Facebook Messenger might just be the next big thing in digital marketing.
With over 1.4 billion active users worldwide (that is growing everyday), and 3.6 million active users in Singapore, accounting for 61.3% of its population, it is the second most downloaded app worldwide, behind Facebook itself.
Sounds like a huge opportunity, right? It definitely is.
You might be surprised, but only 1% of businesses are actually actively engaging on Facebook Messenger.
Now this is what we call a golden opportunity.
Don’t waste this chance. It might just be the app that helps you to stand out from competing businesses in the saturated market.
So how can you utilize Facebook Messenger for your business? And what sets it apart from other messaging platforms? Keep reading to find out.
- What and Why Facebook Messenger?
- Email vs Messenger, which one is a more powerful marketing tool?
- Messenger strategies you can try for your business.
What and Why Facebook Messenger?
Messenger is Facebook’s very own messaging app and platform. On top of sending messages, the app can also be used to create audio and video calls, either one-to-one or with groups.
What makes it even better is how users can still use it despite not being on Facebook.
A lot of businesses have spent a huge part of their income to advertise in the big 4 social media platforms, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Despite the success, what a lot of businesses fail to realize is the growth trends of the big 4 messaging app users (WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, WeChat, Viber) is even faster than the growth rate of social media users.
And this gap between the two is increasing as we speak.
If that’s not enough to convince you why Facebook Messenger might just be the next phenomena in digital marketing and why you should get your head start, here are some more statistics that might change your mind:
- 56% of consumers said that they prefer messaging than calling a business for customer service.
- 61% percent consumers are in favor of personalized messages from businesses.
- Over 50% of consumers admit that they are more likely to purchase from a business that they are able to message.
- 63% of customers have a more positive impression of a business after being able to message them.
- 59% feels like the business cares more about them.
- 55% are more likely to trust businesses that they can message.
If you’re still not 100% sure about messenger marketing, let’s dig deeper by comparing it to one of the most widely used marketing tools right now, email marketing.
Email vs Messenger, which one is a more powerful marketing tool?
Do you remember the last time you received a newsletter on your mailbox? It’s probably not so long ago right?
Same here, that’s because email marketing is a very common marketing tool right now.
But how much more powerful is messenger compared to email?
Using a messenger bot can give you open rates of up to 90-95% and a click-through rate that is as high as 20%.
To give you a better comparison, our friends at Hubspot decided to test it out for us. Their experiment showed that messenger resulted in a 242% higher open rates and a 619% higher click through rate than email.
What’s also great about messenger is the amount of data you are able to gather, simply by getting people to subscribe to your Messenger Bots. Data gathered includes their name, geographical location, gender, etc.
Messenger strategies you can try for your business.
One-time Notification
This feature allows businesses to send a promotional message under user request outside the 24 hour window.
Every time a user engages with your one-time notification message, the 24 hour window will reopen, and you’ll get another 24 hours to send your promotional message.
Before using this feature, you’ll first need to apply for it.
- Go to your Facebook Page, and click “Settings”.
- Click on “Advanced Messaging”.
- Scroll down to “Requested Features”, find “One-Time Notification” and click “Request”.
- Hit “Confirm” and you’re good to go!
You can use this feature as many times as you want.
For example, if your user clicks on the button three times, you can send them three messages outside of the 24 hour window.
It is best for you to immediately ask for the next One-time Notification every time you send one to your audience. This creates a loop that will allow you to always send a message outside the 24 hour window.
Comment Guards
Comment guards allow you to privately reply to your Page Comments through Messenger. A lot of businesses utilize this feature to gain leads.
When someone comments on your post, they’ll immediately receive a Messenger message. If they choose to interact with your message, they’ll then be added to your contact list.
You’ll need Mobile Monkey to do this.
What’s also great about comment guards is that it allows you to gain engagement for free. And a post with high engagement will of course be prioritized by Facebook, meaning that you can gain even more engagement with this feature.
Messenger Ads
Messenger Ads are similar to Facebook Ads. Instead of adding a call-to-action button that leads to your page website, users instead will be led to their Messenger app to start a conversation with your business.
What’s great about Messenger Ads is how it keeps users on the same platform, reducing the risk of a bounce.
A lot of businesses use this feature to simply start a conversation with their customers. It also offers benefits of allowing you to gather leads, which can potentially be your future customer. This allows the possibility of increasing conversion rate as well.
Many also uses the feature to answer any questions or address any problems that customers may have, improving their customer service and relationship.
After starting a conversation, you can then send your list a sponsored message, a promotional message that will appear on their messenger inbox.
To prevent spam, Facebook will only allow you to send sponsored messages to those whom you have contacted before.
These sponsored messages can come in the form of a picture, video, carousel, etc. The possibilities are truly endless.
Key Takeaway
With the endless options, you can ultimately create a Facebook Messenger Marketing Strategy that’s tailored to your customers’ needs, preferences and behaviors.
When creating your strategy, do take into consideration who you are targeting and their corresponding behavior. If you are serving multiple customer groups at once, you might have the need to design multiple strategies at once.
Also do keep in mind that you are competing with your customers’ friends and relatives. Make sure that you are offering something that is truly valuable to your audiences, do not send too much promotional contents to avoid getting blocked or reported.
Get the most out of your Facebook Messenger, and start exploring today.
Should there be any further inquiries or challenges that you face along the way, our digital marketing agency’s tremendous experiences will surely be able to help address your questions.
