Facebook announced the creation of the Business Resource Hub, to support businesses being affected, whether directly or indirectly, by the outbreak of COVID-19.
The Hub features recommendations as well as courses to help businesses and brands stay connected to customers and keep their business on track.
As part of these recommendations, Facebook encouraged businesses to take these five steps to navigate the impacts and effectively maintain their operations including staying up to date by following credible official sources such as the World Health Organization, and local government health departments so that the business can respond quickly to changes that could affect their customers.
The second recommendation is to proactively share important information with customers using email, business website, Facebook, and Instagram business profiles.
“In case you need to postpone or cancel any planned events as a result of the outbreak, connect with your customers directly on their phone with an online webinar, or organise live sessions using social channels such as Facebook or Instagram,” said Facebook.
It advised the businesses to be responsive and transparent with customers during these challenging times, and to prepare for incoming questions and requests.
“Prepare a list of responses for questions your customers are likely to ask and provide as much detail and reassurance as possible in your answers,” said one of Facebook’s recommendations.
The Business Resource Hub also includes quick and easy access to credible and accurate information about COVID-19 and other resources to help businesses and the communities they serve stay informed.
These resources include the Resilience Toolkit that provides best practices, tools, and a self-assessment to help protect businesses from interruptions. Also available on the Hub is the Quick-Action Guide that helps businesses plan their emergency response and develop plans to minimise downtime.
