Facebook. Messenger. Marketing.
Have we lost you yet?
In February of 2004, Facebook was created and by the end of that same year, the platform had one million monthly active users. Today, as of December 2019, Facebook has reached a monthly active user count of 2.5 billion! As Facebook turns 16 this year, it will also see an increase in daily users.
It’s easy to see why marketing companies love utilizing all of what Facebook has to offer. The average daily user spends an hour on Facebook every single day, meaning, during this time, marketers can use an effective marketing tactic in order to help businesses like yours grow. Facebook advertising campaigns have the ability to reach a wide audience who are waiting for a service or product like yours. But what’s Facebook marketing without Facebook messenger? Sure, ad campaigns can help you increase brand awareness and sales, but the most important factor to consider is your customer service experience and loyalty.
What Is Facebook Messenger?
Just like the Facebook app, the Facebook Messenger app is a free messenger/chat platform for mobile users to chat, record audio messages, share photos or videos, or create group chats. Though it’s a separate app from Facebook, it will link and connect with your personal or business profile but you don’t actually have to be logged in to Facebook in order to use messenger. Launched in 2011, there have been many features added since to enhance user experience and along with those changes came the ability to make marketing on Facebook that much easier!
How Does Facebook Messaging Marketing Work?
Facebook Messenger isn’t just for chatting with your friends and family. In fact, it’s one of the most powerful marketing tools marketers use for lead generation as well as helping businesses gain trust from customers since they can easily ask questions in the chatbox. Some may compare it to email marketing, but they aren’t quite the same tactics. True, you can individually message various customers/followers, but you have the option of making them more personal than an email. Another thing that differentiates them is the use of a messenger bot (which will be explained further on).
Facebook Messenger is one of the top four popular messaging apps in the world so it’s easy to see why marketers love using messenger ads as a way to increase brand awareness. When Facebook conducted a survey on nearly 13,000 Facebook users around the world, they found 56% would rather message a business with an inquiry than pick up the phone and 50% were actually more likely to shop with a business that had the chat widget option. But there’s still more to Facebook messenger than just sending inquiries or answering questions – it’s also a great way to send your followers event updates, promotions you’re currently running, target a specific audience, and generate high-quality leads that could potentially raise your sales.
There are two types of messenger ads that are the most effective:
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Click-to-Messenger Ad
A click-to-messenger ad is exactly how it sounds. People will click the ad and be directed to messenger where they can converse with your business. They'll see this ad in their feed and instead of taking them to a website, it will have a button that sends "send message". This is a great way to customize your customer flow and get more clicks for higher conversion rates, especially seeing as approximately 70%-80% of people will open the ad in an hour or less. This is much more effective than email marketing that has a 10% opening rate. This is also a cheaper advertising option if you have a tight budget compared to traditional Facebook marketing campaigns. -
Sponsored Message
For those who have already communicated with you before in messenger, you have the option to send them sponsored messages within that 24-hour window of them contacting you. This can be a great way to promote a similar product to the one they've purchased so they'll further engage with you. They're not labeled as "sponsored" in the customer's chat list until they're actually opened.
Ultimately, Facebook Messenger ads are easy-to-read, are visually appealing, and they're to-the-point, so you don't have to keep scanning over it to see what's being offered. But the best part? They're easily accessible for mobile users which, let's face it, the majority of your customers are using their phones to scroll through Facebook or contact a business than their desktop, so it’s important to let them know you’re easily accessible too.
What Is A Messenger Bot & How Does It Tie In With Facebook Messaging Marketing?
One of the best factors to messenger chat on Facebook is being able to integrate a messenger bot. But what is that exactly?
Think of a messenger bot as your customer service representative. Because taking the time to respond to every message is time-consuming for business owners, you can have automated responses with your chatbot so they can help answer questions, place an order, etc. In fact, chatbots are gaining popularity and 80% of all online businesses will likely have them integrated this year, but there are plenty of other reasons a messenger bot is a good idea:
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Out Of Office Hours
If you run specific business hours but still want to tend to your customer service satisfaction, a chatbot can do precisely that! If a customer has a question about your product, service or rules and regulations during the weekend or holidays, they can offer immediate and personalized responses (although they may not be able to solve more complex issues). -
Personalized Approach
Creating social media profiles instantly gives you the ability to personalize not only your page but how you want others to perceive your business. Having multiple social media platforms can also drastically improve your customer service since you'll be more easily accessible through live chat options, or even comments. A personalized approach can also be taken when you have a chatbot answering inquiries. They can respond to people by their names and offer them suggestions to their specific issues. They can also suggest recommendations to people depending on their shopping habits. If their question still isn't being answered and it's within office hours, you can set an option to have them reach out to a human representative. -
Enhanced Customer Loyalty
No matter what type of business you own, the customer service experience is obviously going to be your number one concern. Without happy customers, you wouldn't even have a business! Even if you're out of the office, you can have an automated Facebook Messenger bot respond to people just as efficiently as you would. Can customers tell the difference between a chatbot and a human? Yes, but they still appreciate their questions being answered even when you're busy or they need help outside of office hours. -
Improves SEO Score
Yes looking after customer service is important, but so is looking after your SEO score! Most business owners are shocked when they realize a chatbot's automated messages can be optimized, but it really is a great way to integrate keywords, especially if you have a particularly popular product or service people are always wondering about. SEO has to be done properly in chatbots and social media in order to work, so it's best to get a marketing company that specializes in SEO to utilize this marketing tactic for you.
What Is The Downside Of Facebook Messenger Marketing?
The one downside to messaging over Facebook is the fact that people may not feel as though it’s private. It’s important to note that Facebook Messenger, and Facebook itself, follow the same safety protocols as other online shopping or banking sites, but not every single site out there is hacker-free.
Another con people may not like is the fact you’re using a chatbot in the first place. They may want to speak to a human customer service representative right away, not a robot, leaving them to wonder why you don’t have the time for them. This could lower customer trust, especially because they’re likely wanting to solve a problem right away. Human interaction may be more trustworthy and reliable to them as well.
What Type Of Budget Do I Need For Facebook Marketing Campaigns?
Business owners love the fact that advertising on social media isn’t actually an expensive marketing tactic. It’s actually quite affordable and has proven to be more efficient than more traditional marketing means (newspaper ads, bus ads, billboards, etc). There are millions and millions of people on social media, whether that be Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and more, all of which allow you to advertise your products and services like you would on your website.
Though the price of advertising on Facebook may vary, the average cost-per-click is around $0.97 and $7.19 per 1,000 impressions.
How Does Facebook Messenger Help With Lead Generation?
A lead is someone you want as a customer, particularly a regular customer who sees value in the products and services you offer time and time again. Without a successful lead generation campaign, you’re likely not going to see the results you truly desire. But, thanks to Facebook Ads Manager, it’s easier to create an effective lead campaign for Messenger. It will help you pinpoint users’ preferences and habits and send a Facebook message to them. You can completely customize what type of audience you want to target, what you want the message to be, automated responses, and much more. You can also have a chatbot set up with one of your Facebook posts so when someone comments, they’ll automatically be reached out to in Messenger to have their question answered. Lead ads can work just as well as paid ads, but when done properly. You have to know what audience you want to target, otherwise, you’re not going to see an increase in quality leads. This is why professional marketing companies utilize this marketing tactic to the best of their ability – they know who to target after getting to know your industry and after studying your competitors.
Facebook Messenger marketing can truly help you gain a larger client base all while increasing customer loyalty.
How Does Facebook Messenger Tie In With Social Media Marketing?
When you sign up for a social media marketing campaign, there are plenty of options marketers can use to your advantage. There’s no doubt about it – Instagram, Facebook and Twitter are the largest platforms in the world. But did you know messenger chat apps fall closely behind? Here are some fascinating social media statistics:
- There are 1.3 billion monthly Facebook Messenger users
- Instagram has over one billion monthly active users
- Over 500 million people use Instagram Stories every day and one-third of those stories are from businesses
- In the U.S last year, Twitter was their largest marketing platform earning total revenue of $591 million
- Twitter uses are engaging with ads more and more each year, especially if there's a video involved - two billion videos are watched on Instagram every day
- WhatsApp (another popular messenger chat app) has 1.5 billion monthly active users in over 180 countries
Judging by these impressive numbers, there are plenty of opportunities for businesses to gain brand awareness, increase website traffic and attract quality leads.
The Relationship Between Facebook Messenger & Your Landing Page
Thanks to Facebook, business owners can also add Messenger to their landing page offering visitors the option to open a live chat box for any inquiries about your products and services, or you can set automated responses. Landing pages are one of the most important factors for your business – it’s where you’re introducing your business, products, and can make a lasting first impression. It has to be easy-to-use, but also visually appealing. But in order to get out of your marketing efforts, having Messenger on your landing page can help increase sales even more since you’ll be showing just how dedicated you are to customer service.
Having a chat widget on your website can actually save you time and money, help with marketing research in determining your target audience and, ultimately, people love how convenient it is!
Does My Business Need Facebook Messenger Marketing?
Every business can benefit from Facebook Messenger marketing tactics. It’s becoming a widely popular form of marketing, especially since Facebook launched the free Messenger app in 2011. Facebook is the largest social media platform in the world, so it’s not surprising that Messenger saw the same success – nearly 80% of all users will open a Facebook ad in Messenger whereas 5% will open an ad sent to them through email. Facebook and Instagram are great platforms to advertise on. Not only do they have billions of monthly active users, but engagement rates are at an all-time high and people love how convenient getting in touch with businesses is over social media. They can comment on posts, personally message a business, and feel more trust towards your brand. But business owners can take it a step further – they can set automated responses with their chatbot so even if a customer inquires about something outside of business hours, they’ll still receive a helpful response.
It’s also estimated that, by this year, 85% of all online businesses will have a chat widget. And one of the best parts of Facebook Messenger? It can be used on your business’s landing page, not just your Facebook page! With over one billion active users on Messenger, many businesses take advantage of the platform. It’s structured for industries of any sort and you could be the next business that sees success because of it! If you’re not sure how to utilize Facebook Messenger, try working with a marketing company who knows precisely who to target for you and what Messenger marketing strategies are trending. Get started with your effective Messenger marketing campaign today!
