6 MIN READ

You must’ve been living under a rock if you didn’t hear about Messenger Chatbots. Did you know you have Instagram chatbots now too? Ready to make your Instagram account more interactive? If so, then you might be interested in using messenger chatbots for Instagram.

Chatbots are automated programs that can respond to users on social media platforms like Facebook Messenger and Instagram. They provide a range of features and services, but the most common is responding to followers’ questions or comments about your company or products. But lately, more and more people are asking me about Instagram chatbots. Some questions are “What are Instagram Chatbots?” “Can Instagram Bots be used to boost sales and minimize costs?” Well, here you go: I’m going to tell you everything I know about Instagram chatbots and how they can be used.

What is an Instagram Chatbot?

Much like a Facebook Messenger Chatbot, a chatbot on Instagram is an automated program that interacts with people via Instagram (DMs). It can be programmed with artificial intelligence (AI) software so it can recognize patterns in conversations and act accordingly without any human input needed. However, 99% of chatbots today still use a decision tree-like approach. There’s a question tree followed by pre-determined responses (some of the “uninformed” chatbots will give the same response to every question).

Chatbots can be super simple and specialize in a task like taking orders, or more complex and do just about anything you can imagine. Chatbots have been around since 1966 when computer scientist Joseph Weizenbaum created the program ELIZA for an Artificial Intelligence conference. At that conference, people were fooled into believing she was human! In 1997, the first Chatbot was introduced on the Internet. Then since 2016, they were actively being used in marketing and customer service on Facebook. In 2021, they are also available on Instagram.

Why should you use an Instagram chatbot?

As I’ve already mentioned, Instagram Chatbots can increase your online engagement and they’re easy to use.

Here are some other reasons why you should be using them:

1. Easy to set up: Chatbots can be programmed in minutes, depending on the type of chatbot you want. If it’s a simple chatbot that just answers basic questions, it could literally take you around 10 minutes. Chatbots are becoming more and more sophisticated every day, so they’re getting smarter too.
2. Reduce labor costs: Chatbots can free up your time for other projects (like content creation, which is always good for improving SEO). It’s also a great way to give customer service 24/7. Chatbots can also help you automate lead generation and conversion.
3. Increased online presence: People like doing business with brands who are active and responsive on social media platforms (just like they like buying products from websites that display user reviews). Chatbots make it easy for your brand to provide value because they often times offer services or deal packages.

Who can create an Instagram Chatbot?

Any business that has a Facebook page and an Instagram Business or Creator account can create an Instagram Chatbot. Of course, you’ll need software like Clepher to tie it all together, unless you’re some sort of code messiah that can tinker everything together. But I guess you’re not. Over at Clepher, we developed products to automatically engage with people on Instagram. However, you don’t actually create the chatbots from scratch.

Chatbots help businesses save time and money that otherwise would be spent on hiring additional staff or outsourcing the work at a much higher cost. Chatbot platforms, like Clepher, can be used by almost any business looking to improve their online engagement and save money. Chatbots can be used to help you read your email, schedule appointments, place orders for deliveries, and more depending on the Chatbot platform you use.

If you are using chatbots in your business already, let us know. We’d love to hear how it’s being used so we can feature you on our blog.

How to Create an Instagram Chatbot For Your Business

It’s important that you understand how Chatbots on Instagram work so you can fully utilize the potential they have to increase sales and engagement. The first thing you’ll need is an Instagram Business or Creator Account. Then from there, you need to make sure you add your Instagram account on the back-end of a Facebook page you’d like to use your chatbot with. This way it can connect to Messenger API that’s used to distribute the messages.

Once you’ve created your Instagram chatbot with a tool like Clepher, your chatbot will be able to communicate with people on Instagram and provide them with important information based on what they need at the time. Chatbots can be used to answer questions about products, send out coupons, schedule appointments, and more. Chatbots are very flexible in what they can do for your business. You’ll want to make sure that you get the most out of yours by personalizing it to fit your business needs!

How do you use an Instagram Chatbot?

First off, you need to choose a company that can create your chatbot. There are many companies that offer programming services at affordable prices, but make sure they have experience with Chatbots on Instagram. You wouldn’t want to waste money hiring someone or a company that doesn’t know what they’re doing. Now, with Clepher being in the chatbot game since 2016, it should give you assurance that we do know what we’re doing.

Here’s a simple step-by-step process on how to use Clepher:

Step 1: Chatbot design and features.

Instagram chatbot end-users (read: Your Audience) access your bot through Instagram DMs. Make sure you know what they might ask or want from you as your chatbot will need to be programmed with the answers to all of their questions in advance. Chatbots are always evolving, so it’s good to keep up with the changes. Clepher has access to its own database of human-written responses as well as Premium Flows you can add to your chatbot in one click.

Step 2: Clepher’s chatbots are 100% customizable.

You can change things up by yourself using the Flow Composer. This is the visual builder, the beating heart, of your chatbot. This is where you’ll be able to customize anything from the chatbot. It includes the introduction, button text, quick reply text, images, video, and more.

Step 3: Chatbot Integrations

Integration Clepher’s Instagram chatbots with your third-party tools and apps. Using their visual builder, you can easily connect your Chatbot to your chosen third-party tools and services. Examples are CRMs and email providers like Mailchimp and Constant Contact.

Step 4: Chatbot Launch

After you’ve designed the Chatbot and connected it to other apps, test them out. Send a few messages to yourself or anonymous customers/clients who might try your Chatbot services. Reply from your inbox with the questions they asked. Then make any edits you think necessary to improve your Chatbot’s performance.

Step 5: Chatbot Deployment

Once you’ve customized everything to the point where it feels right for you and your Chatbot, all that’s left to do is launch it to your audience. This would be the easiest part because you simply let your Chatbot loose to make its way into the world. If by chance, any of your Chatbot’s features were not set up properly, ensure that they can easily reach out to you for support.

Step 6: Chatbot Maintenance

Of course, you’ll want to keep your Chatbot updated with the latest changes in your business. Simply log in to Clepher and update the areas you wish to update.

Here are some Bonus Chatbot Tips for Instagram:

• Write your own content: Keep it simple, and write your own content. Chatbots may never be able to write something as effective as your copywriters. And news flash, they don’t have to. Why not ‘program’ your bot so it sounds like you, the perfect representative of your business: you!
• Give your Chatbot a voice: The way chatbots talk can make or break the entire customer experience. If your chatbot sounds too “robotic” or if people can’t understand what it’s trying to say, you’ll probably lose customers. Chatbots have to sound natural. Don’t just toss a bunch of words into a machine and expect it to come up with something that makes sense to people.
• Know your Chatbot’s purpose: Before you start creating anything for your chatbot, you need to know its purpose. What are you trying to achieve with Chatbot? Maybe it’s just a way of interacting with customers and giving them what they want. Maybe the chatbot is there to help you collect email addresses (by offering freebies)? Or maybe Chatbots are there to convince someone to make a purchase?

Conclusion on Instagram Chatbots:

Chatbots can be a great way to increase online engagement with customers, but there are definitely some downsides. Chatbots can be a great tool to use for businesses if done right. It’s important to remember that chatbots will never be able to replace the personal touch of a customer service representative. Chatbots might not know your customers as well as you do and they may have a hard time communicating with them. They are simple to use, but they also need to provide value rather than just acting as a stationary website on Instagram. Chatbots are quick and easy to set up, but it can be hard to update them or customize them for your specific business needs if you don’t have a tool like Clepher.

On that note, why not give Clepher a try? Our Chatbot Platform allows you to create, edit, and track Chatbots for Facebook Messenger and Instagram Chat from one central location. Best of all: there’s no programming required!

Take Clepher for a spin today!

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