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Are you using Facebook Messenger in your marketing? Looking for tips to improve your Messenger bot experience?
In this article, seven leading Facebook Messenger marketing experts share their top tips for improving your Messenger performance.
Improve Facebook Messenger Bot Communication
#1: Develop a Character for Your Messenger Bot
When it comes to Messenger bots in 2019, there is no better way to scale a genuine one-on-one connection that leads to conversions. You'll find increased open rates, click-through rates, and the ability to have a unique interactive user experience that simply can't be beat.
However, so many marketers miss out on the true possibilities because they're not following the rules or using them to their fullest potential. Here are a few tips that will raise engagement and conversions, and keep you out of trouble.
Understand the Messenger subscription process: AÂ user must interact with your business Messenger account in order to be subscribed to your bot.
People often think simply clicking a link or the Get Started button is enough to complete a subscription, but that's not always the case. In most instances, a person is required to send a message to the Facebook page to be subscribed. They can also click a button that triggers a message, but if they click a button that takes them straight to an off-Facebook website or landing page, there's a good chance their subscription won't be fully completed.
Think of subscribing as a double opt-in. When someone clicks on a link that sends them a message, ask them to confirm their subscription by clicking a button or entering their email address. This way you know your subscribers really want to be there, and you're following Facebook's rules.
Remember, a bot is a bot: If you design your Messenger bot to represent itself as a real human, you'll not only mislead your community but also be violating a California state law that says you must make it clear that a bot is a bot, not a human.
A fun way to stay compliant and create a mini-relationship between your community and bot is to design a character for it. Create a character that represents your brand and use its personality to guide your soon-to-be client and customer on a journey. Your subscribers will be happy to engage.
Modify comment opt-in posts: While we used to get great results by saying, “Comment with the word YES and we'll send you a free checklist via Messenger,” there has been a decline in the effectiveness of ads and posts like this.
Comment opt-in bots aren't a thing of the past, but there's a new way to use them to encourage the deeper, more meaningful conversations Facebook wants to see and that we want with our communities. Instead of asking for a one-word comment, ask for an answer to an engaging question that also helps you identify the needs of your community.
To illustrate, you might ask, “What would be possible if you had XYZ result? Tell us below this photo and we'll send you our free ABC guide via Messenger.” Then be sure to ask your community to respond to the initial message that's sent, or they won't be fully opted in as mentioned in the tip above.
It's amazing market research and the organic reach of your posts will increase.
Molly Mahoney is a master at helping entrepreneurs and artists up their visibility and online presence by leveraging the newest and most powerful features Facebook has to offer. Her Facebook Messenger bots serve clients and customers in a uniquely authentic way.
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I'M READY TO BECOME AN AI-POWERED MARKETER#2: Use Conversational Flow in Your Messenger Bot Copy
Copywriting for high-converting bots doesn't have to be difficult. Here's my #1 tip: Make your copy conversational. It sounds simple, but only about 10% of the bot messages I receive actually do this.
The key is to create back-and-forth bot copy that mimics a one-on-one conversation.
Here's an example of what I typically see in bots, which is, in reality, a mini-email with paragraph-separated copy:
BOT: Hey there ~ I'm trying something new, and I need your help. About two months ago, a friend of mine needed help getting ready for her wedding, and she was desperate.
She had bought her wedding dress, then put it aside while she planned all the other amazing parts of her big event. Well, you can imagine what happened next, right?
When she tried her dress on, her fun and amazing “let's imagine walking down the aisle” jitters turned into the panicked OMG WHAT AM I GOING TO DO jitters that make you want to vomit!
BOT: (typing delay)
BOT: She came to me, because she knew I had lost my own weight and kept it off and thought I could help her do it, too. So I taught her my “The Skinny on Getting Into Your Skinny Jeans” method.
Happily, she is now ready for the big day this weekend with a little room to spare!
Even if you're not getting ready for a wedding (or especially if you are), I can give you the skinny, too!
Join me for my free masterclass, and let's get you in those skinny jeans by Memorial Day!
BUTTON: “Join Now!”
All of the copy before and after the (typing delay) is delivered at one time. If you were reading this message on your phone, you would need to scroll up to find the beginning of the message and then start reading, only to be interrupted halfway through with the next message. At that point, you would need to scroll back up to start reading all over again. I typically click out at that point, because I'm frustrated and don't want to read all of that.
Conversational marketing, however, looks something like this:
BOT: Hey, did you hear about the new thing I'm doing next week?BUTTON: “No, what is it?”
BOT: It's totally new and I'm a bit nervous, but I'm doing it anyway.
BOT: (typing delay)
BOT: I'm doing this free training showing people how to get back into their skinny jeans by Memorial Day. Sounds crazy, right?
BUTTON: “Not Totally Crazy!”
BOT: Thanks for the vote of confidence! My friend Tracy made me do it, because I helped her get back into her wedding dress by first helping her get into her skinny jeans.
BOT: (typing delay)
BOT: So, is that a goal you have, too? (Not the wedding dress, the jeans.) (Congrats if it's the dress, tho!)
BUTTON: “You Bet!” or “Nah, Not Really” (leading to a thanks anyway, and I'll keep in touch message)
BOT: (message after the “You Bet!” button is clicked) Okay now we're talkin! Well, here is the link for the skinny on the skinny jeans method…and I'll share the little secret that helped Tracy (and will help you) never crave any of the things that caused her dress not to fit in the first place! See you there!
BOT: (typing delay)
BOT: btw…It's gonna feel like a party, so if you party with friends, you might want to bring some along! Feel free to invite anyone you think might like to join us by sharing the link! See you soon!
BUTTON: SIGN ME UP!
Now, compare that conversational marketing copy to the mini-email above. What do you think that back-and-forth conversation would do to your conversions compared to an email story, no matter how well the story connects emotionally?
The buttons and conversation-leading copy drive the prospect to make micro-commitments to your brand and marketing. The mini-email bot copy can't do that.
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So, the next time you write copy for your Messenger bot, remember to have an imaginary conversation over coffee (or tea) with your prospect/friend. If you're like the clients I write bot copy for, you'll increase your CTR by 30%.
Mary Kathryn Johnson, nicknamed the “ChatBotMom” by the Messenger marketing community, has helped her clients sell millions in products and services.
Increase Facebook Messenger Bot Subscribers
#3: Link to Your Messenger Bot in Marketing Content
When it comes to Facebook Messenger marketing, you want to gather as many subscribers as you can from wherever your visitors happen to be. Here are some creative places in which you can include Facebook Messenger bot subscriber links.
When you display a presentation video in a post or on a page, include a Messenger subscriber link to download the slides for the presentation.
When you send out a coupon, require customers to subscribe to your bot to obtain the code.
When you send out a transactional email, include a link to your bot and let readers know they can reach out to you there if they have a question.
Underneath your podcast episodes, include a link to your bot to let listeners download the transcript.
Because I try to grab emails in addition to Facebook Messenger subscribers, I always include a Facebook Messenger check box underneath my email forms with an offer of a special gift to incentivize subscriptions. Usually this free gift is an ebook or bonus content.
By including different Messenger subscription methods throughout your site, you can build a sizeable subscriber list in no time.
Steve Chou is the founder of MyWifeQuitHerJob.com, a blog that reaches millions of readers interested in ecommerce and selling physical products online, and a top business podcast of the same name.
#4: Combine Your Messenger Bot With Facebook Live Comments
Facebook Messenger bots are an incredibly powerful tool for engaging your existing audience and new leads. What's another great way to do this on the Facebook platform? Combine a Messenger bot with a Facebook Live to create an experience that not only engages but also leads to sales.
The best strategy for this is to plan an engaging Facebook Live that announces and distributes a freebie such as a PDF guide. Then connect a Messenger bot to your Facebook Live via the Comments feature in either ManyChat or Chatfuel.
When someone comments on your Facebook Live (which you'll be encouraging people to do during the live broadcast and after), they'll receive a message from your bot. Your bot will do all of the heavy lifting: distribute the freebie, walk people through the conversion process, and even capture their email.
https://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/facebook-messenger-marketing-example-5-300.pngA few hours later, you can follow up with a sale offer for those who engaged with the freebie. This strategy simultaneously grows three things for you: your Facebook Live engagement, your bot subscriber list, and your email list.
Natasha Takahashi, chief marketing officer and co-founder of School of Bots, is host of the popular show, There’s a Bot for That.
Use Facebook Messenger Bots Strategically
#5: Segment and Personalize Content Delivery
The biggest mistake I see businesses make with Messenger bots is sending out one-size-fits-all broadcasts. Bots have amazing open rates in comparison to email, but they're not the same.
Messenger is a chat and conversation platform, and a Messenger bot should provide users with an automated chat experience!
Here are some tips to leverage the three superpowers of Messenger bots:
Interaction: A bot is not a one-way communication tool, so let users engage with your bot. Allow them to choose their own adventure by adding navigational quick-reply buttons that let them decide where to go next.
Segmentation: Use bots to ask questions that teach you more about each individual subscriber. Then use tags or custom fields to segment your subscribers by their expressed interests.
Personalization: When you send out a broadcast, leverage these segments to deliver personalized, relevant information to the subscribers who have indicated an interest in the topic. Irrelevant messages will annoy your subscribers and increase the risk of your bot being reported as spam.
Dana Tran, co-founder of CodelessBot.com, is a digital coach and bot expert passionate about teaching others how to build interactive and personalized Messenger bot experiences.
#6: Use the Send Message Button to Deliver Offers From Facebook Ads
So many marketers overthink the process of building a bot that they end up building nothing. To get started with your first bot, think about a basic purpose it could fill and then build a bot for that specific need.
If you're a more seasoned bot marketer, you can expand on that by leveraging both the Send Message button and “comment below” call to action. Testing has shown that both of these mechanisms are great on their own, but they perform even better when used together.
The Send Message button does well, I think, because many consumers still haven't had much interaction with a business inside Messenger. It's a novel experience so it earns higher engagement rates. Putting a “comment below” type of solicitation in your ad copy (such as, “Comment ‘pizza' below for a free pizza”) works exceptionally well because leaving a comment on a post is a low risk.
Neither of these two tools is a secret, but most bot marketers are using one or the other. I encourage you to try them together in the same ad. I'm confident you'll be happy with the results!
Ben Beck loves working at the intersection of technology and marketing. He enjoys building chatbots and working with a breadth of marketing tools.
#7: Deliver Event Reminders
By far, the best and easiest use of Messenger bots is to remind people to attend an event such as a Facebook Live broadcast or a webinar.
We've found that reminders for a live webinar sent via email only get a 42% open rate, but reminders sent via bot get an 82% open rate, which is almost double.
More exciting than the nearly double open rate is the number of people who attend. Fifteen percent of people who click through from email reminders attend, but 37% of people who click through via a bot reminder attend—that's more than double!
Getting an alert on your phone via chat for an event that's about to start is more compelling and timely than an alert via email, because by the time you check email, the event could be over.
Andrew Warner, one of the pioneers of the Internet startup scene, is the host of Mixergy, a podcast where he interviews other founders about how they built their companies.
What do you think? Do these tips inspire you to try something new with Facebook Messenger marketing? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
More articles on Facebook Messenger marketing:
- Learn how to improve registrations and attendance for your Facebook Live video broadcasts.
- Find out how to create Messenger ad campaigns that generate new leads for your business.
- Discover how to set up a successful funnel using Messenger bots.
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