• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Social Media Examiner

Your Guide to the Social Media Jungle

  • 🔥 Free Newsletter
  • ⭐ FREE Web3 Course
  • 🗓️ Our Events
    • Social Media Marketing World (Mar 13-15)
    • Other Industry Events
  • 💡 Society
  • ⚙️ Tools
  • 🎙️ Podcasts
    • Social Media Marketing Podcast
    • Social Media Marketing Talk Show
    • Web3 Business Podcast
    • Our YouTube Channel
  • 🎯 Partner With Us
    • Podcast Sponsorship
    • Email Sponsorship
      • Email Newsletter
      • Dedicated Email Blast
    • Event Sponsorship
      • Social Media Marketing World
    • Tools Sponsorship
  • 👋 About Us
    • Our Story
    • Articles
      • Web3
      • Instagram Marketing
      • Facebook Marketing
      • YouTube Marketing
      • LinkedIn Marketing
      • TikTok Marketing
      • Expert Interviews
  • Search
  • Social Media Marketing World10th annual. Biggest industry event. Get the recordings!IMPROVE YOUR MARKETING

    5 Ways to Use Facebook Messenger Bots for Your Business

    by Ana Gotter / March 7, 2017

    social media how toDo your customers message you with questions, comments, or complaints on Facebook?

    Want to automate the most common customer interactions?

    Customers expect lightning-fast responses from businesses on Facebook. Chatbots can help you deliver the right answer the moment a customer asks.

    In this article, you'll discover five types of Facebook Messenger bots your business can integrate for better customer service.

    5 Ways to Use Facebook Messenger Bots for Your Business by Ana Gotter on Social Media Examiner.
    5 Ways to Use Facebook Messenger Bots for Your Business by Ana Gotter on Social Media Examiner.

    Why Use Chatbots?

    Increasing numbers of consumers are turning to social media messaging, including Facebook Messenger, to contact businesses with questions, comments, and complaints. While there are tools that will help you manage the influx of customer messages, sometimes they're just not enough, particularly when social users are accustomed to a timely response from you.

    Facebook Messenger chatbots will let you automatically provide consumers with immediate responses. They can answer basic questions like “What is your return policy?” (even though it's posted in three different places on your site), freeing up your customer service team to handle more serious customer concerns or issues.

    Chatbots can provide information and basic customer service.
    Chatbots can provide information and basic customer service.

    Suppose you're a customer service representative for a small jewelry business and you spend three hours every day sending customers tracking numbers that they've already received via email. A chatbot can take care of this task for you.

    You can build chatbots for a variety of purposes, including customer service and content marketing.
    You can build chatbots for a variety of purposes, including customer service and content marketing.

    Certain chatbots can even provide automated services like wireless bank transactions or help customers book a ride on Lyft, simplifying the process. Remember, the easier you make it for consumers to work with you, the more money you'll make.

    Chatbots are extremely valuable, and part of this value comes from their flexibility. When you create a chatbot, you can customize your chatbot to fit your business, your customers' needs, and a variety of purposes.

    Here are five Facebook Messenger chatbots you can set up, all of which serve a unique purpose that can benefit your business.

    #1: Deliver Personalized Content Experiences

    Some businesses use chatbots to focus solely on content; the chatbots serve as an extension of their content marketing strategy. These bots nurture relationships with clients and provide immediate value without any work on the user's part.

    For example, the Whole Foods chatbot is geared toward helping users find new recipes. They can enter requests like “soup recipes” to browse suggestions for different types of meals or cuisines, or move through a series of questions for personalized recipes.

    The Whole Foods chatbot offers value through content rather than selling directly to users.
    The Whole Foods chatbot offers value through content rather than selling directly to users.

    When users tap to view a recipe, the chatbot takes them to the recipe on the Whole Foods website. This is an ingenious way to generate more traffic from social media without it feeling forced or too much like spam. You'll help customers find relevant content and provide a ton of value.

    3 Days of World-Class Training—Zero Travel!

    Social Media Marketing World

    Travel to Social Media Marketing World off the table? Get all of the great content at a fraction of the price with an On-Demand ticket.

    That’s full access to recordings of every keynote, workshop, and session—the ones people travel thousands of miles to see. Don't wait. Get your On-Demand ticket and enjoy actionable content that you can watch anytime, anywhere.

    GET YOUR ON-DEMAND TICKET NOW
    Sending users to your website from a chatbot can get you more traffic and potentially more sales.
    Sending users to your website from a chatbot can get you more traffic and potentially more sales.

    When you create a chatbot to provide customized content to your audience, keep these best practices in mind:

    • Treat your chatbot like content marketing. Selling shouldn't be your primary objective, but you can use content to send users to your site.
    • Ensure your site is mobile-responsive.
    • Inform customers how and where to contact you if they need additional help, including customer service issues.
    • Include browsing menus if possible. This makes it easier for users to find content they're interested in, even if they don't know exactly what they're looking for yet.
    Including browsing menus in your chatbot makes it easier for users to find the information they're looking for.
    Including browsing menus in your chatbot makes it easier for users to find the information they're looking for.

    #2: Answer Common Customer Service Questions

    One popular use of chatbots is to provide customer service. If your customer service team is asked the same questions over and over, a chatbot is a great way to field some of those questions. You just have to teach it what to say.

    The Domino's Pizza chatbot is a good example of this. Customers can order directly from the bot and track their order. The “track order” option is a simple, effective customer service tool. Imagine how many calls Domino's gets from impatient customers wanting to know when their pizza will be delivered.

    The Domino's chatbot makes it easy for customers to track their order. This can cut down on calls to the store.
    The Domino's chatbot makes it easy for customers to track their order. This can cut down on calls to the store.

    When creating a customer service chatbot, follow these best practices:

    • Make sure customers can contact a customer service agent if necessary. Offer a “Did we answer your question?” option that can direct still-stumped users to an actual customer service agent.
    1-800-Flowers gives customers the option to connect with a live agent, who can offer personalized help.
    1-800-Flowers gives customers the option to connect with a live agent, who can offer personalized help.
    • Let users know up front that they're working with an automated response system. You can't trick people into thinking they're talking to a real person, especially when it comes to customer service issues.
    • If you need personal information to verify a user's identity, direct that person to customer service via your website or a phone number. Asking for this information via Facebook Messenger is normally not a good idea for security reasons.

    #3: Streamline Product Purchases

    While no artificial intelligence can be as effective as a talented salesperson (at least not yet), chatbots that are designed to sell can help you boost sales and increase your profit. Use the chatbot to show customers the products they're looking for and process simple sales right in the Messenger app.

    Tools Resource Guide

    Looking for something to make your life easier?

    Discover the tools we recommend to drive engagement, save you time, and boost sales across your entire marketing funnel or business.

    Whether you need help planning content, organizing social posts, or developing your strategy, you’ll find something for every situation.

    FIND YOUR NEXT FAVORITE TOOL

    The 1-800-Flowers chatbot is designed primarily for selling, making it easy for consumers to order flowers through Messenger. The bot asks for the recipient's name, phone number, and delivery address. Then it prompts customers to choose what category of products they're looking for and displays relevant products.

    Customers can easily browse and select products from the 1-800-Flowers chatbot.
    Customers can easily browse and select products from the 1-800-Flowers chatbot.

    Once users select an item, the chatbot asks them to schedule the delivery and provide billing information. The process is simple and likely easier than trying to navigate a mobile site and check out on a smartphone.

    Not only can customers select products, but they can also schedule delivery and enter billing information through the 1-800-Flowers chatbot.
    Not only can customers select products, but they can also schedule delivery and enter billing information through the 1-800-Flowers chatbot.

    Here are some tips for creating a selling chatbot:

    • Make sure your chatbot can answer frequently asked product questions; this can help drive sales significantly.
    • Use a chatbot builder that allows you to accept payments through services like Stripe or PayPal. This functionality can generate more sales than just sending people to your mobile site.
    • Always ask “Did you want to look at anything else before you check out?” because users may be willing to look at and purchase add-on items.

    #4: Cultivate Connections via Entertainment

    If you want to build and nurture relationships with your customers, consider designing your chatbot simply to entertain them (assuming this approach fits with your brand). Users can opt to receive future messages from you, and you can send fun facts, games, and content meant purely to entertain them.

    The Trivia Blast chatbot, for example, focuses only on entertainment. Once people send their first message, the chatbot will regularly send messages to them with game suggestions and calls to action to play them. Users can sort the trivia games by topic and some games even offer the option to “see how it works” or “challenge a friend,” inviting more users to the chatbot.

    Trivia Blast's chatbot focuses on trivia games users can play, but also maintains a high level of interaction with options like
    Trivia Blast's chatbot focuses on trivia games users can play, but also maintains a high level of interaction with options like “challenge friends” and “watch how it works.”

    Keep these points in mind when building a chatbot to entertain users:

    • If you plan to reach out to users in the future, always ask users to opt into receiving new content; otherwise, you may have unhappy users on your hands.
    • Make sure all of your content is mobile-responsive.
    • Use lots of non-text media like videos and images. Your messages should be as dynamic as possible.

    #5: Offer Specialized Services

    Plenty of businesses have their own mobile apps that offer automated services, but you can take this a step further by creating chatbots that offer these services in the Messenger app itself.

    RemitRadar‘s money transfer service is one of the best examples of this type of chatbot. Chatbot users can use automated services to send money, pay for international mobile while abroad, request exchange rates, and find other money transfer locations. All of these services are streamlined and easy to use.

    Offering automated services through a chatbot can boost business.
    Offering automated services through a chatbot can boost business.

    Keep these best practices in mind when creating this type of chatbot:

    • Provide preset, clickable menus to navigate your automated services. This will simplify the process and make it clear what services you offer.
    • For services your chatbot can't handle, refer people to the appropriate place on your site if possible.
    • Test services thoroughly on different types of devices before the chatbot goes live.

    Tools to Create Facebook Messenger Chatbots

    When you're ready to create a Facebook Messenger chatbot for your business, there's a number of easy-to-use chatbot builders that can help you, many of which don't require coding knowledge. To see how to create and install chatbots in more detail, this tutorial gives you everything you need to know.

    Here are recommended tools to consider:

    Botsify lets you create one chatbot for free. You'll get free integrations, unlimited messages, and up to 100 bot users. Paid plans allow for more chatbots and bot users. Big-name brands like Apple and Universal Music group use Botsify's services. Once your chatbot is up and running, you'll get access to analytics.

    Botsify has a user-friendly interface.
    Botsify has a user-friendly interface.

    Converse comes with a ton of great features. You can create chatbots that sell, add images, and even take payments from third parties like PayPal, Stripe, and Clearbit.

    This chatbot builder focuses on chat flow, and it's capable of question routing so users can get the answers, products, or content they're looking for. Converse is a little more difficult to learn how to use than the other two tools here. You can try it out for free.

    Converse's chatbot builder is a little more difficult to navigate but the tool offers fantastic customer service and features.
    Converse's chatbot builder is a little more difficult to navigate but the tool offers fantastic customer service and features.

    Chatfuel boasts that it can help you launch a “full-featured chatbot” in just 7 minutes (after a 10-minute tutorial, if you need it), and it's free. Template cards make it easy to “teach” your chatbot what to say. Like the other two tools, it comes with full analytics. Chatfuel has a number of big-name clients like MTV, ABC News, BuzzFeed, and Adidas.

    Chatfuel's bot builder is easy to use, and they offer a 10-minute tutorial to take you through the creation process.
    Chatfuel's bot builder is easy to use, and they offer a 10-minute tutorial to take you through the creation process.

    Final Thoughts

    Facebook Messenger chatbots have soared in popularity among businesses. They can deliver automated responses to users who contact you through Messenger and are now being used for a wide array of purposes, including customer service and selling.

    What do you think? Do you use Facebook Messenger chatbots for your business? Which types of chatbots have been most beneficial to you? Share your thoughts and knowledge in the comments below!

    5 Ways to Use Facebook Messenger Bots for Your Business by Ana Gotter on Social Media Examiner.
    5 Ways to Use Facebook Messenger Bots for Your Business by Ana Gotter on Social Media Examiner.

    Get Your FREE Course: Web3 for Beginners

    Web 3 for Beginners

    Curious about Web3, but don't know where to start or who to trust?

    Introducing Web3 for Beginners, a course taught by Michael Stelzner, the founder of Social Media Examiner.

    Learn the basics of Web3 and apply it to your business with this FREE comprehensive course.


    CLICK HERE TO GET FREE ACCESS

    Tags: Facebook, Facebook Bots, Facebook Messenger

    About the authorAna Gotter

    Ana Gotter is a freelance writer specializing in social media and content marketing, though she writes on a variety of other niches and subjects. She can be contacted at anagotter.com.
    Other posts by Ana Gotter »

    Get Social Media Examiner’s Future Articles in Your Inbox!

    Get our latest articles delivered to your email inbox and get the FREE Social Media Marketing Industry Report (39 pages, 50+ charts)!

    Industry Report Cover

    Worth Exploring:

    Facebook

    Marketing Help Explore More →

    Instagram

    Marketing Help Explore More →

    YouTube

    Marketing Help Explore More →

    Linkedin

    Marketing Help Explore More →

    Web3

    Marketing Help Explore More →

    Social Media Marketing Industry Report

    Get Free Report →

    Social Marketing Trends

    The data you've been missing!

    Need a new plan? Discover how marketers plan to change their social activities in the 14th annual Social Media Marketing Industry Report. It reveals what marketers have planned for their social activities, content marketing, and more! Get this free report now and never miss another great article from us. Join more than 400,000 marketers!

    Enter your email to get
    our free report:


    Footer

    Your Guide to the Social Media Jungle
    Copyright © 2023 Social Media Examiner®
    All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use | Privacy Policy.

    Helpful Links

    • About us
    • Our content via email
    • Our podcasts
    • Our YouTube channel
    • Our live show
    • Our industry report
    • Sponsorship opportunities
    • RSS
    • Accessibility