11 min read
What is the Facebook Messenger Chatbot?
A chatbot is essentially automated messaging software. AI or artificial intelligence is used to converse with customers. Chatbots receive programming to execute specific tasks, provide answers and understand questions. From the perspective of the customer, the bots are friendly and save them a lot of time. Chatbots eliminate the need to open or download apps, conduct a search, make a phone call and load numerous web pages.
All the customer has to do is type in a message as though they were talking to a friend. Chatbots have existed for decades in one form or another. Currently, you can find bots in many different places including on social media, apps and web pages. A chat bot in Messenger lives there. The bot has conversations with many of the 1.3 million users visiting Facebook Messenger on a daily, weekly or monthly basis.
If you have ever used or advertised on Facebook, there is a good chance you already have a strategy in place for Facebook Messenger. You can scale your strategy by using a chat bot in Messenger. During the Facebook conference held in 2018, there were more than 300,000 active chatbots. This is three times more than there were in 2017. Numerous businesses are using Facebook chatbots because there are two key benefits.
The first advantage is providing both you and your targeted audience with a low barrier entry. Of all the apps throughout the world, Facebook Messenger is in third place for the most frequently used. Among app users, 68 percent are using Facebook Messenger. Consumers and businesses use Facebook Messenger to exchange approximately two billion messages every month.
You can establish customer communication much less expensively with Messenger than creating a mobile app. The second benefit is the world of bots is wide open. Despite the six million advertisers on Facebook, only 300,000 chatbots are used so the competition is less.
How to Boost Sales with the Facebook Chat Messenger Bot
There are many different ways you can use a Facebook Chat Messenger Bot to boost your sales. Some of your best options are explained in detail below.
Improving Customer Service
You can use messenger bots for increasing your conversions. Using automated messaging means your potential customers will receive an instant response to all questions. Excellent customer service is critical for your conversion rates and places you above your competition. You can ensure consumers find fast answers to their questions with multiple-choice responses capable of answering specific questions. For example:
(Image Credit: Chatbots Life)
When a consumer receives a high-quality answer, they make quick decisions regarding whether or not to make a purchase. Precise, immediate and accurate responses improve your chances of making a sale. Your bot can also request information to pre-qualify consumers as opposed to having your employees waste time trying to get details.
It Offers Encouragement
Your chatbot warms up consumers then directs them to product pages. You need to make certain your chatbot has a natural feel as opposed to a sales pitch. An organized conversation is generally more effective than simply including a shop button on your menu.
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Building Brand Awareness
Your chatbot can let consumers know what your business has to offer and capture their interest. Your brand is represented to be appealing to your targeted audience while qualifying consumers from a cold audience to help them move through your sales funnel. You have several options depending on what is most appropriate for your brand. Your bot can respond to messages with a warm greeting before beginning a conversation.
You can also place a menu on your Messenger window to help consumers ask questions about what you do and who you are. You can include brand awareness in your chatbot conversations. Your bot can discuss a new project or recent event to capture the attention of your audience. For instance:
(Image Credit: Messenger Chatbot Marketing)
Augmented Reality
Even though very few people have included augmented reality with chatbots, those that do have received impressive results. You can use augmented reality to enable your customers to try on everything from hats to boots to see how they would look.
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Sending Broadcasts to Your Subscribers
In addition to holding typical conversations, your bot can send your subscribers broadcasts to improve lifetime value, increase brand awareness and help ensure future conversations. A maximum of one broadcast per week is recommended. Tell your customers about interesting business news or provide content to entice them back to your site. Ask if the consumer is interested in information about future launches.
The idea is to start a conversation as opposed to bombarding consumers with information. Your bot can ask if the consumer is interested before continuing. Provide opportunities to stop the conversation if the interest is not there. For example:
(Image Credit: ManyChat)
Benefits of a Chat Bot Facebook
Your chatbot provides you with a second email list to build new relationships. This is critical if you want your business to be around in 10 years. The purpose of marketing channels including Messenger, direct response and email is to have a meaningful conversation with your targeted audience. Facebook Messenger bots have advanced functionality as good as or better than any marketing platform including:
- Automations
- Collecting leads and booking appointments
- Segmenting and targeting links
- Messenger broadcasts
- Direct selling
Your Facebook Message Bot is an important part of your marketing strategy. Consumers are accustomed to chatting on Facebook. You can find numerous prospects through this entry point to begin conversations with tips and advice to build trust. In addition to checking email daily, consumers are spending a lot of time on Messenger. The numbers are impressive with nearly unlimited interactions available.
Consumers expect to find important newsletters, bills and promotions in their email. Facebook Messenger is different because people are mostly looking for conversations with loved ones and family. Since Messenger is still considered fairly new, consumers read almost every message they receive. This means there is no better time to begin marketing with Facebook chatbots.
You can improve engagement by setting up a Facebook chatbot.
The open rates for average emails are roughly 20 percent. Only one of every five of your subscribers will most likely read your message. Messenger enables you to create an entirely new experience. You can improve your conversion rates by offering a great experience. Engagement is the best way to learn about your readers such as what they want or like.
A chatbot eliminates the expense of 24/7 customer support. Whether you have a small or large business, customer support personnel, tickets and emails are most likely a fairly large portion of your budget. This is because providing your customers with quality answers to their questions is an important part of every business. This does not mean all of your customer service should be handled by your chatbot.
What you can do is use your chatbot to answer questions when your employees are generally available such as late night and early morning hours or even on weekends. You are already adding value to your business through various methods including:
- Offering customers quality products
- Creating educational videos to engage and entertain your audience
- Offering products to improve the lives of your customers
- Writing high-quality blogs to reach an impressive number of your readers
- Answering customer emails
There is a lot more a chatbot can add to your business. You can have your bot answering the most frequently answered questions. Questions your bot is unable to answer can be directed to you or your employees. The result is your customers will receive immediate answers to simple or common questions, but be able to route more complex calls easily and quickly. Here is an example of a messenger bot being able to answer frequently asked questions:
(Image Credit: Hello Social)
You can even use a platform for your chatbot capable of selling for you. Consumers are no longer afraid to make purchases online. Online shopping is exploding with industries worth millions created to optimize the process. You may be unaware your chatbot is capable of completing the entire purchasing process. This is one of the most advanced features currently available for messenger marketing.
Platforms have been created for direct integration between bots and online stores including Shopify and WooCommerce. Messenger chatbot marketing is essentially the same as having a professional consultant working for your business. Bots can speak naturally, guide your customers to the products they will probably be interested in and make adjustments based on AI learning.
The combination of email marketing and Facebook Messenger marketing is powerful. One of the most important advantages you will notice is the integration. This is because your current marketing strategy will show marked improvements. If you are new to Messenger marketing but have a large email list, you have your choice of several simple strategies to get consumers on the email list created by your Facebook chatbot.
You can have your chatbot send your targeted audience urgent reminders prior to hosting a live webinar. Your chatbot can be connected to send your entire email list a free offer only available through Facebook Messenger. You can ask consumers to send any questions directly through Facebook Messenger and your chatbot. Your messages should not appear spammy, be spaced out correctly and offer valuable content.
If you follow these guidelines, your audience will be impressed by the interaction they receive through Facebook Messenger. Yes, some people will become annoyed. This is not an issue because these consumers are unlikely to convert anyway.
Why is the FB Messenger Bot Important for Your Business?
A chatbot offers numerous important benefits for your business including:
- Providing assistance 24/7 when your employees are not available.
- Decreasing work for your staff so they can focus on complex customer issues.
- Providing your customers with basic details fast and easy to increase convenience.
Your chatbot can also perform all of the following actions.
Saving Money and Time on Customer Service
Customers do not like to be placed on hold. A chatbot eliminates this issue by offering 24/7 service. Many of your customers ask the exact same questions. Your chatbot can save you time by helping your customers track deliveries, find specific products, answer questions about your return policy, shipping and shipping costs. You will have more free time to handle everything your bot is unable to do.
Directly Reaching Your Audience
According to recent research, consumers open Facebook Messenger 3.5 more times than marketing emails. You can even eliminate the need for your customers to type anything by including a CTA button requiring nothing more than a single click. This helps your potential customers move through your marketing funnel.
You can take advantage of the sponsored ads offered by Facebook to contact anyone in previous contact with your site. This provides you with a subscriber list. You can use the ads in combination with your chatbot for targeting customers with a better chance of making a purchase.
Taking Care of eCommerce Transactions
As long as you provide your Facebook chatbot with the right script, your bot can sell. Your customers never have to leave Facebook Messenger. This is important because most people are very comfortable with using Messenger. Your chatbot can make suggestions for personalized selling. This includes offering shoes to go with a new outfit, arranging a later hotel checkout and offering different types of chocolate.
Identifying Leads
When your chatbot is greeting your potential customers, basic questions can be asked to identify their individual needs. High-quality leads can be directed immediately to your sales team.
Re-Engaging Your Customers
Your chatbot can retain information. You can save a lot of money on advertising by having your not personally reach out to your customers to offer the best possible content at the ideal time. Your bot can remind a customer there are still items in their cart or that flowers were sent to their best friend at the same time the previous year.
Successful Facebook Messenger Chatbot Examples
Every Facebook chatbot is completely unique. Your bot can answer common questions, make suggestions for direct flights to New York, suggest the ideal piece of jewelry or order dinner. Your bot can upsell by suggesting a purse to match a dress or the right bottle of wine with a seafood dinner. Your chatbot can perform all of the following actions.
- Remind a customer they forgot to purchase a product such as a microwave.
- Notify customers about special offers they believe will be of interest while remembering important facts including time zones, sizes and preferences.
- Tracking customer deliveries then checking to make certain the boots fit perfectly to help ensure customer satisfaction.
- You can even have your chatbox tell jokes when appropriate.
Numerous companies have been extremely successful with Facebook Chatbots including the ones listed below.
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Sephora
The reservation assistant used by Sephora is a simple yet exceptional bot. Sephora stores offer customers free makeovers. Five steps pertaining to the booking process have been eliminated by the chatbot. The result was an 11 percent increase in bookings. Once customers see how different products look, additional purchases are made with a $50 average.
(Image Credit: MavSocial)
Marriott Rewards
Marriott believes in impeccable customer service. Their first Messenger chatbot was created in 2016 to assist guests with reward accounts from Starwood and Marriott once the companies merged. The popularity was so high, the bot was transitioned to perform bookings. Guests receive suggestions for hotels simply by entering a city and the dates.
The bot also offers guests content from the Traveler magazine from Marriott including news for future visits and local information. A career chatbot was created by the company last year for targeting Millennials looking for jobs. The bot helps candidates find the perfect job in the ideal city while educating them about the history and values of Marriott. The bot enforced the company value of treating both customers and employees extremely well.
(Image Credit: Lodging Magazine)
Bud Light
A chat box was created by Bud Light during the NFL 2017 season for the promotion of team-branded cans. The chatbot required less than one hour to order and deliver beer cases during game days. The bot had an engagement rate of 83 percent by performing specific personalization actions including:
- Customers can choose their favorite team
- The chatbot uses geo-targeting to ensure the ideal delivery partner is chosen for every area.
- Users receive daily reminders from the bot daily to stock their refrigerators.
(Image Credit: Chatbots Life)
UNICEF
The U-report chatbot from UNICEF gathers information, data and opinions from young people worldwide regarding the issues they are concerned with. This enables their voices to change policies. More than two million subscribers have already been engaged.
Whole Foods
This bot serves as a concierge to extend the content marketing strategy of Whole Foods. The bot uses ingredients to discover new recipes in addition to narrowing down dishes according to dietary restrictions and type. Users can even use emojis to search.
(Image Credit: Chatbot Guide)
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FAQ’s
Chatbots are currently a popular and effective way to communicate with your potential and current customers. There are over 300,000 active chatbots on Facebook Messenger currently.
Facebook Messenger is encrypted from end-to-end, meaning not even Facebook can see your communication. According to Facebook, Messenger uses the same secure communications protocols as banking and shopping sites.
If you already have a Facebook page in place, the basic bot building process looks like this:
- Sign up for a Chatfuel account.
- Link your Facebook page.
- Create a Messenger greeting.
- Create a welcome message.
- Create a default reply.
- Unleash the AI.
- Add a Message button to your Facebook page.
Yes! Click on the settings at the top of your page, then “messaging” in the left column. Below “response assistant” click to select “on” next to “send instant replies”. To change your instant reply message, click “Change”, update the message and click “Save”.
This can range anywhere from a few hours to 2-3 weeks. The time spent will depend on the complexity of the project and the software you choose.
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