How To Get People Using Your Messenger Bot
A Messenger chatbot is a lot like a website. You can have the best website or chatbot in the world but if nobody is using your website or chatbot then it’s useless.
Your chatbot needs people to talk to!
Having a reliable method of consistently driving targeted traffic into your chatbot is essential.
Some businesses will have no problem with this. If you have a traditional brick and mortar business that gets a lot of foot traffic, you can use Messenger scan codes to send those customers or visitors into your bot.
If you’re already driving targeted traffic from Facebook Ads or Google AdWords into your website or landing page, you can send that same traffic into a Messenger bot where you will get a much higher conversion rate.
If you already have any method of consistently finding targeted traffic in one place and taking them into your website, store, landing page or funnel then you’re good. You probably don’t even need to read on. Just tweak your strategy a little and start sending that traffic into a Messenger bot.
But maybe you’re a new business that hasn’t found a way to reliably drive traffic yet. Or you could be an established business that has always relied on word of mouth to get new business. Or maybe you don’t even have any idea what I’m talking about when I say things like ‘driving targeted traffic into a website or landing page.’
If you fit into any of those categories then this is going to be very important for you.
There is no point in having a chatbot (especially one for sales/marketing purposes) if you don’t have a way of getting people to use it.
In fact, I now refuse to work with clients who don’t already have a reliable way of getting people into their website, store or chatbot and aren’t willing to invest the time or money to do so.
A few of my earlier clients were new businesses. I created chatbots for them that would have made a huge impact on their businesses if people were using these chatbots. Instead, they went to waste because they didn’t have a way to get people into the bots.
Fortunately, there are many ways of getting people into a Messenger chatbot. Some of these methods will take time, some will take money. Not all of them will be suited to your businesses and it may take some trial and error. Try a few of them and see what works best.
PAID ADS
Online advertising channels including Facebook Ads, Google AdWords and Instagram ads are a way to quickly get targeted users into your bot. Being directly connected to Messenger, Facebook ads are probably the best place to start.
While you can run ads directly within the Messenger platform, I’m not only referring to these ads. Regular ads found in the Facebook newsfeed can also connect users to your Messenger chatbot.
You can set up your Facebook ad so users just click a button on the ad and that will trigger a chat with your Messenger bot.
When setting up your ad, I suggest using either the traffic or messages objective.
If you have had your chatbot developed by an agency or developer, they will be able to provide you with a JSON code. You will need to copy and paste this code during the ad set up.
This allows Facebook to connect the ad to your chatbot. Or if you have created your own bot using a tool like Many Chat, you should be able to use that tool to generate your own JSON code.
Some businesses may be more suited to using Google AdWords. You can’t run Google ads directly into a Messenger chatbot. But you can run Google ads to a landing page where the user clicks a button to go to your chatbot. You can see an example of this below.
Whether you are using Facebooks ads, Google ads or any other online advertising platform, always give users a good reason to click on your ad and go to your chatbot. This might be to claim a free download, a coupon code, a free quote or consultation.
MESSENGER SCAN CODES
A Messenger scan code is similar to a QR code. You can generate a unique scannable code for your chatbot. When someone scans this code using the Messenger app on his phone, it will automatically open a conversation with your chatbot on Messenger.
This is great for traditional businesses like restaurants, gyms and retail stores to convert their customers into chatbot users. It can also work well for people who are regularly getting in front of prospects, face to face. This includes sales people, public speakers and anyone who regularly attends networking events.
However, scan codes aren’t always perfect. Most people don’t know how to use a Messenger scan code. I recommend showing people exactly how to scan your code, don’t leave it up to them to figure it out. If you’re using scan codes in your store, train staff on how to teach customers to use the scan code.
Sometimes people have trouble scanning the codes too. If they don’t get the code properly in focus on their camera it may not work. But I would expect Facebook to improve this over the next 12 months.
Until Facebook improves this function, I suggest making your scan codes at least 4x4cm and displaying them on a digital device will also improve the chances of someone successfully scanning your code.
WEBSITE
If you have a website that is already attracting a lot of visitors, take advantage of it to funnel people into your chatbot.
There are a few different ways of doing this.
You can setup a Messenger live chat window on your website. This means any user logged into Messenger can start a conversation with your chatbot without even needing to leave your website.
You might also include links to your chatbot throughout your website. Or you could have a popup providing some sort of offer which users can claim through your chatbot.
Once again, you should always give people a good reason to go to your chatbot. Take a look at how other websites provide special offers as a way to get users to register for their email list. These same tactics can be used to get people from your website into your chatbot.
Some people wonder why you would even need to get someone into your chatbot if they’re already on your website…
The problem with a website is that 90% or more of visitors will leave your website without buying anything or providing their contact details. Not necessarily because they aren’t interested in your product. It might just be a bad time for them.
And once they’re gone, you have no way of following up with them.
But if you can get them to interact with your Messenger chatbot, you can continue the conversation with them later. Even after they have left your website.
BLOGGING
I’ve personally used blogging to get more subscribers into my own chatbot than any other method.
Whenever I write a blog post, I will include at least one or two links to my chatbot within the post. It’s an incredibly effective strategy to get a consistent stream of users into your chatbot.
This can be done if you have a blog on your website, if you write blog posts on a platform like Medium or LinkedIn or if you guest post on other people’s blogs.
You can create a direct call to action asking people to go through to your Messenger bot to book an appointment with you at the end of your blog post.
Or you can offer a ‘content upgrade’ for your blog posts which readers can claim through your chatbot. A content upgrade is an extra piece of content relating to your blog post.
Many bloggers will use this strategy to generate email subscribers. They will offer something like a PDF download, cheat sheet, report or checklist in exchange for the reader’s email address.
But instead of giving the reader this content upgrade in exchange for an email address, you will provide the content upgrade in exchange for going to your chatbot.
You will see how I use a content upgrade in my blog post if you continue reading.
INSTAGRAM STORIES
Until recently, the only way to include a link on Instagram was in your bio. And that could be difficult trying to get users to click the link in your bio.
But now you can add a swipe up link into Instagram Stories. This feature takes viewers to an external link outside of Instagram by swiping up on your story.
You can use this swipe up link to take people from Instagram into your Messenger bot.
I’ve seen other pages use this strategy to drive thousands of users into their chatbots.
Unfortunately, the swipe up feature isn’t available for all pages. It’s generally limited to pages with 10,000+ followers. But it’s still possible to benefit from this strategy even if your page has under 10,000 followers.
You can reach out to Instagram influencers — other pages that do have 10,000+ followers and ask them to run an Instagram Story on their page with a swipe up link to your chatbot.
For example, if you owned a restaurant and wanted to get more users into your restaurant chatbot, you could reach out to a local influencer on Instagram with 10,000+ followers. You could ask them to visit your restaurant, create an Instagram story showing them eating at the restaurant and include a swipe up link so their followers can go to your chatbot to claim a special deal.
Many Instagram influencers will be willing to do this in exchange for a payment or free products from your business. It’s worth reaching out to a few influencers to find out if they’re willing to do this and what they would want in return.
Alternatively, you could also create a paid Instagram story on your own page to include the swipe up link.
Once again, whether you’re running Instagram stories on your own page or an influencer’s page. be sure to give followers a good reason to swipe up and go to your Messenger bot.
SUMMARY
A great chatbot that nobody uses is a waste. It won’t help your business.
But if you use strategies like these ones to get users into your chatbot, you should have no problem getting people to use your chatbot. I suggest testing at least a few of these methods to see what works best for you.
There isn’t one method that will work best for every business. It will depend on your budget, time and other resources you have available.
If you want more ideas, I’ve put together a bonus guide with more strategies to get people into your Messenger chatbot. You can get it through Facebook Messenger here.
