eMarketer reports that 1.4 billion people interacted with a mobile phone messaging app in 2015. Though originally all communication was done manually, and often between friends, businesses are increasingly taking advantage of the opportunity to respond to customers automatically through Facebook chatbot and other messaging apps.
Consider the fact that 56% of customers would prefer customer service issues being handled over chat than by phone. Chatbots allow people to get the information they want, when they want it – right away. And as more B2B marketing agencies adopt the technology, it’s important to consider how you can use it to better serve your clients, too.
By 2019, an estimated 1.75 billion people will be using messaging apps – that’s one-fourth of the world’s population! And chatbots can be used for much more than just customer service. A digital agency can use them to promote recent content, for example, or to further promote your B2B marketing efforts by reminding your audience of an upcoming webinar or event.
Want to be part of our Facebook community of fellow digital agency owners? Join Mod Agency Insiders to exchange feedback, exchange leads, and ask questions – like how others are using chatbots in their agencies!
Join the Mod Agency Insiders Facebook Group today.
What is a Chatbot?
A chatbot is a form of artificial intelligence: a computer program that mimics human conversations using text, images, and video. Most businesses use chatbots to interact and engage with customers, mostly to answer simple inquiries or questions that frequently come up. More advanced chatbots can offer even more customer service, such as by recommending a particular product based on the person’s interests.
A growing trend, Facebook Messenger bots tend to have an extremely high open and click-through rate, with Neil Patel reporting open rates as high as 88% and click-through rates of 56%.
Chatbots can prove to be extremely helpful to digital agencies. A study by Drift found that 93% of businesses don’t follow the “5 minute rule” — meaning only 7% of companies respond to inquiries made in 5 minutes or less. And a delayed response time means you’re less likely to convert the lead into a client.
The commonality between the 7% who respond quickly? The use of live chat, such as Faceboook Messenger bots.
A Facebook chatbot makes it easier to reply instantly, and then follow-up in person later. Many companies use a combination of chatbots and humans to answer more complicated questions and promote content.
At Mod Girl Marketing, we use Facebook Messenger bots to answer immediate questions, then have one of our team members follow-up manually within 24 hours if necessary. It allows us to stay responsive to everyone, no matter their time zone or what time of day they choose to contact us.
[clickToTweet tweet=”A growing trend, #Facebook #chatbots tend to have an extremely high open & click-through rate.” quote=”A growing trend, Facebook Messenger bots tend to have an extremely high open and click-through rate.” theme=”style3″]
A (Very) Brief History of the Facebook Chatbot
Facebook Messenger bots first reached the public in April 2016, and have changed a lot since then, becoming increasingly smarter. Today, a Facebook chatbot can do a variety of actions, like tell you the weather, sell products and services, and make payments easier.
There are two types of chatbots:
- Chatbots that function based on rules: These chatbots only respond to specific commands, so if you type in something slightly different, the chatbot cannot adapt. That said, they’re useful for a small company or those just testing the waters with chatbots.
- Chatbots that function based on machine learning (AKA artificial intelligence): AI allows chatbots to understand language — not just commands — and become smarter over time.They require less human assistance, but take more time and money to set up.
How Businesses Can Use Facebook Chatbots (Examples)
By 2020, 80% of companies want to have chatbots (if they don’t already use one). The potential applications for Facebook bots are numerous:
[clickToTweet tweet=”By 2020, 80% of companies want to have #chatbots (if they don’t already use one).” quote=”By 2020, 80% of companies want to have chatbots (if they don’t already use one). ” theme=”style3″]
Answer Customer Service Questions
If your digital agency frequently receives the same questions, you can build a Facebook chatbot to answer people’s questions so they don’t have to wait for a response. (As a bonus, this also saves your team time, as you only need to jump in when the client has questions the chatbot can’t answer!)
GrowthBot makes it easy to get the information you need by giving you numbered options you can reply with for more information.
Sell Products and Services
1-800-Flowers provides the perfect example of selling products using a Facebook chatbot. Once you’ve chosen from a list of options, the bot will ask for the customer’s delivery information, then help you choose a product to deliver. You could also let potential clients know about your services using a Facebook chatbot, or promote a special discount you’re offering.
Deliver Personalized Content Messages
HubSpot uses their Facebook Messenger bot to send content to their audience, asking you which topics you’re interested in and then sending several links to blogs relevant to you.
Send Reminders About Special Events
At Mod Girl Marketing, we used chatbots to remind members of Mod Agency Insiders about my Facebook Live event. Using Comment to Messenger, a tool that allows you to automatically message anyone who comments on a specific post on your Facebook business page, we sent anyone interested reminders leading up to the event, and a way to watch it after if they missed it.
How to Set Up a Chatbot: Tools
Ready to test chatbots for your digital agency? Here are some tools you can use to make your own chatbot:
- ManyChat: ManyChat offers one of the easiest ways to set up a chatbot, and is the tool we currently use at Mod Girl Marketing. ManyChat offers automated sequences and will send messages based on a user’s responses or as a broadcast to all subscribers.
- GrowthBot: GrowthBot, founded by HubSpot, is a specialized robot that focuses on marketing and sales and executes tasks like sharing a website’s top articles about a topic or answering traffic queries.
- Botkit: Helps you create clever, conversational applications that map out the way real humans speak.
- Facebook Messenger Platform: Facebook provides a wealth of tools and information to help you build your own Facebook Messenger bots directly through the platform.
- Botsify: A paid subscription Facebook chatbot platform that’s easy to implement.
Use a Facebook Chatbot to Grow Your Digital Agency
It’s impossible to ignore the benefits that a Facebook chatbot can bring to a business — especially in customer service and B2B marketing. As a digital agency owner, your audience expects an immediate response, no matter what time of day. Facebook bots make that possible, whether you’re a 1-woman agency or have a team of 100.
Want to grow your digital agency using my proven templates, checklists, proposals, and more? Grab one of our Mod Agency Bundles.
