Facebook Messenger marketing has proven to be a very successful strategy for store owners and has a lot of promising potential for the future.
Here’s how you can build a Facebook Messenger campaign that gives your customers what they want while helping your store run more efficiently.
What is Facebook Messenger marketing?
People are spending more time on messaging apps than ever before. This gives marketers an opportunity to reach customers where they like to hang out.
By using Messenger, you can interact with customers at every stage of their buyers’ journey, from the moment they start browsing to well after they’ve made a purchase.
Why use Facebook Messenger marketing?
Facebook is still King
As of the fourth quarter of 2019, Facebook boasted 1.66 billion daily active users and 2.5 billion monthly users. Stats also show that Facebook Messenger is the most widely used messaging app in the USA.
With so many people using Messenger, Messenger is not to be ignored!
High engagement
Facebook Messenger marketing works a lot like email marketing. But it’s possible that Facebook Messenger campaigns will soon take over email marketing automation…
According to MobileMonkey, Facebook Messenger has a higher open rate and click-through rate than email. Email gets 5-10% open rates and a 1% clickthrough rate whereas Messenger gets 70-80% open rates and 20% clickthrough rates.
It’s personalized
Today’s online consumers are looking for a personalized experience. They expect content to be relevant and useful to them across everything from websites and social posts to emails and advertising. Personalization saves customers time and piques their interests.
Facebook Messenger marketing is great for personalization. It opens up direct communication with a customer, inviting them to specify what they want and then giving them what they need. It also humanizes your brand through a voice and a personal touch.
It’s speedy
A study by Hubspot found that nearly 80% of customers preferd livechat to email and social media. Facebook messenger gives customers that instant response.
The same research also claims that live chats perform best when brands respond within 48 seconds. As you can see, customers like their information delivered as fast as possible. Facebook messenger chatbots can deliver this speedy service.
Reduces cost per lead
We all know how expensive Facebook ads have become. The newsfeed is saturated with them, making Facebook marketing a highly competitive realm… one that not all businesses can afford.
But in one case study, MobileMonkey were able to reduce their cost per lead from $150 to $5. That huge difference was made possible with Facebook messenger ads.
Facebook messenger ads appear to be newer and less competitive than standard Facebook ads, giving you the perfect opportunity to boost your return-on-investment.
3 types of ads and how to use them
Convinced that Facebook messenger marketing is for you? Here’s the rundown.
1. Click-to-messenger ads
A click-to-messenger ad appears in your customer’s newsfeed and directs them to a messenger conversation with yourself, or more likely, a chatbot.
This is your first port of call for Facebook messenger marketing, perfect for generating leads.
Features and benefits
- Be helpful– Establish the main reasons a customer would message you, then set up your chatbot to address these messages.
- Have a chat- You can set up what’s called a chat sequence, which emulates a conversation with a real person.
- Reply quickly- You also set up answer prompts, so your customer doesn’t have to type.
- Answer FAQs- Use the chatbot to answer frequently asked questions.
- Offer buttons- Based on your customer’s needs which you established in the chat sequence, give them a curated menu of website links to click.
- Re-engage- When a user drops off the conversation, you can gently prompt them to pick up where they left off.
- Qualify leads- Use your chat sequence to nurture relevant prospects.
- Integrate CRM- Allows you to test and tweak your messenger marketing strategy.
Pro Tip:
Give your customer the option to speak to a real sales rep too, in case their query is too complex for the chatbot. Even if they don’t need to speak to a real person, the offer shows them that your brand cares.
2. Sponsored messages
A sponsored message is a type of Messenger ad that you can only send to someone who has previously started a conversation with you. It appears within the chat.
Now you see why it’s important to start with click-to-messenger ads for lead generation, then progress to sponsored messages to nurture those leads.
You can also use sponsored messages to re-engage people who visited your site but stopped short of making a purchase (as long as they previously started a chat with you).
Features and benefits
- Re-engage- You’ve already got qualified leads in your messenger inbox from click-to-messenger ads. Now you can send them relevant content and offers.
- Personalize messages- Using your messenger inbox, create a custom audience, and reach out to them with targeted messaging.
- Personalize some more- Use profile information to personalise your messaging.
Pro Tip:
Plain text and emojis are great for conversations. But sponsored messages keep your sequences engaging with image, video, and even carousels.
3. Messenger ads
Messenger ads is like a standard Facebook ad but it runs in the user’s inbox, sitting among the conversations with friends. It’s more of an ad placement than its own type of ad.
Pro Tip:
An excellent strategy for reaching customers where they hang out, inbox ad placement may backfire if your audience finds it annoying. Split test and see if it works as part of your holistic Facebook marketing strategy.
Why you need Facebook Messenger marketing
Facebook messenger marketing is the up-and-coming space to cash in on. It’s less competitive and more cost-effective than both email marketing and traditional Facebook ads. It gets better response rates and has huge benefits for return-on-investment. Best of all, Messenger marketing reaches your customers where they like to hang out, giving them the immediate and personalised experience they’re looking for.
About the Author: George Glover is the CEO and Co-Founder of digital marketing agency Social Garden. Social Garden specializes in data-driven lead generation and marketing automation to grow companies’ revenue in different verticals in Australia.
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