What do customers do when they have a question or comment for your business? Often times, they turn to Facebook Messenger. In fact, an estimated 1.3 billion people use Facebook Messenger, and approximately seven billion conversations happen daily. Suffice to say, there’s a good chance your customers will reach out to your business via this popular messaging service. And there’s no question your business can benefit from joining the conversation.

That being said, it’s tricky to juggle multiple messaging channels, and most businesses don’t have the resources to manage social media engagement. If you don’t have anyone to run your Facebook for Business page but you have Facebook Messenger enabled, you may miss messages, inadvertently ignore customers, and become overwhelmed with customer service demands.

That won’t just become a time management or workflow issue for you, but a potential reputation management problem too. That’s because long response times could alienate customers, cause them to become frustrated with your business, and send them into the arms of other businesses that use social media for customer service.

If you don’t have time to manage Facebook Messenger properly, that’s okay. It’s better to make the decision to deactivate it entirely. That way, your customers won’t become annoyed at slow response times or lack of engagement; they’ll simply look for other ways to connect. Ways that your internal marketing team can support.

If you need to deactivate Facebook Messenger from your Facebook for Business page, follow this tutorial.

How to Deactivate Facebook Messenger in 6 Simple Steps

It’s a simple process to deactivate your Facebook Messenger. It only takes a few minutes when you abide by the following steps.

You must be logged in as an Admin to deactivate Facebook Messenger. If you already have admin privileges, you can log into your existing account. Otherwise, ask the Page’s existing Admin to change your permissions to Administrator so you can deactivate Facebook Messenger.

Click “Settings”

Once you’re logged in as Admin, locate “Settings” at the top of the page next to the “Help” tab. Click “Settings” to see more options.

Select “General”

Once you open your “Settings,” “General” should appear in the menu. Click “General” and proceed to the next step.

Select “Messages”

Find where it says, “Messages” to view options for your Page’s Facebook Messenger.

Uncheck “Allow people to contact my Page privately by showing the Message button”

If you currently have Messenger enabled, the “Allow people to contact my Page privately by showing the Message button” should already have a checkmark next to it. Uncheck this option to deactivate Messenger.

Click “Save Changes”

By clicking “Save Changes,” you will officially deactivate Facebook Messenger from your Page. And that’s it! Easy peasy.

Having issues deactivating Facebook Messenger?

If you’re having a problem completing the previous steps, troubleshoot with the following scenarios:

You may not be logged in as an Admin. You must have Admin privileges to deactivate Facebook Messenger, or these steps won’t work. If you are not listed as an Admin on the Page, you’ll either need to receive Admin status from an existing Admin or find an Admin to perform these steps.
You may have missed a step. Follow the steps listed above sequentially and try again.
You may have listed your business as an individual. If your business is listed as a person, you’ll have to follow a different and more complicated set of steps. Instead of deactivating Messenger as an individual, your better bet may be to transition your Facebook profile into a Business Page and then follow the steps detailed above. To convert a profile to a Business Page, just follow the prompts Facebook provides.

The Benefits of Deactivating Facebook Messenger

Marketing is multifaceted and the landscape is constantly adding more channels to connect with customers. While this is fantastic since it allows your business to meet customers where they hang out, it’s not always feasible to do everything. If you need to deactivate Facebook Messenger until you have support to manage it well, here are the upsides to that decision.

You won’t leave customers waiting for a response that won’t come.

Many of your customers will want a quick response if they message you through Facebook Messenger. In fact, an estimated 18% of Australian internet users say they expect a response within one hour when they message a company on social media. If you just don’t have the ability to meet these expectations, deactivating Messenger can prevent your customers from awaiting your response on the platform—and subsequently, becoming agitated when they don’t hear anything. This could result in negative comments on your page, unfavorable recommendations or reviews, and more bad press or backlash for your company.

If the person who is in charge of responding to messages is away, you can temporarily deactivate Messenger.

Temporarily deactivating Facebook Messenger can be a convenient way to accommodate vacations or other schedule changes. Customers won’t be able to send you messages through the platform while it is deactivated, but you can easily reactivate it when you have the staff to handle your messages.

You can limit the number of channels you receive messages through.

Managing multiple messaging channels can be overwhelming and time-consuming. Deactivating Facebook Messenger can limit how many channels you receive messages through, which could make it easier to respond to your messages and gather more concise data on your customer service and marketing strategy.

The Downsides of Deactivating Facebook Messenger

Deactivating Facebook Messenger can be an easy way to ensure you don’t receive messages you can’t reply to. This can prevent customers from messaging you and getting frustrated when you don’t reply. It can also save you time if you’re swamped with other marketing initiatives.

However, deactivating Facebook Messenger also has some drawbacks. Facebook Messenger is the leading messaging app in Australia, with over 126 million Australians using Facebook Messenger on their phones. Communicating with your customers through a platform they’re comfortable with can help you better connect with them. Without Facebook Messenger, you’ll have one less tool for customer engagement.

If this is an issue for you, you should consider using Podium as a convenient way to consolidate your messages into one platform. This makes it easier to respond to customers across channels in a timely and organized manner. It also allows customers to reach out through whatever messaging service they prefer—increasing your business’s positive customer interactions.

While every business’s customer engagement can benefit from using Facebook Messenger, if it’s providing a poor customer experience then it’s best to deactivate it until you have more resources or an Interaction Management Platform like Podium. You’ll know the right choice for your business.

How to Deactivate Facebook Messenger

Ready to grow?