Tips On Using Facebook Messenger for Small Businesses
May 15, 2017
Messenger apps are a new, powerful way for your business to communicate with leads. Here are some tips to get you started with Facebook Messenger.
One of the funny things about mobile phones is how little we use them to make phone calls.
A phone call is a commitment. You have to exchange pleasantries, try to be polite. It’s often harder to get right to the point.
But a text message is just the opposite. You don’t want to belabor the point when you’re typing it with your thumb – you must get right to it.
Today, many of us only call someone when a longer conversation is necessary. Otherwise, we text. For younger digital natives, their phone is rarely used to make a voice call.
It’s not hard to connect the dots between this behavior and the messenger feature on Facebook. Essentially, Messenger is a way to text a person or business through Facebook.
There is a big consideration here for businesses. If someone messages your business, it’s likely an existing customer you’ll want to provide service for or a prospective customer you’ll want to turn into a lead.
In other words, your business should be using Facebook Messenger.
Facebook Messenger Basics
Facebook messenger is a button/mobile app that people click on to contact your business:
When someone clicks on it, the box opens with an entry message and your typical response times.
When you set up messenger on your business page, you can create a greeting, as well as create a custom greeting for Messenger Ads (see below).
The response time is actually a metric that Facebook sets based on how quickly you respond to messages during times when your status is active.
In other words, this is basically a text message you get via Facebook from people interested in your business. It’s the modern version of a phone call. You need to have someone on staff ready to respond to these inquiries (which is a process you may be able to automate, see Bots below). Dan Levy from Facebook explains:
You’re making efforts to get people to your Facebook page. Potential customers with high buying intent message you directly via the platform. You won’t get hotter leads.
Facebook Messenger Ads
Facebook messenger can be used in proactive advertising campaigns as a call to action. This can be particularly powerful when you retarget a custom audience or run a specific promotion. It looks like this:
This ad could be targeted to an audience that had viewed the shoe’s category on the website previously. In this case, the call to action literally opens up a dialogue between the shopper and your salesperson. The only way for it to get much more personalized is for them to walk through the front door.
Messenger Bots
One concern you might have with this is your ability to be responsive to every message that comes through on Facebook.
This is where bots can be useful. Bots are artificial intelligence based programs that automate responses to common questions. For example, a restaurant is likely to get many of the same questions via messenger. A bot takes care of responses automatically:
Bots offer the chance for messenger marketing to be far more scalable, only escalating the message to a real person when necessary.
Messenger is Ringing
The public is on Facebook and increasingly leading their digital lives without leaving it. Messenger is an excellent communication channel that’s easy for consumers – which means you have little choice but to use it.
Get started by communicating via Messenger with as fast a response time as you can. These are hot leads calling you.
Then, follow the trends as these platforms develop. You may find yourself being able to take orders and schedule appointments via an automated bot. A time saver for everyone.
Overall, Facebook messenger is a fairly straightforward marketing channel that opens up communication with high intent leads. Be sure you’re taking advantage of it to the fullest.
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