Chatbots in action, part 3: Facebook Chatbots

There are many circumstances in which consumers will visit your website directly. But in many cases, they’re scrolling through a social app like Facebook, researching information or reading customer comments. These can be the ideal moments to offer customer service because that customer is already thinking about your brand. Still, they’re not on your website, meaning the customer is outside your brand experience. And that creates a problem.

Very often, the response of a Social Media Manager is to steer that customer onto your website with a link. But do customers really want to follow a link to your Contact Page (a typical response)? No. What they want to ask their question or start a conversation with you right there on Facebook, the channel they’re using right now. Without feeling, they will get bounced to another website or, worse, have to listen to Vivaldi’s Four Seasons after calling a Helpdesk phone number.

So what’s the solution?

The solution is to think of social apps like WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram not as gateways to your own site but as channels in their own right: communications choices where you can hold conversations and offer help. Thanks to services these apps have developed for marketers, it’s now possible – through tools like Facebook Messenger – to get those conversations rolling on your Facebook for Business Page or similar. And by combining AI and chatbots, you can be available to talk 24/7/365.

It's about always being where your customers are whenever they want to talk.

Let’s take a look at the reasons for making an AI chatbot available through Facebook Messenger, also known as a Facebook Chatbot, and see the potential for engaging with new prospects and old customers alike.

Launch an AI chatbot on Facebook Messenger

First, some numbers. It’s true that for Zoomers and even some Millennials, Facebook isn’t a primary channel choice – but there are many people on the other side of 40. Mark Zuckerberg’s creation has nearly 3bn monthly active users – almost half the planet. And nearly a billion of those – 988m –  use its messaging app, across phones, tablets, and PC/Mac.

What’s more, they’re a desirable demographic. 32% are between 25 and 34; many use Messenger on their phones without being big consumers of Facebook’s social media app. Altogether, 28% of all phone-based instant messaging happens in a Facebook Messenger window. And that’s where an AI chatbot - including CM.com's AI chatbot builder - can pay big returns.

The key thought here: this chatbot integrates seamlessly with the Facebook Messenger interface; no links to open other apps, and no switching windows. When your customer initiates a conversation, it all happens in the app they’re already using, with no interruptions.

A single chatbot for multiple integrations equals simplicity

Of course, offering different channel choices can mean greater complexity - you don’t want one chatbot for Facebook and another for Instagram - and that’s where CM.com’s chatbot shines.

Without getting into the technical details, the principle is a single chatbot, trained on your in-house data for expertise, responding to customers in natural language when they want to interact, for example, on your Facebook for Business Page. And the same chatbot, using the same data, is available on as many channels as you want to add – there are integrations for many.

Making the most of Facebook Messenger with a CM.com chatbot

Of course, you shouldn’t use Facebook Messenger simply because it’s there. Work out first which part of your customer base uses this channel, and do some research on the questions they’re likely to have. Here’s an insight or two:

• Over 40m businesses use Facebook Messenger – but just a few are using automated chatbots on the channel, meaning most responses aren’t instant. A chatbot lets you answer customers immediately.

• Of people who use mobile messaging, 85% use Facebook Messenger. This suggests most of your customers are already on the channel.

• Messenger app users are different from Facebook social users. They’re more goal-driven, not “zombie scrolling” but interacting with firm objectives.

• It’s largely seen as a presales and aftersales channel, not the sale itself. So equip your chatbot to answer questions, not “sell stuff”, with How-To models and solutions to the most common customer problems.

• Rich media brings people into your brand. Messenger lets you share images, audio, and video in the same context as the conversation – right there in the chat window. Making it great for product demos, explanatory diagrams, and even document downloads. Think of your AI chatbot on Messenger as a gateway to other resources, not just for chatting.

• If customers recognise a chatbot’s “tone of voice”, the interaction will be more positive, just as marketing materials in your distinctive ToV build trust in your brand. So ensure model answers sound like you consistently across channels, wherever you talk to the customer.

• Alerts and updates keep the conversation going. You don’t have to wait for the customer to initiate a conversation; once they’ve granted you the right permissions, you can remind them of important events and dates whenever they open their app. It’s a great way to keep the relationship warm over time.

And of course, always provide the option to speak to a human. If a customer asks to escalate the conversation to a real person, make that easy. With CM.com, the human customer service agent can simply enter the Messenger chat, making the experience seamless for the customer.

With almost a billion Messenger users worldwide, your customers are already on this channel – and its user base includes many of the world’s most affluent consumers. If your target persona is a match, there’s no reason not to add Facebook Messenger as a customer service channel – and CM.com makes it exceptionally easy.

Integrate a Facebook Chatbot into your customer service mix

With CM.com, adding this channel to your AI chatbot is as simple as possible. Once your chatbot is functioning, adding Facebook Messenger is a short job of selecting the channel and setting up permissions - we can walk you through the short process if you want.

That’s what an AI chatbot can bring to a billion people on Facebook Messenger: fast, automated, intelligent customer service 24/7, in rich multimedia that offers customers all the resources they want without having to visit your website. Why not let us demonstrate?