Facebook Messenger is becoming the one-stop shop for interacting with friends, family, and—yes—brands. Many of the best Facebook hacks happen in Messenger, as opposed to the News Feed.
With chat bots in the mix, Messenger replaces the need to open an app, pick up the phone, or search online. If you don’t already have one, now’s the time to create your Facebook Messenger strategy, but in the meantime, here are some quick wins.
Reply instantly with a bot
Response time is crucial when interacting with people on Facebook Messenger. Facebook’s Response Assistant will provide greeting text for anyone about to send a message to your Page. It can also send an instant response to any incoming messages, so that people know you’ll be with them ASAP.
- Click Settings
- Click Messaging in the left column
- Under Response Assistant
- Toggle the bar to Yes for Send Instant Replies to anyone who messages your Page
OR Toggle the bar to Yes for Show a Messenger Greeting - Click Change
- Write your preferred message(s)
- Click Save
Let people know when you’re away
Users can see how often and how quickly you respond to messages. If you want them to keep in touch, your response rating has to stay pretty high. (Yes, we’re aiming for that green “Very responsive to messages” badge.)
But don’t set yourself up for failure: you can schedule times when you’re away from Messenger.
- Click Settings
- In the left column, click Messaging
- Under Response Assistant, toggle the bar to Yes for Stay responsive when you can’t get to your computer or phone
- Click Change
- Edit the greeting to indicate when the user can expect to hear back from you.
- Click Save
- Under Stay responsive when you can’t get to your computer or phone, click Change
- Click Schedule
- Select your timezone, then click Add Time
- Enter the times when you won’t be able to respond to messages
- Click Save
Respond to public messages privately
While comments are great for bumping up posts in the algorithm, not all conversations need to be public. If you’re dealing with a complaint or following up on an order issue, spare your audience the intricate details by messaging the person privately.
To do this, just click Message instead of Reply under their original post. A notification that you responded privately will show to the public, so no one will think you’re ignoring people.
Build your own bot
Chatbots can do a lot: book a hotel room, answer your health questions, or impersonate Miss Piggy. Consider whether a bot could help your brand with customer service, or building awareness.