30 Facebook Messenger Tips and Tricks

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30 Facebook Messenger Tips and Tricks

Are you always on Facebook Messenger communicating with friends?

Did you know Facebook Messenger can be used for more than just basic communication.

In this article, you will learn 30 Facebook Messenger tips and tricks to help you get the most out of using Facebook Messenger for both business and personal use.

 

The Tools

Before we go over this collection of Messenger tips and tricks, you'll want to download Facebook Messenger.

This way you can follow along and try out the tips as you are learning about!

Download Facebook Messenger for iOS

 

Download Faccebook Messenger for Android

 

30 Facebook Messenger Tips and Tricks

Let's take a look at some tips and tricks for Facebook Messenger.

 

1. Facebook Messenger on the web

Facebook Messenger - Web Browser

Did you know there's a standalone website for Facebook Messenger.

To use Facebook from any web browser, go here: Messenger.com.

You can mute notifications, access a call or video chat and see photos that you've shared with your contact.

 

2. Mute Notifications

Facebook Messenger - Mute Notifications

Would you like to turn off notifications for a specific person on Facebook Messenger?

From the mobile app, simply tap their name and go to the notifications section.

You'll be able to mute a conversation for:

  • 15 Minutes
  • 1 Hour
  • 8 Hours
  • 24 Hours
  • Until you turn it back on

 

3. Get help with repairs

Facebook Messenger - Facebook Home Services

Do you need help with home repairs?

You can use Facebook Messenger to hire companies such as Pro.com.

Simply message them using the Facebook Messenger app and they will connect you with a “home project manager.”

You'll also be able to set up appointments with them using Messenger.

 

4. Send money

Facebook Messenger - Send Money

Do you owe someone money?

You can now send money to someone using Facebook Messenger.

For more on setting up payments for Facebook Messenger, here are some helpful guides.

 

5. Share photos using Photo Magic

Facebook Messenger - Photo Magic

We're just getting started with Facebook Messenger tips and tricks.

Another way to use Messenger is to turn on photo magic.

This feature will notify you to share photos when it detects a new picture with a friend in your camera roll.

To turn this feature on, go to Settings > Photos & Media > Photo Magic.

 

6. Share your location

Facebook Messenger - Location

Within Facebook Messenger, you can send you location to people you are connected to.

To do this, first go to a chat.

Next, click on the more icon.

Then select “Location” and hit the send button.

Your location will be send to your connection on Facebook Messenger.

 

7. Send animated GIFs

Facebook Messenger - Animated GIFs

How would you like to send animated GIFs to your friends?

Within Facebook Messenger, go to a conversation and click the “more” button.

This will take you to a page where you can install GIPHY.

Once installed, you'll be able to send animated GIFs from Facebook Messenger.

Download Giphy for Facebook Messenger  
 

8. Have a conversation using emoji

Facebook Messenger - Emojis

Want to use a specific emoji for a conversation you're having?

You can customize the emoji.

To do this, go to a conversation.

Tap on the person's name and select “emoji.”

You'l be able to select a unique emoji for this specific Facebook Messenger conversation.

 

9. Communicate with your Facebook Group members

Facebook Messenger - Group Conversations

Do you communicate with certain groups all of the time?

Create a group within Facebook Messenger.

This saves you time because you won't have to create the same group each time you want to have a conversation with them.

 

10. Pin a group conversation

Facebook Messenger - Pin Groups

Do you communicate with the same group all of the time?

You can create a Facebook Messenger Group and pin this conversation to the top.

This way it is always available.

To do this, tap the groups button and select an existing conversation or create a new group in Messenger.

Next, select the “pin” option.

You can then select the conversation you want to use, assign it a name, and add a unique photo for the groups avatar by tapping the camera button.

 

11. Talk in a Facebook Group

Facebook Group Messages

Do you use Facebook Groups?

Did you know you can send Facebook Group messages using Messenger.

When you create a new message in your group, this will launch a new Facebook Messenger chat window.

 

12. Request a ride with Uber

Facebook Messenger - Uber Transportation Requests

Another neat trick with Facebook Messenger is to request Uber.

Within a Facebook Messenger conversation, select the “…” icon.

Next, select “transportation.”

You'll then be taken to Uber where you can request a ride and pay for it.

 

13. Use Facebook Messenger without a Facebook account

Facebook Messenger - No Facebook Account

Want to use Facebook Messenger?

You don't need to have an account with Facebook.

If you have a phone number, you can use Facebook Messenger and its many features.

Download the app.

When you go to login, select “not on Facebook.”

 

14. Make voice and video calls for free

Facebook Messenger - Phone Calls

Another really useful feature in Facebook Messenger is the ability to make phone calls and video calls for free.

Simply launch Messenger and tap on the phone icon.

You'll be able to see who is available and choose whether you want to speak to them or have a video session with them.

 

15. Send videos to friends

Facebook Messenger - Videos

Would you like to send a video to a friend?

Open a conversation and tap the camera icon.

To record a video, press and hold on the record button.

You'll also be able to send a video from your camera roll from the image icon.

 

16. See friends that are logged in to Facebook

Facebook Messenger - Logged In Users

Would you like to see who is on Facebook Messenger?

From the mobile app, go to People > Active.

You can see who is online and what type of device they are using.

 

17. Add contacts using just a phone number

Another one of my favorite Facebook Messenger tips and tricks is to chat with someone using just their phone number.

If you want to have a conversation in Messenger with someone who doesn't have a Facebook account, simply add their phone number.

You'll be able to carry-on a conversation with them using Facebook Messenger.

 

18. Download photos and videos to your mobile device

Facebook Messenger - Download Photos and Videos

Would you like to save photos and videos that you send using Facebook Messenger?

Go to the settings menu.

There, you'll be able to decide if videos get downloaded.

You can also choose to save photos to your camera roll as well.

 

19. Install sticker packs

Facebook Messenger - Stickers

One of my favorite features in Facebook Messenger is the ability to send Facebook stickers.

To access stickers, tap the smiley face from the mobile app.

Stickers that you download on your mobile device are also available when you are accessing Facebook from the web.

 

20. Message a business from Facebook Ads

Facebook Local Awareness Ads - Message A Facebook Page

With Facebook Local Awareness Ads, anytime you run Facebook Ads, if a customer clicks on the “send message” option within your ad, this will launch Facebook Messenger and allow the customer to send messages to your business.

According to Facebook, “incoming messages to Pages include an attachment that shows which ad prompted the person to reach out.”

 

21. See if your message has been read

Facebook Messenger - Read Status

Want to know when someone has seen your message?

This chart shows you what each of the different icons mean within Facebook Messenger.

 

22. Turn off Facebook Messenger push notifications

Facebook Messenger - Previews

When you send someone a message using Facebook Messenger, you can choose to turn off previews in alerts and banners.

To do this , head to Settings > Notifications > Show Previews and turn this off if you want to hide this information.

 

23. Set a nickname

Facebook Messenger - Nicknames

Give your friends a nickname in Facebook Messenger.

To apply a nickname, head to the People tab.

Select a person and then tap on their name.

You'll see a nickname field that you can customize.

 

24. Change the color of a conversation

Facebook Messenger - Conversation Colors

We're almost finished with this set of Facebook Messenger tips and tricks. Just a few more.

If you're someone who likes to coordinate business contacts and personal contacts, you can choose a custom color for all of your connections.

From the same menu where you set a nickname, you can select the color field.

This will change the color of your conversation with that person.

This way you can distinguish if that person is a business contact or a personal contact in Facebook Messenger.

 

25. Block someone in Facebook Messenger

Facebook Messenger - Block Contacts

From the same menu, if you want to block messages from a person in Facebook Messenger, you can do that from here as well.

Select “Block.”

This will give you the option to block just messages or to block them completely on Facebook.

 

26. Message People You're Not Connected With

Facebook Messenger - Contact Requests

Facebook used to give you an “other Inbox.”

This feature was rather complicated to use because most of the time you never checked it.

They have since combined it in Facebook Messenger.

Now you can send messages to people you aren't connected to on Facebook and they will show up in Messenger.

Here is how this feature works in Facebook Messenger.

If you're in the Facebook Messenger app, these messages will show up under “Recent” under “New Message Requests.”

You can open and read the message. The person who sent it to you won't know you've seen it until you accept their message.

 

27. Sync contacts

Facebook Messenger - Sync Contacts

If you have a lot of contacts on your mobile device, you can sync your contacts to Facebook Messenger.

This will let you communicate with all of your contacts in one place instead of having to bounce between apps.

To turn on contacting syncing in Facebook Messenger, go to Settings > People > Sync Contacts and turn this feature on.

 

28. Send a voice message

Facebook Messenger - Facebook Voice Messages

A neat feature in Facebook Messenger is to be able to send Facebook Voice Messages.

Rather than type out your message, you can record one and send it to your friends instead,

Facebook Voice Messages can also be useful for business too!

 

29. Adjust Messenger sounds and vibrations

Facebook Messenger - Sounds and Vibrations

In Facebook Messenger, you can change the sound and vibrations when using the app.

To adjust these, go to Settings > Notifications.

 

30. Use a virtual assistant called “M”

Facebook Messenger - Facebook M

One last features for Facebook Messenger is Facebook M.

You essentially have a personal assistant within Facebook Messenger.

While this feature isn't yet available to most users, it's probably the coolest out of this set of Facebook Messenger tips and tricks.

 

Over to You

There you have it, thirty Facebook Messenger tips and tricks to help you get more out of using Facebook Messenger.

Did I leave anything out?

If so, please share them with us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or in the comments below. We would love to hear about them!

About The Author
Christian Karasiewicz Founder, Social Chefs Founder and CEO of Social Chefs, a digital marketing agency. I host two shows, #SocialChatter, the industries longest running social media marketing talk show and Social Snacks, 5 minute or less social media marketing tutorials.

Comments ( 3 )

    • We appreciate the feedback! Which of these Facebook Messenger tips do you plan to use in your business?