We launched a bot to help organizations get people to their voting location
Many of the chatbots that I’ve found have been cute, personified interactions to help me apply filters to my photos, or get news headlines on a new channel. We’ve just helped a few clients release truly important bots. These are the first-known Messenger bots to help people figure out where to vote.
Please check out the description below and give one of the bots a try.
WASHINGTON, DC: November 1, 2016 — @Mssg today announced that it has enabled Connecticut House Democratic Campaign Committee (CTHDCC), Common Sense PA PAC and Bazta Arpaio to launch Facebook Messenger Bots that helps people find their voting location. These are the first-known Organizations in the World to use the Facebook Messenger Platform to assist voters in such a way. Users can start a conversation with these organizations’ Messenger Page. The user is then asked for their address, and in less than a second, the system replies with their voting location.
“The communities that have been attacked by intolerant candidates and that many get-out-the-vote campaigns usually ignore are more energized than ever this election. We need every tool available to mobilize, and we’re looking at Facebook Messenger and @Mssg as a secret weapon in this incredibly important election,” said B. Loewe, Communications Director for the Bazta Arpaio Campaign.
These organizations see several advantages to engaging supporters over Facebook Messenger. First, the idea is new and novel and sets these organizations apart. Second, they are testing whether a conversational interface works better than sending people to a landing page, as mobile landing pages often see lower conversion rates compared to desktop landing pages.
Third, and most importantly, these organizations want the polling place information to be mobile, with their users. Not on a computer in the home. Getting a polling location in a Messenger conversation simply works better. An added benefit for the organization is that after the person receives a message with their polling place, the system asks them for their email. This is valuable because the non-profit can then follow-up with their constituent over email.
“When a user interacts with the chatbot, their voting location is automatically saved in the conversation. With one click they can open Google Maps,” said Walter Ludwig, Managing Partner Indigo Strategies managing Common Sense for PA. “Everyone has their phone and Facebook Messenger with them everywhere they go, so this ‘find your polling place’ bot becomes the ideal way for us to get people to get out to vote.”
How did these small, state-based organizations develop a breakthrough idea, like a Facebook Messenger bot? Beth Becker of Becker Digital Strategies has been the driving force to make this happen. Becker Digital Strategies (https://www.facebook.com/BeckerDigitalStrategies/) helps progressive organizations build strategies that engage with supporters on social & digital platforms.
“We’re testing to measure the difference in conversion rate by sending people to Facebook Messenger instead of sending them to a webform. Collecting data in a conversation is a novel approach, and the initial results are amazing. We can collect any and all types of data from these users — address, email, phone number, date of birth, etc. And now that Facebook has enabled person to person payments via Messenger, it’s just a matter of time before organizations can collect donations in this manner, too,” said Beth Becker of Becker Digital Strategies. “The key is people being familiar and comfortable with the environment in which their donation is being processed. By helping them get used it now we’re just going to increase later conversion rates as Messenger and other chatbots become more ubiquitous.”
The power behind all of these polling place locator platforms is @Mssg, which enables organizations to build and launch Messenger bots without writing a line of code. @Mssg’s platform allows marketers and communications teams to use Facebook Messenger to connect with supporters all over the planet.
Each of these organizations is focused on specific election outcomes in their State or region although their Messenger bots work Nation-wide. They share a common vision for using technology as a way to connect with their base, and communicate effectively.
All three polling place locators created by @Mssg can be found at:
CT House Democratic Campaign Committee: http://m.me/cthdcc
Bazta Arpaio: link available upon request: http://m.me/baztaarpaio
Common Sense Pennsylvania PAC: http://m.me/CommonSensePAPac
ABOUT @MSSG
@Mssg helps organizations build their first Facebook Messengerbot. They handle everything from design to implementation and development. For more information you can visit their site http://www.atmssg.com or chat with their bot on Facebook Messenger, http://m.me/atmssg
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