With the holiday season rapidly approaching, now is the time to invest the effort and energy needed to improve your business’s social media marketing strategy and how you communicate with your customers. 

When businesses only think about their social media strategy in terms of the main social networks, they miss an important part of social media — messaging apps. Building chatbots for messaging apps is a simple, scalable and versatile way to connect with customers on the world’s most popular apps.

TAP INTO THE POWER OF MESSAGING.

The popularity of Facebook Messenger has skyrocketed in the past five years and shows no sign of slowing down. The app is the second most popular in the world for messaging, close behind WhatsApp. More than 20 billion messages are sent between people and businesses every month, according to Social Media Today. And as of this year, there are more than 300,000 active chatbots on the platform. 

A majority of small businesses have built a strong Facebook presence, but very few are tapping into the power of Facebook Messenger marketing. Many don’t realize that there are ways to build engaging chatbots to interact with potential customers that will save them precious time and energy in responding to customer messages.

Chatbots are automated messaging programs that can ask questions, gather customer information, answer common questions, and connect customers with real employees if needed — boosting efficiency immediately.

And your customers will be inclined to read your business’s messages, even when they’re sent by a chatbot. According to the MobileMonkey, the average open rate in Facebook Messenger marketing is typically 70-80 percent or higher, compared to 25-30 percent in email.

START A CONVERSATION.

According to Facebook IQ, more than 50 percent of Facebook Messenger users are more likely to shop with a business they can message. It’s clear to see that potential customers prefer to reach out to brands through messaging than through other options. 

When you build your messaging marketing plan, focus on staying consistent, and commit to building a positive dialogue with your customers. Your customers are people, so always think in terms of conversational marketing.

Messenger apps give you a unique opportunity to reach your target audience one-on-one in a private conversation. As you build your messaging chatbot program, prepare answers for your customers’ simple and recurring questions. Think of your chatbot as your best customer service agent, sharing answers to FAQs in a friendly, informative, and most importantly, very responsive way.

REACH OUT TO THE PROS.

Once you’ve decided to invest in messenger marketing strategy, don’t be afraid to reach out to a professional with digital marketing experience to discuss your goals. They’ll be a great sounding board for you as you kick off your chatbot efforts.

By capitalizing on the power of messenger marketing, you will have an incredibly useful new tool to help spearhead customer service improvements, boost engagement and drive sales. Curious about how to get started with messaging chatbots? Reach out to our team of digital marketing experts. We’d love to help!