Live messaging is hot right now in the marketing world. It’s a great tool to make your customers feel like you’re always there when they need you. Another great advantage is that the conversation stays focused on what the user needs.
It’s no wonder more and more businesses are adopting the use of bots, specifically Facebook Messenger bot. With Messenger, brands can achieve customer service success by providing personalized, two-way communication instantly.
Now, with the release of Messenger 2.2, Facebook grabs the bull by its horns with it’s newest updates. Here’s what you need to know about Messenger 2.2:
According to the Messenger Team at Facebook, they have been working relentlessly to improve customer interactions with feedback they’ve received from their developer community. In a statement published on their official Facebook Messenger Blog, the team revealed:
“It’s thanks to this feedback that today we are announcing our 2.2 release, which we believe will help developers and businesses reach their customers in new and engaging ways, improve the quality of their unique messaging experiences and make it easier to build and iterate on the Messenger Platform.”
With this announcement comes exciting improvements for businesses utilizing the Messenger feature. So what exactly do these improvements entail?
One of their most requested updates is a new customer chat plugin for business’s websites. The plugin allows people to chat with businesses on their website’s homepage using Messenger. With this integration, customers can communicate seamlessly back and forth, without losing any of the conversation’s context from Facebook.
The plugin update will also support current platform capabilities such as payments, rich media, and more. Although this update is in closed beta, you can sign up for the wait list here.
Attach a CTA to Messenger Media
A media template is among the new messenger updates, which allows businesses to attach a call to action (CTA) button when sending videos, images and gifs, web links and Facebook URLS. (Businesses previously could only send media by itself.) With a CTA now attached, businesses can push engagement by implementing a “share” button with their attached media.
New Broadcast API Available
The broadcast API is in open beta and allows businesses with the pages_messaging_subscriptions permission the option to send out a mass message using a single API request. An example of this could be a local news station who wants to use the Broadcast API to send out a news alert to its multiple subscribers.
Customer Feedback Easier to Access
With the page-level feedback feature, it will now be easier than ever to improve the customer experience based on their feedback. Business owners will now be able to look under page settings to see how people rated their messenger experience. This update in particular is great for businesses using multiple service providers to manage their messenger experiences.
Automation Offered in More Languages
Built-in NLP is now available in English, Chinese, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish and Vietnamese. Now, the default NLP model is able to detect date & time, location, amount of money, phone number and email in all supported languages.
Send Sponsored Messages via a Messenger Platform API
A new API endpoint now allows page owners to send sponsored messages with a single API request. If your businesses has been buying sponsored messages via the Marketing API, you can continue to do so.
New Message Tags
Another addition to Messenger is Message Tags. There’s two new tags according to Facebook:
Page Insights API
Page insights API is a programmatic approach to receiving several different metrics that are also available in a business’ page management console, including the number of messages delivered per broadcast ID.
For a full list of updates, you can visit the change log here.
With these new Messenger updates, businesses are able to connect with customers and prospects on a whole new level. We understand some companies may be skeptical due to the daunting idea of being available 24-7 and how expensive it may be to keep your team on top of it all.
That’s where the Messenger Bot comes in.
The Messenger Bot will allow you to set up preliminary, automated questions and answers so that your customers think you’re right there when they need you most. Bots use AI technology to understand your customer’s questions, find the right response and deliver it in a conversational, humanized way.
Here’s what you can expect with a Messenger chat bot:
Customer Information
When you integrate Messenger bot into your website, magical things start to happen. Once a website visitor accesses the Chat Now button on your Messenger bot, you automatically get all of their information from Facebook including full name, profile photo, time zone and gender. This is marketing gold! With this valuable information, you’re able to start the conversation on a more personal level.
Customized Conversation
Customize your chat by creating a conversational flow that resonates with your target audience. You can use emojis, add quick replies, add media, and ask as many questions as you see fit.
Example Conversation Flow:
Qualify Your Leads and Segment
With Messenger, you can easily qualify each visitor so that when they become a warm lead, you can hand over the conversation to a human for the ultimate personal touch.
It’s Convenient For Customers
Messenger allows customers immediate access to help. No call centers or 1-800 numbers to navigate through a maze of numeric options.
If you need help getting started with chatbot integration on your website, give us a call, or better, message us!