Facebook Chatbot Marketing

Oct 10, 2021

If you want your business to succeed in the current market, you must build and maintain a strong online presence. With customers demanding answers at all hours of the day, regardless of what they’re doing or where they are, you should consider using a Facebook Messenger Chatbot.

A chatbot is an Artificial Intelligence (AI), interactive messaging system that engages with your customers on behalf of your company, all within Facebook’s popular messenger. And for the most part, no human is required.

From learning the basics of how to create one using a bot-building service, to knowing what features yours should have, and what it should look like, you’ll soon be on the way to having basic inquiries on products and services to sales, sometimes within minutes.

Gone are the days of people only being able to call customer service Monday through Friday, 8 am - 5 pm. Not only do they want answers to their questions right away, but they no longer have to leave their home to make a purchase. An interactive chatbot is the perfect tool for any online business.

Technology is here to stay, and customers love how it saves them so much time. Chatbots will save you both time and money since they take away the cost of traditional person-filled labour positions.

Tip #1: Customer FAQ’s

When creating a chatbot for your Facebook messenger marketing campaign, you may feel overwhelmed by what you should and should not include in it. After all, you don’t want to inundate your customers with so much information that they lose interest in your product.

This is why you should refer to your company’s most Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). Consider sending out a broadcast email or hosting a Facebook Live session, and see what questions pop up during your event. You can discuss your product during the event or even just use it as a basic, get-to-know-us interaction with your audience.

Pay attention to the questions that keep popping up the most. For example, do you offer discounted or free shipping on large orders, free exchanges and returns, promotions, etc? When you go to build your Facebook messenger chatbot, include these FAQs so that customers can easily interact with them within the platform.

While current and potential new customers are learning more about your business, it’ll all be done through a chatbot crafted with your personal touch. Customers don’t want to hear a basic ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ Even though they know they’re talking with a chatbot, they still want that human touch.

For more tips on how to personalize your chatbot for your own business, check out this article from Entrepreneur that gives some great tips and tricks to keeping your customers engaged.

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/294418

Tip #2: Automated Greeting

After you decide on what Customer FAQs to add to your Facebook Messenger Chatbot, you should consider creating a warm and inviting automated greeting.

A potential customer is browsing your Facebook page, taking a look at customer comments and your posts, and they decide to reach out to your chatbot. While you may think a basic ‘Hello’ is good enough, the truth is that customers don’t want good enough. They want to be wowed!

Then with so many companies out there nowadays, you must make yours stand out. So, think outside the box and refrain from something generic. Consider a greeting that is a bit more welcoming such as, “Greetings, and welcome to [name of company]. What brings you here today?”

Remember that when you’re in a sales environment, it’s important to ask open-ended questions. Saying something like, “Are you having a good day?” or “Can we interest you in [insert product]?” will either result in a bailout or a negative response. Encourage the customer to have an engaging conversation with your chatbot.

While the customer is interacting with your chatbot, offer multiple-choice answers that gradually narrow down to very specific questions tailored to their needs.

A simple “I’m interested in your body lotion, but the price is a little too high for me,” can lead to a sale of either something else you offer or a discount if they get it with another product.

Just remember to keep the customer engaged in a casual conversation. Don’t be too pushy, and don’t sound robotic. Be warm and inviting, and make it seem as though they’re talking with a human. And of course, allow them to exit the chatbot at any time. Customers never want to feel obligated to do something they don’t want to!

There are lots of successful chatbots out there for you to look at, and we encourage you to do so. You can get an idea of how you want yours to look as well. Pay attention to the ones that are the most successful, and think about how a similar one would work well for your own business.

For an idea of what a successful chatbot looks like, as well as other tips for making yours just as successful, check out Marketing360.com. It’s full of information you can put to good use with your chatbot.

Tip #3: Casual Conversation Vs. Shop Button

If you’ve ever visited a Facebook business page, then you might have seen a Shop button on it. It’s pretty self-explanatory: customers can simply click on that button, and it takes them to an e-commerce store. But customers don’t need to engage with a chatbot to hit that button. So, should you bother putting one into your chatbot?

It’s a good idea to have a shop button, but you want to encourage customers to interact with your chatbot rather than just hitting that button. Especially since interacting with a chatbot has a better chance of having them spend more money, whereas just hitting the shop button will result in them buying what they’re looking for, and not what your chatbot recommends based on their conversation.

First of all, remember that casual conversations almost always lead to more sales. That’s because the more your chatbot talks, the more it relaxes the customer and makes them feel at ease. And when they’re feeling at ease, they’re less likely to say ‘no’ to products your chatbot suggests.

But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have a Shop button, too. At some point during a conversation between your chatbot and a customer, they’ll probably be interested enough to buy something.

Your chatbot can be programmed to insert links to products, or you can have a simple ‘shop’ button within the chatbot. Better yet, you can have both. This gives the customer the option to continue chatting or to leave the chatbot and shop on their own.

Just remember that most consumers are more likely to give a business their hard-earned money if it offers direct, 24/7, friendly customer service. So, keep the conversations friendly and your chatbot available as often as possible.

Tip #4: Finding Your Audience

If you’re reading this special report, then chances are good that you have an inkling your audience has some presence on Facebook. But before you consider building a chatbot just for their messenger platform, you should verify that it’ll be worth your time and money.

Consider sending out an email to customers who are on your mailing list, and ask them to tell you where they spend a lot of their social media time. Try not to be too invasive about their personal lives, but ask enough to know how often they’re on the platform.

With over a billion users worldwide, it’s safe to say that most people use Facebook and their messaging application. Studies show that customers are more likely to open that application instead of an email from a company. It simply feels more personal, almost as though they’re chatting with a friend or family member.

Even though they’re talking about buying something from a business chatbot! Even if you decide not to build a chatbot for their messenger platform, you should still have a verified Facebook page for your business.

If enough of your customers use the messenger application, then it would behove you to build a chatbot. Be sure to add the chatbot to your Facebook page for customers to see it, too. And remember that customers can see your response rate right on your Facebook page, at the top below your business name.

Be light with your texts within the chatbot. Customers don’t respond well to a lot of verbiage. They want a friendly response, but not a bunch of words they have to weed through.

Remember that they’re having a conversation, not sitting down to read and reply to some mass email from a business. It’s a good idea to leave about three seconds between sending messages. Sending messages back to back will make a customer feel rushed, which won’t leave them with a good impression of your company.

At any point during your chatbot conversation, remember to give users the option to unsubscribe and exit the chatbot.

Tip #5: Promoting Your Chatbot

What’s the point of creating a Facebook Messenger Chatbot if customers don’t know that it’s available? You should make it a point to promote the new program across several social media platforms.

If you want to build and maintain a successful business, you have to engage current and potential customers and customers want immediate results. Letting them know via Facebook advertisements, and other forums online, that you have an interactive chatbot is a great way to catch their attention.

Consider taking out a Facebook advertisement where your customers tend to shop. For example, if your business is selling sunglasses then create an ad that will appear on pages related to shopping. People will see it, head on over to your page, and have the option to engage with the chatbot.

Advertising your chatbot is just as important as advertising anything else for your business, as it has the potential to bring in lots of revenue. There are still customers who think they have to wait on hold for a representative when they can get an answer within a few seconds! When it comes to creating your chatbot, there are many options out there for you.

A few examples of chatbot tools you can use are:

     1. Streamchat:

https://getstream.io/chat/

     2. Chatfuel:

https://chatfuel.com/

     3. Mobile Monkey:

https://mobilemonkey.com/

Tip #6: Educate Customers

Once customers find out that you have a chatbot, you’ll want to take a moment and educate them about all of the features. For example, it’s a good idea to give your chatbot a name that’s unique to your business. If your company is selling floral arrangements, then come up with something interesting that incorporates flowers and seems friendly to the customer.

Tell your customers what the purpose of your chatbot is. Is it to answer questions, suggest products, or just for general comments? Customers want to know why you’ve created this chatbot and why they should take the time to use it.

You’ll also want to let the customer know the availability of your chatbot. Even though it’s AI, you still want a human available in case something goes wrong with it. It is technology, after all, and if something goes wrong, will there be someone right away to fix it, or will they have to wait?

Customers have made it clear that they want transparency when dealing with businesses. They want to know what they’re dealing with and who is getting their money. Make it clear that your chatbot is there to make the shopping experience easier, and that if anything should go wrong, a human will be with them shortly!

Finally, tell the customers what the capabilities are of this chatbot. Can it do everything from start to finish, can it virtually place a product in your home so you can see if you like it? Customers want to know before they give you their business!

Tip #7: Security

Chatbots can retain a lot of information about your customers. Just think of the last time you looked at a product on a website and then saw an ad for it on social media. Just like cookies store information, so do chatbots.

Customers want to know that their information is as safe as possible. It might be an added expense, but nowadays you need to invest in security while creating your chatbot. After all, it has the potential to remember everything from what you sent your mom for her birthday, to your credit card information. Reassure your customers that you can be trusted.

Tip #8: Design A Chatbot Character

Think about designing a virtual character for your chatbot. Just like Geico has a gecko, your chatbot should have something funny and interesting to keep customers engaged.

If possible, keep it related to your business. For example, if your business is selling baked goods, then perhaps your chatbot could be a cartoon baker. Or if you’re a massive online retailer with thousands of products to choose from, maybe just a witty shopping cart that can talk.

Everyone likes to have fun, and even adults would get a kick out of a cartoon chatbot interacting with them about the products your company offers, especially since so many of us find shopping a relaxing and enjoyable hobby. Wouldn’t a funny cartoon make it even better? One that can answer our questions, too?

And while we’re on the topic of being funny, don’t hesitate to throw in some emojis and funny gifs. Customers love to have a good time while they’re shopping. Just keep in mind that different people have different types of humour, so keep it as family-friendly as possible.

For example, if your chatbot realizes that the customer would love a certain product, code it to insert a funny gif of someone smiling or grabbing their purse. Just make sure that it’s interactive and will encourage them to have fun and, most importantly, buy that product!

Tip #9: Combine with Facebook Live

Going back to collecting customer FAQs, consider having a Facebook live session and have your new chatbot interact with customers right in the comments. It’s a great way to engage them and respond in real time!

Once your chatbot is made and you’re in your Facebook live session, utilizing it, customers will see that it’s so personal that it can respond to pretty specific questions. For example, if you ask a customer what their budget is and they give a number, it automatically shows them a product within that price range.

This is also a great time for returning customers to interact with the chatbot, and for new customers to see how it remembers information. Which allows for easy upselling and more money for your business!

You can also host a Facebook Live session for the launch of a new product, and unveil your new chatbot at the very same time. Use that time to educate customers on the chatbot, why they should use it, and at the same time get to know your customers.

Give them the option to interact directly with the chatbot so they can see how it works. Most people will love how personal a chatbot can be and appreciate that it saves them time. And of course, be sure to talk about your new product!

Tip #10: Include Send Message In Ads

Anyone who has ever used Facebook has seen an advertisement for some new product, book, toy, movie, or product. As previously mentioned, we often find ourselves on a shopping site before heading over to Facebook, and then voila, an advertisement for that very same product appears in our feed.

This is a great opportunity to incorporate a “send a message” button within a Facebook ad. Customers will see an ad for your business, describing what services you offer, and have the option just to click “send a message.”

It’s another way to streamline someone who stumbles upon your ad, likes what they see, and makes a purchase, all within a matter of minutes. This is why you must ensure that you’re buying Facebook ads for your business, too. Also, make sure they pop up where customers are likely to see them.

If you’ve never taken out a Facebook ad, there are tutorials and books out there that can show you how. Adding a Send Message button is very easy. Anyone who shops online and uses Facebook knows how easy it is to buy something, so why not make it even easier?

Conclusion

When creating your chatbot, just remember to keep a few things in mind. First and foremost, the goal of chatbots is to save time for customers. Shopping is faster and easier than ever before, yet customers are still looking for ways to streamline the process.

Studies show that it’s best to keep the point of sale under five clicks. Address any concerns they have, ask some open-ended questions, and then direct them to whatever it is they’re looking for. Anything more will often result in losing a sale.

Be transparent with your customers at all times, and be sure to include an option to end the conversation at any time. There’s no point in keeping someone engaged who isn’t going to buy anything! Have fun when creating your chatbot and good luck in the growth and future of your business!