8 MIN READ

There’s much to Facebook Messenger Bot marketing. And it has many more benefits than most business owners realize. See, when it comes to social media, Facebook is somewhere near the head of the pack. With millions of users around the world using the platform on a regular, even daily, basis. This alone already makes marketing on Facebook a no-brainer for millions of businesses. 

And for good reason;

• As of September 2019, there are 2.45 billion Facebook users on the platform every month.
• Facebook is the 4th most valuable brand on planet earth
• Every day there are nearly 1.5 billion users on Facebook
• Almost 70% of adults in the U.S. use Facebook
• There are about 81 million Facebook profiles
• 100 million hours of video are watched on Facebook every day

If you’re thinking about using a Facebook Messenger Bot marketing to market your business on Facebook… these statistics will be the most interesting;

• Facebook Messenger is the 2nd most popular Messenger App in the world
• 1.3 billion people use Facebook Messenger 
• Over 20 billion messages are exchanged between businesses and users every month.
• Facebook Messenger marketing has an open rate that’s 70% better than email open rates.

What, Exactly, Is Facebook Messenger Bot Marketing?

So, have you ever heard of a ‘chatbot’? In the basics… it’s an interactive program that runs on “A.I.”. And it ‘talks’ on behalf of your business with both current and potential customers? Yes? Then you may already have an idea of what Facebook Messenger Bot marketing is about. A Facebook Messenger bot is a chatbot that resides inside Messenger. And it can take the place (sort of) of a customer care agent. On its basis, it’s an automated messaging service. And you can set it up in such a way it understands a wide variety of customer questions. And, more importantly, can provide answers to those questions as well as execute specific tasks based on the questions that are asked.

Why is Using a Facebook Messenger Bot Better than a Branded App?

Many business owners believe that a branded app will do a great job. They think it’ll do great in terms of communication between them and a world of prospects. Now, while a branded app might work, a Facebook Messenger bot has several over an app:

1. Facebook Messenger bots have a very low barrier of entry. A low barrier of entry for both your business and your target market. It’s the 2nd most used app in the world. There’s no way a branded app could ever get the kind of market saturation Messenger’s app already has… and it’s growing daily!
2. Very few apps have long-term success. Statistically speaking… 71% of users will delete a new app within 90 days of downloading it to their smartphone. That’s huge!
3. Messenger is used over 2 billion times a month between businesses and customers. In fact, a recent Nielsen survey found that, among consumers, messaging is the 2nd best form of communication with a business.
4. A Facebook Messenger bot is much cheaper and easier to create than an app.
5. Even though there are over 6 million businesses advertising on Facebook… there are only about 300,000 chatbots on the Messenger app. This means a lot less competition for your business.

What Can a Facebook Messenger Chatbot Marketing Do for your Business?

Of course, the best reason to use Facebook Messenger bot marketing is for the growth of your business. What it can do to help your business is that it can connect with customers… and market your products and services to make more sales. To that end, a Messenger chatbot offers many advantages and benefits:

1. A Chatbot Saves You Money on Employees

It doesn’t matter which business you’re in. A customer will likely ask the same questions as your other customers. And, they will ask these questions again, and again, and again, and, well, you get the point. For all of these similar, simplistic questions, a bot can be created to answer them for your business. This way, in place of an actual human being… it saves you thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, on the cost of a customer service representative.

2. More Potential Customers Open Your Marketing Messages

Persuading potential customers to open a marketing message isn’t easy. (Just look at your email response rates…) A recent study found consumers are almost 4 times as likely to open a message sent to them on Facebook Messenger, which is phenomenal. Also, once they do, getting them to respond is much more straightforward. This because they will have a ‘call to action’ (CTA) button to push ready to use, so they won’t even need to type in a response. That’s huge! And it’s one reason why more customers make their way further down your marketing funnel when you use a Facebook Messenger chatbot.

3. An Automatic Subscriber List

Messenger automatically builds a subscriber list for you as you go. Capturing everyone who has been in touch with your business through the app. That means, in the future, you can use the sponsored ads that Facebook Messenger offers… and send them to everyone on your list. Or simply use the free broadcast option over at Clepher. 

Pro Tip: You can target high-intent customers using sponsored ads. Do this in tandem with your chatbot and supercharge your response rate!

4. Chatbots Can Do the Selling For You (and Upselling Too)

Finding great salespeople isn’t easy. But with a Facebook Messenger Chatbot… and a well-written script… you can sell to consumers who get far enough down your funnel that they’re ready to make a purchase. Even better, they don’t have to leave the comfort and security of the Messenger app to do it! Which means a much lower drop-off rate and higher conversion rate.

Plus, when it comes to upselling, the Messenger chatbot has you covered too. Again, with the right script, it can upsell all sorts of products and services by making the best suggestions for a particular customer. From things like “Our executive lounge is a great way to relax while you wait for your flight. Would you like to join our VIP club?” to something as simple as “Would you like to add a large soda and a bag of potato chips to your order?” 

5. A Chatbot Can Identify Good Leads and Weed Out The Rest

Once a potential customer starts interacting with your chatbot, it can start asking more direct questions. For example, it can ask: “What is your spending budget per year for this type of service?”. If a potential customer answers with the correct criteria (i.e., $25,000.00 or higher)… the chatbot will then automatically put them through to one of the people on your sales team to take it from there. 

6. A Messenger Chatbot can Re-Engage with Customers Who’ve Left Your Sales Funnel

So let’s say a potential customer get’s all the way to your order page and then…leaves. This is called ‘abandoning the cart’ and it’s likely happened to your business many times. Or let’s say that, last year on Father’s Day, a customer sent their dad one of your products. On both of those fronts, a Messenger Chatbot will not only know these things have happened. But, even better, remember that they happened and reach out to your customers to find out if they want to either go forward with the former… or purchase the same thing again with the latter. That’s a huge benefit that can take a lot of responsibility off of you and your team.

The simple fact is that a Messenger Chatbot can do a wide variety of things for your business. From ‘chatting’ with customers to selling, reminding, engaging with them, and putting them at ease. They can save you a bundle on personnel and never, ever ask for a raise, call in sick, or get hurt on the job. Plus, you can program them to work with practically any type of business. You can even write scripts that fit that business to a ‘T’… making them indispensable… and a real eye-catcher to any kind of business, organization, or start-up.

What are Facebook Messenger Bot Marketing Best Practices?

If you’ve reached this point… and you’re ready to get started building your own Messenger Chatbot for your business… Then, the tips below will help you to do it right and get the best results.

1. Let Customers Know They’re Chatting with a Bot

Among your potential customer base, you’ll find a plethora of opinions about chatbots. Views about their usage and their drawbacks. Some will hate the fact that they’ve been given to an A.I. program rather than a real human. Others won’t mind as long as they get the answers they need. Some will get annoyed that your Messenger chatbot doesn’t pass the ‘Turing Test’… (being indistinguishable from an actual human, which they can’t…yet) while others will find it amusing.

Whatever the case might be… the one thing you should do at the very outset is to let potential and returning customers know that they’re not dealing with a human. But, instead, with a (relatively limited) software program that’s been built to help them. If they do, the adverse reactions will be significantly diminished.

2. Don’t Expect Your Bot to Do Everything

While a Messenger Chatbot can perform an awful lot of tasks, they can’t do everything, at least not yet. That means you should keep your expectations realistic. And, at least at first, as simple as possible. Design your bot to do one task well. Tasks like customer service, customer re-engagement, lead identification, or some other, singular task. Keep things as simple as possible until you have a better idea of what they can do and then start increasing your bot’s abilities.

3. Don’t Let Your Bot Get Too Chatty

It’s reported that there is a “significant drop in users when a chatbot takes more than 5 clicks”… Meaning 5 clicks or more to take a customer from initial interaction to the point of sale (POS). Here’s the thing. Bots are brought to existence to make it easier for customers to interact with your business. And help them save themselves some time. If your Messenger bot isn’t doing this primary thing… you’re going to get pushback and lowered sales. In short, make it quick and get to the point.

4. Integrate Your Messenger Bot into Other Areas of your Marketing

A Messenger Bot offers quite a few features. It can include email interaction, calendar control, customer service capabilities, and much more. As you begin to measure its performance and test its strengths… and you start incorporating these other features bit by bit and… maybe, more importantly, keep track of the way bots are changing and evolving and make sure yours does the same.

5. Make Sure a Human Is Around For When You Bot Runs Out of Answers

No matter how smart bots get, there’s nothing like a real conversation with a real human. With that in mind, you must provide subscribers with an easy ‘escape route’. Basically, to help them get off your bot and engage with a real human on your staff (at least during business hours).

Here are another 6 Ways to Use a Facebook Messenger Chatbot in Marketing

Hopefully, you see the fantastic benefits a Facebook Messenger chatbot can deliver your business. Below are 6 ways that you can use one to increase conversions and make more sales.

1. Deliver curated or personalized content to customers. Content that entertains informs or guides them
2. Answer basic questions about your products and services to save customers’ time.
3. Allow customers to buy products right from Facebook Messenger. Do this by integrating with popular e-commerce platforms.
4. Tell customers about special promotions, services, and sales
5. Let your chatbot tell customers your business story
6. Have your bot conduct a customer survey

These are just a smattering of ways to use a chatbot, but the sky is really the limit. Keep in mind that the point of a chatbot is to save time but also to engage with customers, so using dry humor is a good thing. Also, always remember to give your customers the ability to easily and quickly stop chatting with your bot and start chatting with a real person.

In Closing

Marketing your business with a Facebook Messenger Bot is a fantastic way to build your brand. It helps increase engagement and conversions… and to get information from customers so that you can continue marketing to them in the future. If you have questions about creating your own Facebook Messenger Bot, please connect with us via the chat… And once you do, someone from Clepher will get back to you ASAP. Or, if you like, click this link and engage with our chatbot right now!

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