Facebook Messenger is a cross-platform instant messaging app developed by Facebook (now Meta). With nearly 1 billion monthly users, Messenger can be an indispensable marketing tool for brands who want to connect with customers on Facebook.
In this article, we’ll walk you through the benefits of Facebook Messenger for business and how to use it to build relationships with customers and sell products. We’ve also included some tips and best practices to help you make the most of this feature.
let’s get started.
Why use Facebook Messenger for Business
Facebook Messenger can be an integral part of your Facebook marketing strategy if you know how to use it properly. It is the most popular messenger app in the US, with 82% of consumers claiming they use it regularly for instant messaging purposes.
Below are some specific ways Facebook Messenger can benefit your business:
1. Generating High Quality Leads
Customers may contact you on Facebook for a variety of reasons, but one thing is clear – by doing so they have shown an active interest in your business.
This is a chance for your brand to generate and nurture leads in customers by having meaningful conversations. This can include educating interested people about your products or services, answering their questions, addressing feedback, and more.
You can also set up Facebook ads targeting potential customers and encourage them to contact you through messages. For example, Hyundai Australia reduced its cost per lead by 27% by running Messenger ads, prompting users to contact them for a test drive.
2. Providing Exceptional Customer Service
Poor customer service can cost you business. But if you’re really wondering how much, Zendesk’s 2022 report shows that 61% of customers will walk away from a brand after just one bad customer service experience.
Using an app like Facebook Messenger for customer service can help you save some of that potential revenue. Not only are you able to provide fast and efficient responses to customer queries, but you are also giving them a personalized, private platform to express their views and concerns.
3. Enabling Convenient Purchases and Transactions
Facebook Messenger is great for having conversations, but it can also help streamline the customer journey by making transactions easier. Customers can shop, book appointments, check-in, apply for refunds and much more directly through the app.
In the US alone, at least 75% of customers have made a purchase or transaction through Facebook Messenger. And 60% of people also said that they would pay more for convenience, it is a no brainer why brands should think about using Messenger.
4. Building Trust in Your Brand
Facebook Messenger provides an opportunity for brands to engage in personalized conversations with customers, which helps build trust.
A Facebook study showed that 69% of customers in the US felt more confident about a brand they were able to convey. Additionally, 55% of customers said they connected with such brands more personally.
5. Creating a ‘Safe Space’ for Sensitive Conversations
We mentioned above how Messenger allows brands to provide a private platform for customers to express their feelings. It can also be a great way for brands to resolve particularly complex issues privately.
For example, your business might have made a mistake and you would like to fix the problem quickly without turning other customers away. By asking dissatisfied customers to contact you privately via Messenger, you are able to provide one-on-one customer service and keep potentially risky situations under control.
how to use facebook messenger for business
Now that you know the benefits of using Facebook Messenger, let’s talk about how you can apply it to your business. Below are some ways to get started with Facebook Messenger on the right foot.
1. Set up Messenger on your Business Page
When you create a business Page on Facebook, it’s possible that Messenger is already enabled on your Page.
However, if you still want to check and confirm, you can go to your Page settings, click General, and see that “People can contact my Page privately” messages able to proceed.
If it’s not already enabled, click Edit in the same line, and turn the feature on. You will now be able to receive private messages from Facebook users.
To send private messages as a business, you can only message users who have previously contacted your Page.
2. Add a send message button to your profile
You can encourage users to contact you on Facebook by adding a blue button to your Page. Simply go to your page, click on the Add a button and select Send message from the list.
You can customize the CTA so that it appeals to your audience more. For example, Hyatt’s Send Message button says “Get Started” to prompt action.
3. Allow Messages from Event Guests
If your business hosts and/or promotes events on Facebook, you can enable guests to make reservations, ask questions or contact you for any other purpose by messaging you about it.
When you’re done creating your event, go to event settings and enable the messaging checkbox.
4. Enable Automatic Responses
One of the best things about using Facebook Messenger is that you can automate some of the responses to engage with customers faster and more efficiently.
Below are some automated responses you can set up on Messenger for your own business.
urgent reply
You can set up a quick reply to send an automatic message right after a user sends a message to your business page.
Use quick replies to thank people for contacting you, or to communicate when they can expect an answer or solution from you.
message away
You can set up messages that will be sent automatically to people who contact you when your Messenger status is set to Remote.
It is useful to avoid ghosting people if they approach you during work hours or when you are unavailable for some reason.
Answers to frequently asked questions
In Messenger, you can add specific questions, such as FAQs, and then create standard responses to those questions.
These questions can also be combined into a menu so that users can easily select and send instead of typing them in from scratch. It helps your business respond to common questions and concerns faster.
Plus, with automation taking care of frequently asked questions, your customer service reps can focus more on complex issues that require more detailed solutions.
comment on message
Facebook Messenger lets you set up automatic responses to comments containing specific hashtags on your Page.
This is especially helpful if you’re running a campaign or contest that involves using hashtags. For example, let’s say you’re a skincare brand running a challenge where users share their stories using the hashtag #myskinstory.
Whenever a comment with that hashtag comes up, you can send that user a message thanking them for their story. Better yet, ask them for permission to repost and take advantage of user-generated content.
5. Track Messenger Analytics
To help you better understand customer engagement, Facebook lets you track certain information about Messenger conversations.
These information primarily include the number of conversations, messaging connections, blocked and reported connections, and your overall block rate during a specific period.
4 Tips for Using Facebook Messenger
Knowing why you should use Facebook Messenger for Business isn’t enough; You should maximize its potential by using the following tips and best practices.
1. Be Responsible
Accountability can make or break the customer experience on Facebook Messenger. According to a 2018 HubSpot study, consumers typically expect businesses to respond to live chat in 10 minutes or less.
This year, support leaders have reported that customer expectations are at an all-time high. Therefore, it is important that you use Messenger for Business to provide your customers with quick and relevant responses to sales and support questions.
You can also build an external chatbot for Facebook Messenger. You can do this by using the Sprouts bot builder, in order to respond to customers faster and more efficiently. The tool is easy to set up, and helps you visualize the customer journey and deliver relevant experiences.
Additionally, you can use Sprouts Smart Inbox to keep track of all your messages across multiple Facebook pages and other social platforms in one place. Easily search and filter messages, view conversation history, respond faster and more.
2. Personalize Your Messages
In addition to fast response, customers also expect (and value) personalized answers from businesses. Your customers want to feel important. And no one wants to talk to a robot that doesn’t sympathize with their concerns.
Here’s an example of a personalized response from Shopify:
That’s where the Sprout Smart Inbox feature comes in handy by offering a built-in system to manage customer relationships and your conversation history. It lets you quickly pull up past conversations and notes for a specific customer, allowing you to provide relevant feedback.
Now, this doesn’t mean that you should avoid using automated replies and chatbots. This means that you should use these tools wisely. For example, Messenger gives you the option to personalize your automated responses by including the user’s name.
3. Retarget users who message you
As we mentioned above, Messenger is a great tool for lead generation. But what’s even better is that you can retarget these leads on Facebook and grow them into customers.
When you set up ad targeting on Facebook, you can limit it to users who have messaged you in the past. These people have already shown interest in your business or product, and retargeting them can help you get more engagement and conversions.
Here’s how Shopify does it.
4. Maintain Your Brand Voice Consistently
Your brand voice shouldn’t just extend to your social posts and emails; It should be the same at all touchpoints. This also includes your conversations through Facebook Messenger. So, apart from training your live chat agents, make sure your chatbot responses align with the voice of your brand as well.
Boost your Facebook marketing strategy with Messenger
Facebook Messenger can help you build profitable, long-term relationships with customers on the platform. It can also help you reduce friction and drive more sales, deliver exceptional customer experiences, generate leads, and more.
If you’re looking for help building a winning social media strategy, download our Toolkit for Social Media Success in 2022. It includes guides, templates, checklists, and other resources to help you take your social media marketing to the next level.
The post How to Use Facebook Messenger: A Guide for Businesses appeared first on Sprout Social.
