Facebook Messenger Marketing - whether you’re well versed in it, barely scratched the surface, or never even heard of it, not to worry! In this article, we’ll take you from the basics to the advanced, so you’ll be able to implement the strategies that can consistently and effortlessly generate extra revenue for your store.
Why Messenger Marketing?
You’ve heard us talk about the importance of email marketing a thousand times, so by now, you must know why it’s a crucial component for your business. But what about Messenger Marketing? A lot of stores these days are still unaware of the power of Messenger, and the huge ROI it can bring to businesses.
The benefits of Messenger marketing include:
4x higher open rate than emails
8-12x higher click rate than emails
2x higher $/recipient than emails
Decreased need for customer service
Interactive way to communicate with your customers and showcase your brand
Personalized product recommendations for your customers based on their interest
As you might experience, companies try to reach people with email campaigns every day, and many people have hundreds of unread emails sitting in their inbox. However, Messenger is a more private and less mainstream way for a company to communicate with its (potential) customers. This is why we have to make sure we’re not intrusive and each message we send out serves a purpose.
Compared to SMS marketing, FB Messenger Marketing gives you the space for endless creativity and almost no limits to showcasing your values, your products, and your brand’s essence.
How to get started?
Similarly to emails, Messenger marketing has 2 parts: the automations (like email flows) and the campaigns.
First you need to use a software solution, such as Recart, for example, which have brought excellent results for our clients. And the great thing is that this solution is constantly improving and evolving, rolling out new features to test and implement.
Types of messages
Automations + Widgets and Pop-ups
Setting up the Facebook Messenger automations is going to be the core of your success with Messenger. You are able to implement different widgets and pop-ups on your store’s pages, which in turn generate new subscribers and thus more revenue.
The most important thing to get started with is to determine what widgets and pop-ups you want to use to start gaining new subscribers. Each widget is fully customizable and has its own purpose, from giving discounts to new customers, to encouraging people to sign up for their order updates.
Based on the customer’s current stage in the customer journey, these apps offer various widgets to hook people in at the right time. Some of our favorites include the following tools from Recart:
Welcome Pop-up
Similar to an email capture, welcome pop-ups can target users and prompt them with a discount or special offer. Upon sign-up, people are taken to their Messenger app, where the bot sequence begins and the offer is shown.
Discount Widget:
Offer an incentive to first-time buyers if they subscribe with their Messenger! Whether that’s a 10% discount, a gift that comes with a purchase, or free shipping, these are guaranteed to increase your subscriber list.
Image 1: Discount widget example
Integrations with other apps:
Luckily, thanks to the many integrations, you can connect your other apps, such as Loox, Wheelio, and Klaviyo, and reach your customers with an omnichannel marketing strategy.
Order page subscription:
Let customers know they can keep track of their order right from their Messenger app! When their order is processed, they’re notified straight away! It’s also a great way to offer them a discount on their next purchase.
C2M Ads
Besides implementing various widgets on your site, there’s another way to gain valuable Messenger subscribers. You are able to run ads on Facebook, which instead of taking users to your website or funnel, would direct them to Messenger, where they enter a special flow.
Previous campaigns that have worked well for us include giveaways and special discounts.
Sponsored Messages
You may or may not have heard, but due to regulations by Facebook, businesses can only send out messages to their subscribers within a 24 hour period from the start of the trigger. (Trigger could be opting in as a subscriber - for welcome messages, or abandoning your card - for abandoned cart flows, or your order being processed - for order updates)
So, if there’s a special sale on your website, the only way you can reach your subscribers is by running sponsored messages. In the email world, this would be the equivalent of campaigns, except you need to pay for them, and it’s not guaranteed that it gets sent out to all your subscribers.
These sponsored messages tend to show the best ROI, but you need to be careful and not send out more than 1-2 campaigns per month as your subscribers will quickly lose interest.
Optimize your Messenger strategy!
Get interactive!
A great way to engage subscribers is to ask them questions, to which they can simply respond with the touch of a button. This way you can segment them based on their interest and intentions.
Common questions to ask would be:
Are you shopping for yourself or for someone else?
Which categories interest you the most?
Have you shopped with us before?
What type of …. do you have? (e.g. skin - to help you show the best skin care product for their problem)
How many times do you … ? (e.g. work out - to determine which protein powder would suit them the best based on their lifestyle)
These answers give you valuable information about your potential customers and can help you give targeted product recommendations or blog posts, etc. based on their response.
Image 2: Getting interactive.
Get creative!
How does your customer usually communicate with their friends? Do they use emojis, memes, or GIFs? Do they send images, videos, or audio?
Facebook Messenger marketing automations give you the opportunity to use all of the above creatives. Whether it’s a fun GIF of your product being used, a carousel of various product recommendations, or beautiful imagery that represents your brand, there are no excuses to stay boring!
Budai Media tip: Use a mixture of fun GIFs from giphy.com and GIFs of your product to make your messages memorable.
Image 3: Example for a an outdoors brand.
Image 4: Example for a creative brand.
Get effective!
Did you know? You don’t have to compromise on gaining Messenger subscribers but potentially losing out on email or SMS subscribers! Thanks to the various integrations, you are able to implement an email or SMS input into your flows, which means you can kill two birds with one stone: you get a Messenger subscriber and receive their email or phone number.
Budai Media tip: implement the email or SMS input into flows where you offer a discount. This way, before users would receive their coupon code, they’d be required to enter their email or phone number.
Get experimental!
Now that you know the ins and outs of Messenger marketing, all that’s left is to get out there and test, test and TEST some more! Just like with Facebook Ads, you need to play around with different variations until you find that one winner ad that’s converting like crazy.
So check what’s working, try new creatives, analyze the data, and as with everything else in business: keep improving!
Budai Media tip: Give enough time to test a new feature. Try a 2 week period for each variation to test, so you get enough data and traffic to make the decision.
Want to learn more? Check out our case study on How we made 18% of a POD store’s monthly revenue with a welcome flow and our podcast episode about SMS and Messenger marketing
FAQ about Messenger Marketing
How to do Messenger marketing?
Messenger is a great way to communicate with your audience. Set up automations for your page, so that you are able to help your customers out with whatever they might need. You can automate your frequently asked questions, so your customers can get help instantly.
To make your Messenger marketing even more effective, add special discounts, and engaging content.
How does Facebook Messenger marketing work?
Messenger marketing harnesses the power of social media apps, so that you can stay in touch with your customers. It’s a convenient way to connect with thousands of people at once and deliver content and great offers straight into their inbox.
What is Facebook Messenger marketing?
Facebook Messenger marketing is an interactive and conversational method to communicate with your audience. With the use of chatbots, you can tailor conversations and engage with people on a large scale. Unlike email marketing, it is not one-sided and makes the user feel like they’re part of a conversation with the brand.
What is Messenger bot marketing?
Messenger bots are automated messages that you can implement for your business so that you can effectively and efficiently communicate with your target audience. Whether you want to send out important updates about the customer’s order, answer the most asked questions, or generate high-quality leads, you can automate chatbots for every occasion.