Facebook’s new inbox for businesses manages messages on Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger

Facebook is making it easier for businesses to use three of its most popular services by consolidating the messages they receive into a single repository. Between managing their presence across their Facebook Page and their Instagram, and corresponding to customers through Facebook Messenger, the workflow can be as rigorous as a workout at the gym. To fix that, the social networking company is launching a single inbox that syncs across these three products.

Normally capabilities like this may be something you’d expect from a Hootsuite-like service which would provide a dashboard across your entire social media footprint. But for those businesses that have put their faith and resources into Facebook as a way to extend their reach, this unified inbox could help. The company promises that within this new tool, you’ll be able to reply to Facebook comments, visitor posts, reviews, messages, and Instagram comments just by tapping on the specific content you want to respond to.

Facebook may also be developing a customer relationship management tool of its own, albeit a very simple one. With this single inbox, conversations no longer take place within a vacuum, meaning you can see how a chat in Instagram may be related to something on Facebook or another discussion that might have taken place on Messenger. This tool lets you personalize your interactions so that you can prioritize and give the proper attention to each request and communique.

The updated inbox is rolling out to all Facebook users of its Pages Manager mobile app “in the coming weeks.” When you have access, connect Instagram with Facebook by clicking on the messaging icon at the bottom of your page when in the app and then authenticating your Instagram account.

“We’re committed to equipping businesses with the tools to have friendly, fluid conversations with people, and we want to help you save time by making that process simple and easy,” the company said in a blog post.