algorithm works The new design helps clean up the comments in two ways. First, it continues the work of the previous UI iteration, by collapsing replies into a call-to-action. Second, as described above, it forces the user to think of the comments section as a conversation, and prompts them to read them as such. With the being significantly lower than text or picture-based content. Facebook is also , which, in combination with engagement metrics (likes, shares and clicks), provides a piece of content and its associated conversations are to a user. engagement rate of video content measuring the amount of time people spend watching videos a powerful measure of how relevant So what does this mean for commerce? Right at this moment — not much. It’s more what this UI design hints at for the future: that Facebook wants to turn the majority of its interactions on the platform . into conversations That means conversations that are , and . human-to-human human-to-AI The recent proliferation of chatbot builders in Messenger ( , , ) is testament to this. ManyChat BotFuel Conversocial As the CTO of a company that sells through an e-commerce store and Amazon, Messenger has become more and more integral to our business. It’s become an essential part of our customer acquisition and retention strategy, as we look to , while remaining efficient and lean. interact with consumers in a more meaningful way An interaction flow with the “Orabot” on the website www.ora.organic Providing helpful information and content through conversation is the main strength of these chatbots, as it allows the user to explore products and services in ; an interaction that is far more human than that of browsing a page on the world wide web. a question-and-answer style And that’s the goal of all e-commerce companies — to make online retail more human. The more human e-commerce becomes, the less we will find the need to go out to a brick and mortar store and consult with a sales representative about the best shoe size for us; that role will be filled by chatbot. The future for Facebook While a change in the comments UI may just seem like a minor annoyance, a simple play for consistency with Messenger, or a design crime, I think it declares as the major player in e-commerce retail (though that declaration could have been interpreted when Facebook initially launched selling through Messenger). Facebook’s intention to challenge Amazon This is a paradigm shift for many e-commerce companies. Interacting with your customers in a helpful, meaningful way is only going to become more important as , and comments become conversations transactions become relationships. Thanks for reading! I’m , the Chief Officer and Head of Growth at , a plant-based nutrition company focused on being organic, sustainable and helpful with our products. Sebastian Bryers Technology Ora Organic We’ve appeared in Shark Tank ( ) and have won awards for producing some of the most innovative products in the nutritional supplement industry at both Natural Products and . Season 8, Episode 18 Expo West Expo East If you’d like to contact me, you can reach out to me here or on . Twitter