Messenger Marketing: The New Way To Do Business

Today's blog post is based on an article from Forbes. I'm sure most of you have run across marketing on Facebook Messenger, as well as possibly some other messaging apps. But  how can you use it to market your business?

Within the next two years, 85% of customer-business relationships will be through technology. A huge part of these relationships will take place on messaging apps, where businesses can not only provide lightning-fast customer service but also drive sales. In anticipation, business owners should be perfecting their messenger marketing strategy right now. Facebook Messenger is one of the largest messaging platforms out there, with more than 1.3 billion monthly users.

Platforms like Facebook Messenger are the new trend in the social media marketing world since they allow business owners to reach out to consumers on a large scale through advertisements, then continue to interact on an individual level.

There are tools that you can use to automate your customers' or prospects' experience by using bots to automatically handle inquiries or other interactions:

Similarly to WhatsApp Business, Messenger offers a number of tools to help business owners keep their different threads under control. Messenger Greetings are customizable messages that appear automatically when a user begins a conversation with a business for the first time.

Instant Replies are similar to Messenger Greetings, in that they are automatic replies in response to anyone who messages a business. However, these can be programmed to appear after any message, not just the first in a given thread. Saved Replies are messages you can program with common answers to questions like business hours or contact information.

Customer cards, however, are a Messenger exclusive. They give a business important information about the customer at hand to craft the perfect response. Businesses can find information like the customer’s location, local time and even order history.

The article talks about using Messenger for customer service, but our focus here is on marketing:

Using Facebook Messenger for marketing is another great opportunity for small businesses looking to get the most out of their advertising budget. The ads cannot seem too pushy or “salesy.” Instead, focus on creating friendly and natural conversations that mention different reasons or benefits why users should continue communicating with your business on Messenger.

There are several ways to use messenger ads:

Click-to-Messenger ads can be placed on Facebook, Instagram and directly on the Messenger home screen (currently just for the mobile app). The Messenger icon appears on your ad, regardless whether the ad is an image, video or in the carousel format. The best CTA buttons for this type of advertisement are “Learn More” or “Send a Message.” Businesses have the option to create a greeting during ad creation. When a user clicks on your ad, a Messenger conversation will open with your business. If this message was created, it is the first thing users will see. Otherwise, users will be provided a message showing them how to proceed in Messenger.

On Facebook, businesses can also create ads that are placed directly on the mobile Messenger home screen. If consumers do click on your ad, they will be sent to a landing page of your choosing or a Messenger conversation with your business.

Sponsored messages are another type of ad offered on the Messenger platform. These ads are best to re-engage previous customers or Facebook users that have previously interacted with your brand. Sponsored messages are sent to existing threads, which makes them perfect for last-minute sale reminders and updates.

I'm still doing research on this. Hopefully, I'll be able to develop some Messenger marketing that I can share with you.

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