How to use Facebook Messenger for your business

A recent survey showed that 53% of people say they’re more likely to shop with a business they can message directly. In fact, there are more than 2 billion messages sent between people and businesses each month, including both automated and people-initiated. Messaging from your Facebook Page helps you conveniently and privately connect with people about everything from customer service requests to questions about your products or services.

So what attracts people to messaging platforms in the first place? We see three elements that are generally consistent across this medium. Messaging platforms are:

Instant

Over the last five years, the use of mobile phones has shifted from being a secondary device to the primary one that many people use to browse the internet, conduct business, and stay in contact with friends.

This means that desktop and more traditional forms of communication — such as email and phone calls — are no longer the only immediate means of connecting with friends, family, and businesses.

Expressive

Messaging allows for the sharing beyond just text. Messaging apps offer several ways to communicate, for example with pictures, video, sound, emojis, stickers, and more. The expressive nature of messaging apps can help businesses send important information like product photos or videos of how a product can be used. It also allows for more expression and to convey a company’s culture.

Convergent

Messaging apps have evolved to fit the behavior of customers: features such as peer-to-peer payments, access to transportation, and more have emerged as messaging apps become more ingrained into everyday life. Instead of using distinct apps for each of these behaviors, more people are moving to messaging apps to coordinate activities.

So now we know why it’s important to have messenger as a part of your business, the next step is knowing how to use it. There are so many ways that messenger can be utilised for business – and you can use some or all of these:

1. Messenger Link – To make it easier for people to start a message thread with you, you can promote your unique Messenger Link — a short, memorable link that uses your Page’s username.
2. Messenger Code – This works in a similar way to the Messenger Link, but instead of visiting a URL, people can just scan your unique code to initiate a message thread with you. This can be added to printed material, placed on product information, placed on your website, or any other signage
3. Send Message Call to Action – When you run a Facebook ad campaign, you can select for your goal or objective to be starting a messenger conversation with people. The same can be done for your Facebook page’s call to action, where instead of “Call Us” it can be “Message Us”

Not only that, but you can use the messenger as an automated feature in the following ways:

Now, let’s have a quick look at the different communication controls available:

1. Away status – letting people know when your business is available for chat (this works like an on/off function)
2. Away message -Send automatic messages to let people who message your Page when your Page’s messaging status is set to ‘Away’
3. Instant Replies – letting people know you will get back to them shortly but are away at the moment. This is great for first-time messages to the page
4. Saved replies – When you get the same question often, you can save replies so that it’s quicker and easier to respond to people.
5. Greeting – This is a little note (of your own choosing) that will appear when someone starts a new message thread with you, but before they actually send their first message to you. It’s a great way to let customers know they are valued and thank them for making contact. It also gives the chance to let them know what information you need from them in order to help them.

So now you know all about it – go and connect with your customers on another level and make your business even more awesome!