How Brands Are Winning With Facebook Messenger

Almost every brand is on Facebook, however, Facebook has one particular feature that is rather underrated. This feature is Facebook Messenger. As mobile takes over, there are an increasing number of brands that are utilizing Facebook Messenger as a way to reach their audience.

Facebook Messenger Delivers Content

According to a test done by HubSpot, Facebook messenger results in an 80% open rate. This open rate is 242% higher than the traditional email method. Brands are taking advantage of this open rate to send content via messenger. Another reasons messenger is popular with brands is because it allows for the flexibility of personalizing the content for each individual.¹

Jeremy Nettles, VP of Social Media at Dalton Agency explains that, “Some people follow brands on social media profiles to engage with content and have genuine conversations with the brand.”

For example, TechCrunch is just one media outlet that uses messenger to send users content. Not only will these outlets send you content everyday, but AI also allows you to request content. By typing in a keyword, the messenger will then send related articles from their platform.

Lead generation

In addition to using Facebook to deliver content, more and more brands are implementing messenger to identify potential customers. A few years ago, Facebook enabled a “Click to Message” feature, which allows users to start the conversation. The reason a user would begin this conversation could vary for a variety of reasons, but by starting this conversation the user is immediately converted into a lead. ² One of the best ways to increase leads is by creating a lead generation ad. Listed below is a few proven ways to get more leads out of this type of ad.

Include offers
Request their information upfront
Make it a smooth experience
Know your target audience

These ads are great because they help brands essentially get their foot in the door. Once a user clicks the ad, it give companies the opportunity to then develop that relationship.

Customer support

According to a Walker research report, by 2020 consumers will consider customer experience more important than the price and product. ⁵

Michelle Morales, Social Media Manager at Flightpath emphasized that Facebook Messenger is a great platform for brands to handle customer service on, “As Facebook transitions with the importance of creating a community within the platform, it’s an easy way to think of the many ways the messenger app can be involved. Providing great customer service to clients creates the impact for a brand to stay top of mind.”

“Providing great customer service to clients creates the impact for a brand to stay top of mind.”

– Michelle Morales, Social Media Manager, Flightpath

No matter what platform brands take advantage of to provide customer support, Anne Summa, Social Media Strategist at E29 Marketing strongly believes it’s critical in this day and age for brands to invest in their relationship with consumers. Annepoints out that, “Consumers want to be heard and are looking for brands to listen, hear their concerns, and respond to them in real-time.”

As mentioned in our AI & Retail article, brands are utilizing messenger chatbots to ease the struggles of customer support. Hence, in a world where consumers expect answers right away, chatbots makes that possible.

How is it Customer Service Friendly?

One unique benefit that brands gain by using Facebook Messenger is that it is very bot friendly. In fact, you don’t even need coding knowledge to develop a chatbot as there are many resources that help you build your own Facebook chatbot. ³

Chatfuel, OnSequel, and Botsify are just a few tools that let you create chatbots without having to get involved with complicated programming.

Chatbots in Action

There are a number of brands taking advantage of Facebook Messenger’s chatbots to engage with their customers. The brands listed below showcase just how chatbots are the future of customer service.

Did Somebody Say Pizza?

It has never been this easy to get your hands on a delicious cheesy pizza. Many pizza chains have enacted mobile ordering to simplify the customer experience. Domino’s is taking advantage of Facebook Messenger to better interact with their customers. Through messenger, users can order a pizza as well as track your order.

A Platform For Every Brand

Messenger isn’t reserved for any specific type of brand. Even high end fashion brands like Burberry can build customer loyalty with chatbots. Burberry’s Facebook Messenger bot lets users shop, discover new collections, and even make purchases. See the video below to learn more.

CHA-CHING!

A few years ago Bank of America became one of the first banks to partner with Facebook. Together they collaborated to create chatbots with financial service expertise. This allowed Bank of America to deliver both convenience and value to their customers.⁴ However, Bank of America isn’t the only bank taking advantage of this tool. Mastercard lets customers use messenger to check past transactions and seek answers to their questions.

See what agencies are working with Bank of America by visiting Agency Spotter.

Book A Flight In A Minute

Kayak offers chatbot users a personal travel agent. Through messenger you can book a flight, hotel, or simply determine where you can travel with your budget.

References

¹ HubSpot | ² SMSS Blog | ³ Hootsuite | ⁴ PYMNTS | ⁵ Qminder

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