Chatbots are a wildly underrated and underutilized piece of technology.
Facebook Messenger chatbots are useful for so many different aspects of business, from marketing to customer service, to sales.
They automate daily tasks and their 24/7 functionality helps you gather leads and make sales in your sleep.
Here are 8 of my favorite Messenger chatbot features that you need to start using today.
WordPress Chatbot Plugin
A lot of businesses use WordPress as a platform to host their websites.
Using a WordPress chatbot plugin makes it easier than ever to add Facebook Messenger automation to your WordPress site.
Using Facebook Messenger chat on your WordPress website produces a number of benefits.
It allows you to take advantage of the great automation features of chatbots while on your personal site.
1.3 billion people use Facebook Messenger, and using Messenger chatbot features on your WordPress site allows you to have a persistent conversation history with the ones that interact with your business.
Additionally, you will be able to use one unified inbox, making sure you stay on top of contact from all different places.
Q+A Chatbots
Another Messenger chatbot feature is the ability to automate daily tasks -- the mundane types that no one really wants to spend hours doing.
This gives you more time to focus on revenue-generating activities and scale your agency or business.
Q+A chatbots (or FAQ chatbots, whatever you prefer) are exactly as they sound.
These chatbots are programmed to answer commonly asked questions, and they do so by recognizing trigger words.
These trigger words can be anything that you want them to be because you set them up.
This is useful for when customers are looking for your pricing options, your business hours, or trying to set up appointments.
As long as you set up certain words to lead to specific chatbot dialogues, Q+A chatbots can serve any purpose you want them to.
Facebook Messenger Ads
Facebook Messenger ads, otherwise known as click-to-Messenger ads, are a great Messenger chatbot feature that will quickly and easily build your Messenger contact list.
These are simple; they look like your average Facebook Newsfeed ad, but, when clicked, they bring the user to a Messenger window with your business (and your chatbot).
Then, as soon as they interact with the chatbot, they are added to your Messenger contact list.
If you make the creative aspect of your ad compelling (perhaps a riddle, a question, a contest, etc.) then you’ll get a lot of engagement.
This means that a lot of people will interact with your bot and you Messenger contact list will grow, generating more and more leads.
The best part?
Since chatbots are fully automated, you’ll be building your contact lists and generating leads in your sleep.
Sponsored Messages
Facebook sponsored messages are an offshoot of the Facebook Messenger ads Messenger chatbot feature.
Facebook has a rule that a business is only allowed to send one promotional message to a customer in the first 24 hours after the user’s last contact via Messenger.
That’s not a lot of time to promote or get higher engagement.
Sponsored messages are a great Facebook tool to use if you want more opportunities to reach out to users.
You simply pay to send each extra message after that 24 hour period.
This is a great method for remarketing to customers who were previously engaged with or previously purchased products or services from your business.
Hot Lead Email Alerts
A Messenger chatbot feature that you’ll want to make sure you have implemented is email alerts for when your chatbot is interacting with a hot lead.
Often, people are abandoning your website, or your Facebook page, or the Messenger window before they complete your Facebook Messenger funnel and complete a purchase or get questions answered.
By using hot lead email alerts, you’ll be notified whenever your chatbot interacts with someone that’s been browsing your offerings.
This way, you’ll miss far fewer leads, increase your sales, and therefore, increase revenue!
Facebook Post Auto Responder
A Facebook post auto responder, otherwise known as a Facebook auto reply bot or comment guard, is a great way to build your Messenger contact list by leveraging your engaged customers.
This Messenger chatbot feature allows you to generate leads while doing what you’re already doing on Facebook -- posting.
All you have to do is set up an auto reply bot on a Facebook post and then anyone who comments on the post will receive a message from the bot.
It’s great to find ways to make the post extra engaging in order to receive a lot of comments.
Ideas for this might be contests, riddles, questions, discounts on products or services, etc.
And here’s another great Messenger chatbot feature and hack: before giving the user what they’re looking for, ask them to give their email address.
That way, you’re building your Messenger contact list as well as your email contact list.
Drip Campaigns
Finally, chatbot drip campaigns are a Messenger chatbot feature that automates audience engagement and receives better results than email.
As we’ve covered, Facebook Messenger is a far more reliable way to stay in contact with your customers.
It’s easier for them to use and produces better ROI every time.
So, instead of using email for things like welcoming and onboarding new customers, keeping leads engaged, activating use of sophisticated solutions, or large-scale communication, consider switching to Messenger.
This Messenger chatbot feature shows email drip campaigns the door by receiving higher open rates and better engagement.
Chat Forms and Surveys
A Messenger chatbot feature that will help you collect customer feedback and gauge customer satisfaction are chat forms and surveys.
These are just like regular feedback surveys (or whatever you use your surveys for), but in a user-friendly, conversational chat interface.
This is beneficial as a Facebook Messenger survey is easy-to-use and mobile friendly, meaning that more customers will complete the surveys and you’ll have more useful results for your business.
Messenger Chatbot Features: Simplify Your Workday
These 8 Messenger chatbot features will help you simplify your workday and work week significantly.
They will also assist you in generating leads, automating daily tasks, pushing promos and advertisements, building contact lists, and collecting customer feedback.
Chatbots are an incredibly easy and efficient way to save money and time for your business, allowing you to focus on revenue-generating projects and activities that will propel your business forward.
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About the Author
Larry Kim is the CEO of MobileMonkey, the World's Best Facebook Messenger Marketing Platform and free chatbot builder. He's also the founder of WordStream, Inc., the leading provider of Google Ads, Facebook Ads and keyword tools used by over a million marketers worldwide. The company employs over three hundred people and manages billions of dollars of ad spend on behalf of tens of thousands of customers. WordStream was acquired by Gannett for $150 million. Larry is ranked the #8 most popular author on Medium. He's a contributor to CNBC and Inc. Magazine. Key interests include: Chatbot Marketing, Google Ads, Facebook Ads, entrepreneurship and startups. He received Marketer of the Year awards from Search Engine Land, US Search Awards, and PPC Hero.
