Facebook announced recently that it was to be removing the discussions app from pages as of October 31st 2011. At the time of writing the app is still live on a great number of pages suggesting that the removal is phased or has been reversed.
Despite the app disappearing (or the delay to it) this phased window does give companies the opportunity to salvage the information the discussion board contains before it goes for good.
The reason for the removal is to encourage pages to use wall posts to engage with their fans. While engagement via the wall is a great form of communication and should be encouraged by any business on Facebook – it isn’t always a practical forum for large discussions.
Looking for feedback on a product in detail or helping customers share FAQs and thoughts was well served by the discussions app and for some companies it will be a disappointment to lose it.
To the rescue comes an app called ‘Forum for Pages’. This free app is available on Facebook and essentially replicates much of the functionality of the Discussions app. Bundled with the app is the ability to take all the previous data from the Discussions app and migrate it across to the new one.
This means you can save all your previous discussions and even keep them going. To find the app either search for it on Facebook ‘Forum for Pages’ or click here: http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=202980683107053
Once on the page click on ‘Add to My Page’ in the bottom left or ‘Add Forum to your page’ from the centre and away you go.
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