UPDATE!! 6/11/2019
You have probably heard that Facebook is making some big changes to Chatbots! This is actually not quite true. Facebook is actually ENFORCING the way Chatbots were always intended to be used.
No, broadcasts are NOT going away (not yet, anyhow). Instead, Facebook is moving approval for subscription messaging to the page level rather than the app level so that Facebook can better monitor how people are using the subscription messaging feature.
Why? Because people have been abusing it. Direct sellers have been in LOVE with the ability to drop a link to their live sale in a message that goes right into someone’s Messenger inbox. Open rates are spectacular and click rates are so much better than emails!!
The problem with this is that this has now been WAY overused and people are complaining. Facebook isn’t being mean – it’s trying to keep people happy and that means finding ways to stop inundating inboxes with things that people don’t really want.
SO – what are your options?
- Toss out the Chatbot and go back to text and email only…
- Keep doing what you’re doing as long as possible then go cry when Facebook shuts down your page.
- Adapt!
Obviously, adapting is the best option, right? Chatbots are NOT a thing of the past. In fact, they are an incredibly useful tool! Can you still tell people about your live sales??
100% YES! You’re just going to have to go about it a little differently. I will be publishing a new blog post SOON on exactly what you CAN do with your Chatbot to still tap into the incredible power they provide.
I will include the specific steps you’ll need to take to understand what to do to get your bot approved after July 1st and some examples of the types of broadcasts that will be allowed when the updates go into effect!
Want to get a notification when the blog is published? Click here to get a notification in Messenger!
The Power of Chatbots
Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock for the past 18 months, you’ve probably heard about Chatbots. Maybe you don’t know much about them, but you have most likely interacted with at least one at some point while messaging a business.
Maybe you are even subscribed to a few (or several dozen)!
Still not quite sure what Chatbots are? They are built in third-party software that integrates through an API to your business page’s messaging, adding automated functionality.
Have you ever sent a message to a business page by clicking on “Get Started” and then received an automated welcome back giving you some kind of instructions on what to do next? That’s a chatbot!
So, What’s all the Chatbot Hype About, Anyway?
Why are so many people getting bots built for their business pages? Wouldn’t it be better to just send messages the old-fashioned way and forget about all the fancy automated stuff? Isn’t it important to maintain a one-on-one relationship?
Well, here’s the thing – Chatbots are not a replacement for old-fashioned personal connections. They are actually a powerful tool that can free up your time AND provide a better customer experience for your clients.
Here are a few of our favorite features.
Automated FAQ’s
A customized Chatbot can provide standard answers for many of the most frequently asked questions you get in your inbox. Do people ask you about shipping costs, loyalty programs, how to find your shopping group? Your chatbot can answer all of those questions, again and again. Set it up once, and you only have to touch it when you need to update information!
Automated Greeting for First Time Messages
The automated Welcome Message is one of our favorite features. When someone messages your page for the first time, they get a series of automated messages that can tell them about you and your business and send them specific instructions on what to do next to get the info they need!
Segmented Tagging
This, in my opinion, is one of the most important feature of Chatbots. Using tags, you can put subscribers in charge of the types of messages they receive from you. Instead of spamming everyone on your list every single time you have something to say, you can give each person the chance to opt-in to get those notifications.
This dramatically reduces your unsubscribe rate. It also improves your customers’ satisfaction!
Connect to an Ad
You can connect a message in your Chatbot directly to an ad on Facebook…and grow your subscriber lists exponentially while reaching brand new people!
These new people are ready for you to begin building connections with them. Using an ad to reach new people is fabulous, but until now, it’s been hard to maintain a connection with those people if they don’t buy something immediately. Now, you have them in your subscriber list and you can connect with them on a much more personal level than ever before!
Why Your Business Needs a Bot
Your business needs a bot because there are many small tasks that can be handled by an AI that you don’t need to do over and over again. Things like sending out your shopping link or providing shipping info. Things like how to claim items or when your next album sale is. Program the bot to answer these questions and let it work for you!
Your bot can tell you when someone needs something specific. You can use it for specific customer events, like monthly style boxes. You can even customize it to collect size and style information from customers for personal styling!
And that’s just scratching the surface of the versatility and power of Chatbots!
Ready for a Chatbot of Your Very Own?
The #ThinkSocial team is ready to help you build a beautiful Chatbot that will be an asset to your business!
We sometimes get asked why it takes us so long to build a bot for you? Some bot builders out there can turn it around in just a couple of days!!
Well, we strive to make sure your bot is customized to YOU and your business. To do this, we don’t do cookie-cutter bots. Instead, we spend time getting to know you and your business before we ever start putting your bot together.
We look for things like the types of emojis you like to use, the language you use, and photos of you doing your thing! We might even create some graphics for you! This means that although many elements of the bots we build are similar, we customize EVERY SINGLE STEP. Your group links. Your photos. Your words. YOUR BOT.
We build custom growth tools that work for YOU and reflect the way you run your business.
We also run an ad after we build your bot to help you start off with a great subscriber base. Nobody else does this…but we want to make sure you have the subscribers you need to use this tool successfully.
So yes, it could take a couple of weeks for us to fully build your bot, launch all the elements, and publish your ad. We’re don’t rush to get it done – we focus on quality and unique touches for each and every client!
If you’re ready to get started, just click here and fill out the form!
