Have you ever ever messaged an organization on Fb, solely to attend so lengthy for a response that by the point they get again to you, you forgot you contacted them within the first place? For manufacturers making an attempt to face out in a crowded on-line market, this isn’t an excellent look.
Most manufacturers don’t have the assets to supply 24/7 on-line customer support and gross sales assist. Fortuitously, chatbots don’t have to sleep (or eat lunch). Fb chatbot can reply buyer questions, monitor packages, make product suggestions, and even shut a sale any time of the day or evening.
Fb’s newest out there data signifies there are 40 million companies utilizing Messenger and solely 300,000 energetic Messenger bots. Utilizing a bot can assist you create a streamlined expertise on your buyer and followers, and stand out out of your competitors.
What’s a Fb bot (a.ok.a Fb Messenger chatbot)?
A chatbot is a chunk of automated messaging software program that makes use of synthetic intelligence to converse with individuals.
A Fb Messenger bot is a chatbot that lives inside Fb Messenger, that means it converses with a number of the 1.3 billion individuals who use Fb Messenger each month.
Chatbots may be programmed to grasp questions, present solutions, and execute duties. They will present a custom-made on-line procuring expertise and even make gross sales.
The advantages of utilizing Fb chatbots for enterprise
Meet prospects the place they’re
First, let’s take a look at some fast stats to set the stage for a way a lot of your potential viewers is accessible via Fb Messenger:
- Chat and messaging are the most-used forms of web sites and apps, adopted by social networks.
- 64% of individuals say they would favor to message a enterprise than name them
- 60% of individuals say they’re open to receiving private messages from corporations
- Fb Messenger has the third-most energetic customers of any app, beat out solely by Fb and Whatsapp
- Greater than 100 billion messages are exchanged on Meta apps day-after-day
- Individuals spend a mean of 3 hours each month utilizing Fb Messenger (and 19.6 hours a month utilizing Fb itself).
- Meta reviews the potential promoting viewers for Fb Messenger is 987.7 million individuals
- Most individuals (69% within the U.S.) who message companies say having the ability to take action improves their confidence within the model.
The purpose is that your viewers is already utilizing Fb Messenger, they usually anticipate to have the ability to work together together with your model there. Chatbots can enhance your fee of response, making it simpler for individuals to get the data they anticipate in real-time, on a channel they already use.
As a bonus, Fb Messenger has sponsored advertisements, which may be focused to individuals who have beforehand been in contact together with your Web page. Use these advertisements in tandem together with your chatbot to focus on high-intent prospects.
Save time on your staff and your prospects
Prospects anticipate 24/7 availability, they usually hate ready on maintain. Additionally they ask most of the identical questions again and again (and over) once more.
In case you’re spending loads of time serving to individuals monitor deliveries, examine your return coverage, or guide appointments, a little bit automation will go a good distance. Prospects will be capable of entry the data they want, even when you’re unavailable.
They’ll save time with instantaneous solutions to their questions, and also you’ll save time by letting your Fb Messenger chatbot reply the simple questions, like on this instance from Canadian retailer Simons.
Supply: Simons
This frees up extra time for people to handle extra sophisticated Messenger conversations that transcend the capabilities of a Fb chatbot.
Automate gross sales
Don’t restrict your Messenger bots for Fb to customer support requests.
Greater than 16% p.c of individuals use social media messaging and reside chat companies for model analysis. And 14.5% say a chat field to talk with an organization is a driver of their on-line purchases. This all results in actual enterprise outcomes: 83% of customers say they’d store for or purchase merchandise in messaging conversations.
With the precise script, a Fb Messenger bot could make gross sales. Conversational commerce permits for customized suggestions, lead qualification, and upselling.
As your bot greets potential prospects, it could actually determine their wants, ask primary questions, present inspiration, and direct high-quality results in your human gross sales staff.
Supply: Joybird
Supply: Joybird
Your Fb chatbot may observe up with individuals who abandon the conversational commerce course of, like on this message Joybird’s bot despatched 24 hours after finishing the couch model quiz.
Supply: Joybird
The dos and don’ts of utilizing Fb chatbots
DO set expectations clearly
First, be certain the person is aware of they’re interacting with a bot. Introducing the bot could be a good strategy to begin. You may even give it a reputation, like Decathlon does right here.
Supply: Decathlon Canada
Then, make it clear what the bot can and may’t do. Program your Fb Messenger chatbot to take the lead in guiding the person via the expertise by asking questions or utilizing prompts that transfer the interplay ahead.
Supply: Decathlon Canada
If the bot wants time to course of a request, use the typing indicator (three dots) to ensure your buyer is aware of issues are nonetheless taking place, as seen on this instance from Tiffany & Co.
Supply: Tiffany & Co
In case you want time to answer or go the dialog alongside to an individual, make that clear, too, and set expectations about when the client can anticipate a response, like Bumble’s Fb bot does right here.
Supply: Bumble
A mini-don’t as a part of this tip: Don’t discuss with your Fb chatbot as “reside chat” or use different terminology that means it’s an actual particular person.
DO maintain it quick
In keeping with Fb, most individuals work together with Messenger bots on their cellular units. Don’t make them learn large chunks of textual content on a small display or sort a prolonged reply with their thumbs.
Buttons, fast replies, and menus could make the dialog move extra simply than asking the client to sort at each stage. Right here, KLM supplies eight potential choices to drive the dialog with the bot.
Supply: KLM
Permit the client to sort particulars when wanted, however all the time present default solutions or choices to select from when your Fb Messenger bot asks a query.
DO preserve your model voice
When you need to be clear that your Fb Messenger chatbot is a bot, you need it to sound like your bot. Use turns of phrase your prospects anticipate out of your web site, and preserve the identical basic tone. In case your model is informal and pleasant, your bot needs to be too.
That mentioned, maintain it easy. Don’t use slang or jargon that can confuse customers. Attempt studying your bot’s prompts out loud to a colleague to ensure they’re clear.
And all the time use a tone acceptable to the duty at hand. In case you’re asking somebody to supply private particulars like a flight quantity or their deal with, take a extra skilled tone.
DO let human brokers deal with sophisticated inquiries
A Fb chatbot’s success depends upon its means to acknowledge when a human being is required. Automated conversations are speedy and responsive, however they will’t exchange human connection.
Prospects ought to have the choice, at any level within the dialog, to attach with an individual. Your chatbot ought to be capable of acknowledge a request for human assist, even when it’s outdoors the anticipated move of dialog.
On this instance from La Vie En Rose, the bot understands the requests although it doesn’t move logically from the bot’s immediate.
Supply: La Vie en Rose
DON’T spam
There’s actually just one main don’t in relation to Messenger bots, and that is it. Don’t spam.
Don’t assume {that a} buyer who reached out for assist desires to obtain advertising messages. Personalised product suggestions could be useful, however ensure you have permission earlier than sending them.
Provide individuals a strategy to opt-in to ongoing messaging earlier than you contact them. And make sure to provide a transparent strategy to choose out of future communications. Your bot ought to acknowledge language that looks as if a request to choose out and both ask to verify or implement the unsubscriber request.
Supply: World Well being Group
Fb places this bluntly of their tips for builders: “Don’t change the kind of information you ship with out consent. If individuals signed up for a selected alert, honor their preferences.”
6 instruments for constructing efficient Fb chatbots
1. Heyday
Heyday is a multifunctional buyer messaging platform that means that you can create Fb Messenger bots that enhance your buyer expertise. Its built-in conversational gross sales assistant connects to your product catalog to supply customized product suggestions in Messenger chats.
Heyday additionally makes use of conversational Fb chatbot AI to resolve customer support inquiries and perceive when it’s essential to go the dialog on to a human agent.
2. Streamchat
Streamchat is likely one of the most elementary Fb chatbot instruments on the market. It’s meant for use for easy automations and autoresponders. Somewhat than managing a complete dialog, it’s helpful for out-of-office replies or messages that set expectations about once you’ll be capable of reply.
It’s fast to implement and simple to begin with when you’re simply dipping your toes into the chatbot waters.
3. Chatfuel
Chatfuel has an intuitive visible interface complemented by editable front-end and customization choices. When you can construct a Fb Messenger bot without spending a dime, loads of the extra complicated (and attention-grabbing) instruments are solely out there with Chatfuel Professional accounts.
4. MobileMonkey
This free instrument incorporates a visible chatbot builder for Fb Messenger designed for non-technical customers. You should use it to construct Q&A classes in a Fb Messenger chatbot.
There’s additionally a “Chat Blast” characteristic, just like Chatfuel’s “broadcasting” characteristic, that means that you can ship messages to a number of customers without delay. (Keep in mind: Solely do that in case you have permission!)
5. Messenger for Builders
You probably have the strong coding information required to code your individual Fb chatbot, Fb supplies loads of assets to get you began. And they’re all the time working with their developer group to give you new concepts to enhance the person expertise.
6. Fb Creator Studio
Whereas it’s not strictly talking a Fb Messenger bot, Fb Creator Studio does mean you can arrange some primary automated responses to widespread requests and occasions in Messenger. For instance, you may arrange an away message, present contact data, or arrange an inventory of FAQs and solutions. There’s no synthetic intelligence taking place right here to allow dialog or gross sales, however you will get some autoresponder performance to maintain Messenger working at a primary stage once you’re away out of your desk.
Have interaction with consumers on their most well-liked channels and switch buyer conversations into gross sales with Heyday, Hootsuite’s devoted conversational AI instruments for retailers. Ship 5-star buyer experiences — at scale.
Flip customer support conversations into gross sales with Heyday. Enhance response instances and promote extra merchandise. See it in motion.
