How to Use Facebook Messenger Bots for Business
A guide to Facebook Messenger bots — how they work, what they can be used for, and how to create your own.
You heard the noise. Chatbots will replace mobile apps. Chatbots will replace email marketing. Chatbots will replace customer service agents. Chatbots will cut your expenses and increase your income. And they will do all this while you sleep.
Get the greatest app !
Boost Do Provides you trial package. So click on the button and explore it.
There is a lot of hype about chatbots in general and Facebook Messenger bots in particular. Unsurprisingly, according to an Oracle poll, 80 percent of companies want to have a chatbot by 2020.
Can bots really do everything they promise? It's just the beginning. In the meantime, here are some real-world examples and best practices to give you a solid footing in this new landscape.
Bonus: Download a free guide that teaches you how to turn Facebook traffic into sales in four easy steps with Hootsuite.
What are Facebook Messenger Bots (a.k. in Facebook chatbots)?
Basically, a chatbot is a piece of automated messaging software that uses AI to communicate with people.
Bots are programmed to understand questions, provide answers, and complete tasks. From a customer perspective, this is a friendly and affordable time-saver. Instead of opening an app (let alone downloading), making a phone call (ew), launching a search, or loading a web page, your client can simply enter a message like they would with a friend.
Chatbots have been around in one form or another for decades, and they now exist on webpages, in apps, on social media - you name it.
Facebook Facebook Facebook Messenger bot is a chatbot that lives on Facebook Messenger, which means it communicates with some of the 1.3 billion people who use Facebook Messenger every month.
Facebook Facebook Messenger If you're on Facebook, you probably already have a Facebook Messenger strategy. The Facebook Messenger bot is how you scale this strategy.
As of F8 2018, Facebook has 300,000 active Messenger Bots. Which is three times more than a year earlier.
Why use Facebook Messenger bots for business?
There are two main benefits to using the Facebook Messenger bot.
First, there is a low barrier to entry for both you and your target audience. Facebook Messenger is the third most popular app in the world, with 68 percent of users.
And it's not just for group chats with friends and family. A recent Nielsen poll found that people find messaging as the second best way to communicate with business. People exchange 2 billion messages with businesses on Facebook Messenger every month.
Compare that to the rest of the mobile app market, where 71 percent of users uninstall an app within 90 days.
Get the greatest app !
Boost Do Provides you trial package. So click on the button and explore it.
If you want to communicate with your customers, building a Facebook Messenger bot is much cheaper than building a mobile app.
The second advantage is that the pitch is still wide open. Inspite that Facebook has 6 million advertisers, infact there are only 300,000 chatbots. This is much less competition.
Meanwhile, marketing email click-through rates (3.1 percent on average) have not improved in years, with only 30 percent of marketing emails even opening. Chatbots can also help you bypass the inbox competition.
So that's the context. Let's take a look at what exactly the messenger's chatbot can help you:
1. Attracting the audience directly
Headliner Labs found that people were 3.5 times more likely to open Facebook messages than marketing emails. And since customers can respond (usually by clicking a CTA button — they don't even need to type), they are more likely to move further down your marketing funnel.
Plus, Facebook Messenger has sponsored ads that can be sent to anyone who has previously been in contact with your page. Yes, that means you already have a subscriber list. These ads can be used in tandem with your chatbot to target high intent customers.
2. Save time and money on customer service
In any business, customers expect 24/7 availability, but they hate waiting on hold. Many of them also ask many of the same questions over and over (and over).
If you spend a lot of time helping people track deliveries, check return policies, or make an appointment, a little automation will go a long way. Free your attention to perform tasks that the messenger's chatbot cannot perform.
3. Identify the wires
When your bot greets potential customers, it can identify their needs, ask basic questions (for example, “what's your budget?”), And immediately send high-quality leads to your sales team.
4.E-commerce transaction processing
With the right scenario, bots can sell too. And because everything happens in the comfort of Facebook Messenger, dropout rates are lower than in the traditional ad-to-webpage pipeline.
Plus, conversational commerce leaves room for personalized upselling as the bot makes suggestions. Everything from “Your flight doesn't seem to depart until 4pm. Would you rather have a late check out? "Rather than" chips with that? "
5. Re-engage customers
Bots are capable of storing information, and you can use that data to go the extra mile.
Instead of paying for a flurry of ads, the Facebook Messenger bot can reach out in person, offering relevant content at the right time. Remind the customer of those cycling shorts that are still in her cart, or that last year she sent her mother-in-law flowers for her birthday at this time.
How are businesses using Facebook messenger with bots?
Each bot is as unique as the business it serves.
They can help with general customer service issues such as tracking deliveries and booking appointments. But they can also run Discovery - offering the perfect pair of jeans, booking a direct flight to London, or ordering dinner.
They can raise the price by offering a T-shirt to those jeans or a bottle of kombucha with a dragon bowl.
They may remind you that you forgot to hit the Buy button on these sneakers.
They can track your shipment and then check how those jeans fit as soon as they arrive.
They can notify you of an offer they think you like and they will remember your size, time zone, or nut allergy.
Get the greatest app !
Boost Do Provides you trial package. So click on the button and explore it.
They might even tell you a joke while you're at it.
Here are some best-in-class chatbot examples to inspire you.
Marriott Rewards
Marriott's dedication to stellar customer service means they have been at the forefront of the chatbot boom. They created their first Facebook Messenger chatbot in 2016 to help guests link their Marriott and Starwood rewards accounts following the merger.
The bot was so popular that Marriott turned it into a booking bot: guests can enter their dates in the city and receive hotel suggestions. This bot also highlights content from Marriott, Traveler magazine, integrating useful local information and news for an upcoming guest visit.
In addition, last year, Marriott created a career chatbot for millennial job seekers. MK helps prospective candidates find the right job in the right city while educating them about Marriott's values and history. This makes a lot of sense from a brand that seeks to treat its employees the same way it treats its customers.
Sephora
The makeup sales assistant robot for booking is simple yet brilliant.
Sephora offers free makeup in their stores and this bot removes five steps from the booking process. This plan resulted in an 11 percent increase in booking rates. (And many more people buy purple eyeliner that they didn't know about until they saw it in the mirror — customers spend an average of $ 50 per store.)
Bud of light
During the 2017 NFL season, Bud Light promoted its branded cans under the team brand by creating a chatbot that could order and deliver a crate of beer in less than an hour on in-game days.
The genius here lies in the combination of personalization (customers can choose their favorite team), hyperlocality (geo-targeting allowed the bot to choose the best shipping partner for a given area) and timeliness (the bot reminded users every game day that it was time to stock up on a refrigerator.) This bot showed 83 -percentage involvement.
Bonus: Download a free guide that teaches you how to turn Facebook traffic into sales in four easy steps with Hootsuite.
Get your free travel guide now!
All Food
This bot acts as an extension of Whole Foods' content marketing strategy, acting as the concierge that manages the discovery of ingredient-based recipes. The bot can also help you narrow down your ideas for food type or dietary restrictions.
And yes, you can search by emoji.
UNICEF
The UNICEF U-report bot is designed to collect the views and data of young people around the world on issues of importance to them in order to strengthen their voice to create real policy change. The bot has attracted over 2 million subscribers.
If you've ever tried to collect feedback from your customers, please note that chatbots don't just communicate, they can also listen.
Tools to create Facebook Messenger bots
If all of this inspired you to create your own chatbot, here are some solutions worth checking out. We have divided them into two categories based on their capabilities and the investment required: self-service and entrepreneurial.
Many of these tools include Hootsuite integration. We've specifically noted them below, but you can also check in the Hootsuite App Directory.
Self-service tools
Streamchat
Streamchat is one of the simplest chatbot tools. It is designed for simple automation and autoresponders, such as out-of-office replies or “We'll get back to you as soon as we can!” Messages, not for managing a broader workflow. It's quick to implement and easy to get started if you just submerge your toes in the chatbot's water.
PS: Streamchat integrates with Hootsuite Inbox using Facebook Messenger Transfer Protocol.
Get the greatest app !
Boost Do Provides you trial package. So click on the button and explore it.
Chatfuel
As one of the largest self-service platforms for building Facebook Messenger bots, Chatfuel has an impressive client list, from TechCrunch to Netflix to Cincinnati Bengals.
They have an intuitive visual interface for those with no coding experience, but developers will love the editable interfaces and customization options. While you can create a bot for free, many more complex (and interesting) tools are only available with Chatfuel Pro accounts. In any case, it would be good to know that Chatfuel integrates with Hootsuite Inbox using the Facebook Messenger data protocol.
MobileMonkey
This free tool includes a visual chatbot builder for Facebook Messenger with a few bells and whistles including Q&A triggers, live chat capture, Chatbot templates, custom attributes, and more. There is also a Chat Blast feature, similar to Chatfuel's “broadcasting” feature, which allows you to send messages to multiple users at once.
If you upgrade to the “professional” plan, you have access to some of the more valuable features like scheduling, analytics and drip campaign setup.
PS: MobileMonkey is primarily intended for non-technical users. This means no coding is required. It also integrates with Hootsuite Inbox using the Facebook Messenger handover protocol.
Manychat
ManyChat's interface is one of the least intimidating. However, it may be better suited for those making simpler bots — messaging management can become cumbersome as the conversation gets more complex.
On the other hand, ManyChat has many tools to help you promote your bot and measure user analytics. It's free at first, but after you've built up a certain number of followers, you'll need to start paying for a professional account.
Corporate tools
Chatkit
Chatkit provides enterprise-grade automated messaging solutions for Facebook Messenger, SMS messaging and Google RCS (also known as Google Chat). It is praised for its wide range of integrations including Zendesk and Shopify.
Reply.Ai
Used by Coca-Cola and Samsung, Answer. AI is an enterprise-level, all-in-one conversational AI platform for sales, support and marketing of Facebook messenger conversations (as well as Internet, Line, WeChat, Telegram, KIK, and SMS ). The chatbot builder is designed in drag-and-drop style and has received high reviews for its ease of use.
Some unique features include advanced analytics, proven security practices, role-based access control, and internationalization. It also integrates with Hootsuite Inbox using the Facebook Messenger handover protocol.
Bot Platform
Another non-coding bot builder, the platform bot is one of the most popular and trusted enterprise solutions in the game — at least when it comes to Facebook Messenger and Workplace. BBC, Shaw, artistic component, and Sony music of all clients. People seem to really love its analytics and segmentation capabilities.
Bonus: the bot platform integrates with Hootsuite Inbox using also the Facebook Messenger data transfer protocol
Machine
It's a fully managed enterprise-grade bot provider, meaning you tell them what you want and they'll build it for you. Their clients include leading brands in various industries, but especially in retail and CPG (consumer packaged goods) companies. This is likely due to the fact that their chatbots can catalog and post product views within the chat itself, making it a favorite of beauty companies like Vichy, Covergirl and L'Oreal. Automat also integrates with Hootsuite Inbox using the Facebook Messenger handover protocol.
Colloquial
Conversable is an enterprise-class SaaS platform that will build your bot with you. They work with many Fortune 500 companies (they are behind Whole Foods, Pizza Hut, 7-11, and Dunkin Donuts bots, among others). They go beyond Facebook Messenger and will make sure your conversations happen across all channels, including voice (like OnStar).
Facebook Messenger for Developers
If you want to create your own messenger bot, Facebook provides many resources. And they always work with their developer community to come up with new ideas to improve the user experience. For example, Sephora and Nike are currently testing augmented reality camera effects for their customers.
Best Practices for Facebook Messenger Bots
Here are some hard-earned tips from the experts aimed at those of you looking to create your own Facebook Messenger bot.
Set your expectations
No bot can do everything - yet. When designing your first campaign, choose one goal or use case for the bot. Popular ideas include customer service, lead identification, product promotion, or discovery.
Keep it simple, and walk before you run.
Set your client's expectations
This works in the opposite direction too: often your bot will teach the user how to interact with them along the way. Alas, utopian people who expect your appointment bot to pass the Turing test may be disappointed. And people who have no idea what a bot is can be equally disappointed.
Be clear about the chatbot's role in the initial interactions to keep everyone on the same page. Then, throughout the interaction, program the chatbot to take the lead in guiding the user through the experience.
We invite personalization
Segmenting your customers and getting to know them fosters engagement. Bots that invite a person to define their preferences and narrow down opportunities have much higher click-through rates. Create a bot that people genuinely want to interact with.
Get down to business
Bots are still pretty new, but ultimately the goal here is to save users time. According to Jonathan Schriftman of Images (a developer bot for Bad Light, Mineral Water Edge, and others), there is a significant drop in users when the bot takes more than five clicks to get to the point-of-sale.
Always have a person close at hand
A bot's success depends on its ability to recognize when a human is needed. Automatic conversations are incredibly fast and responsive, but they cannot replace human communication.
Clients should be able to establish contact with a person at any time during the conversation.
Pro tip: Hootsuite Inbox supports Facebook Messenger data protocol, so you can manage all your direct messages
