As Facebook allows businesses to deliver automated customer support, e-commerce guidance, content and interactive experiences through chatbots, we take a look at how best to introduce this for your enterprise brand and showcase some of the best business use cases.

The power of Facebook Messenger Bots, according to Activate Technologies, is that they take advantage of the huge audience on the Facebook platform, combining three different technologies:

  1. URL: Each Facebook Messenger Bot comes with its own URL: http://m.me/wegeekninja
  2. Facebook Page: One bot for every Facebook Page, and as these Bots live inside the Facebook ecosystem, to access a page’s Bot simple go to the relevant Facebook Page and hit “Message”.
  3. Quick Response Code: Best used for in-person marketing activities. To scan a code go to the “people” tab in Facebook Messenger and then “Scan Code”.

How it works

Techcrunch first discussed Chatbots on Facebook Messenger and identified that with the Messenger Platform’s new Send/Receive API,  bots will be able to send more than just text. They will be able to respond with structured messages that include images, links, call to action buttons, swipe through product carousels and pop-outs to the web to pay for a purchase.

A new search bar at the top of Messenger will help people discover bots. For companies already connecting with customers over SMS, a phone-number matching tool will let them easily shift those conversations to people’s Messenger account instead. So your users remain in control, a block button appears at the top of every bot conversation so you can easily silence them.

Facebook has included a number of great tools to enhance the user experience on Messenger:

MessagingSend and receive text, media, structured templates, and so much more
WebviewBuild web-based experiences with the dev tools and frameworks you already love
PaymentsAccept payments inside conversations or build your own flow in the web view
DiscoveryReach new people and re-engage ones you know on Messenger, Facebook, and the web
IDs & ProfilePersonalize conversations, link with your existing author, and create unified experiences
Chat ExtensionsExtend your reach and make your Messenger experience available to every conversation
NLPGet conversational and gain context with natural language processing built right in
AnalyticsGain insights, monitor performance, track your success, and leverage Facebook Analytics

Design Strategy

As part of Facebook best practices for Design Strategy, they state how important it is to define the experience you want to create for your brand and the people you’re interacting with on Messenger. Whether you intend on using a bot or implementing live messaging it is best to take the time to

Determine your goals

Do you want to design around utility, delight or a mixture of both? Understanding your strategy and what you want to accomplish will help you create the best experience.

Decide what you want people to do.

What actions do you want people to take? Are there multiple tasks you want them to complete? How are those tasks completed outside of Messenger? Determine all the paths people can navigate when designing your interactions.

Plan how you’ll evolve.

Do you want to design around utility, delight or a mixture of both? Understanding your strategy and what you want to accomplish will help you create the best experience.

Focus on doing a couple things really well.

Doing too much creates confusion and dilutes your experience.

Business Use Cases

A number of leading enterprise brands have introduced Facebook Messenger at scale. Here is a snapshot of some live examples.

Marriott Careers

Find a job through Facebook Messenger. Options to talk, apply or find a job – includes an option to relocate for the right job and package. If you find the job you are looking for, they will bring you directly to the web to apply. 

Marriott bot
CNN bot

CNN

Chat directly with CNN to get breaking news. You can tailor your experience and receive personalized messaging with specific stories by messaging CNN a relevant keyword. Option to pick what news story to read via their image carousel. 

Skyscanner

Skyscanner helps you find the right flight at the right price and connects you to where you can make a booking. You can set a home airport to make trip-planning quicker or type “anywhere” to get some ideas.

SkyScanner bot

To find out more about Social Engagement and what social messaging platforms can help your business, please get in touch with the Xtremepush team today.