One thing is for certain when it comes to using Social Media as a marketing tool, it’s constantly changing. Keeping up with what’s new and what’s working can be a challenge and whilst there is literally a new opportunity to take advantage of every day, not all opportunities are worth taking. Whenever Im looking at social media and how to integrate it into a strategy I always start with “is my customer here” It’s a simple question that can save you hours and hours of wasted time. If the answer is no, then simply back away from whatever it is that you were thinking of doing and move towards engaging your customer wherever they are, or as the saying goes, “fish where your fish are”

If your fish are on Facebook there’s a new and exciting way to engage them. It’s still early days but there’s a lot of buzz around Facebook Messenger Bots.

So What are Facebook Messenger Bots?

Good question, I’m glad you asked. Facebook messenger bots are basically like an automated chat service which helps your customer with both basic and complex questions they may have.

By adding a button to your website you are able to direct customers to ask you  questions and engage with you on facebook messenger.

There are  a few other ways to  get your customers onto Facebook Messenger Bots, but for today’s post we are focussing on driving them from your website to Facebook.

Doesn’t that seem a little counter intuitive? Driving customers away from your  site to Facebook?

I see why you would say that however let’s have a think about the customer in question.

Say this customer is called Claudia.

Claudia comes to your online store and likes one if your products enough to click onto the product page. She’s reading all of the info, clicking on images and WANTS  to buy this item but she has a question about it that you have not answered on the product pages.

Claudia sees the button that  says, talk to us on Facebook Messenger.

Claudia is already a Facebook user and comfortable with using messenger as a communication tool so she’s open to the idea of speaking to a brand or business in this format also.

The Facebook Message Bot is set up with a welcome message that is consistent with your brand, it also offers a few options for Claudia to explore (think of old school telephone customer service menus “Press 1 for sales” Press 2 for Technical assistance” (this is where you would add your most FAQ’s and offer answers based on them.

If the customer still has a question you can allow them to simply ask it and get back to them, however hopefully through your FAQ’s you have answered their question and sent them back to the site to finalise the transaction, you may even wish to add an incentive for them to do so.

The Facebook Chat Messenger Bot is set up with some easy to use technology called Many Chat and offers all types of communication tools including adding emoji, images and even video so you can use it as a way to showcase your products and services and also assist with basic customer service enquiries. Adding timed follow ups to the initial enquiry is a great way to remind customers to return to your site to finalise their purchase (abandoned shopping cart)

or could be a great way to receive product review and feedback after purchasing.

Just like email marketing and sequences, Many Chat and Facebook Messenger Bot does require a time investment to set up and get running however we are all well aware of the benefits of automation and Facebook Messenger Bots is just another way to keep your online store selling efficiently.