What is a chatbot?
A chatbot is a digital interface enabling a conversation with a person or people. Its aim is to both provide and collect information. Chatbots can be voice-based (eg Alexa, Siri) or built into communication channels like Facebook Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp. The nature of the medium and the characteristics of the physical device used then determine what is possible. For example, chatbot conversations in Facebook Messenger or Instagram can include images, GIFs, videos, audios, emojis, buttons, carousels, hyperlinks… You also commonly see chatbots on websites, initiating customer interaction.
Why are chatbots a big deal?
Facebook Messenger:
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1.3 billion active user on Facebook Messenger globally (expected to hit 2.4 billion in 2021)
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> 20 billion Messenger messages exchanged between businesses and consumers every month
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Messenger open rate between 70% and 80% (compared with e-mail between 15% and 20%)
Instagram:
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>1 billion users on Instagram globally
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13 million downloads in Q2 2020 alone
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200,000 new accounts created daily
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90% of people now follow a business on Instagram
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over 80% report they shop on Instagram
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61% of brands are planning to increase their advertising budget in 2021-2022
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60% of people go on Instagram to research products. 50% then go on to make a purchase
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Instagram is increasingly B2B, not just B2C
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46% of B2B content marketers used organic Instagram within the past 12 months (vs LinkedIn 95% and Twitter 86%)
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71% of US businesses use Instagram (Mention, 2018)
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What we do - enable "conversational commerce"
1. Chatbot marketing & strategy - automated chat sequences or conversations in Facebook Messenger and in Instagram.
This enables you to:
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increase leads and convert those leads to customers
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increases sales (usually by between 10 and 20%)
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improve customer relationships with context-relevant automated conversations
In a nutshell, it enables "conversational commerce".
How do we do this?
We do this by building chatbots or automated sequences and fitting in with your existing marketing eco-system and marketing strategy.
We can:
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collect e-mails and build your LIST, which
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enables an omni-channel approach to marketing
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enables getting your audience off SM algorithms – over which you have no control
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leverage the benefits that the technology enables:
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workflow building, bot copywriting, optimisations, split testing
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integrations and automations, eg updating spreadsheets, CRMs etc via Zapier
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sending e-mails / SMS texts automatically based on conversation context
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take advantage of the multiple methods of triggering chat sequences, eg Keyword triggers, Comment triggers, M.me links, QR codes…
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​All of this enables us to select the appropriate techniques and strategies relevant to your specific problems and issues, and fitting in with your existing marketing eco-system - all relevant to your marketing and business goals.
For example, in terms of technique and strategy, consider:
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People who have visited your website, that you know are interested in what you do – did they buy from you, or just look around your website? Are you retargetting them? Are you retargetting Abandoned Carts?
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Are you taking advantage of the increasing popularity and power of QR codes that are so easy to implement?
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Are you taking advantage of accessing over a billion users in both Facebook Messenger and Instagram – both as potential new customers, and nurturing existing customers? Is this a part of your Digital Marketing Strategy?
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Are you taking advantage of an omni-channel list (e-mail, DM, SMS) of interested / warm customers - or are your customers in a single channel, or a single SM platform?
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If your answer to any of the above is ‘no’,
how much is that decision impacting your potential growth
and your current bottom line?
Why Instagram?
Perhaps, most significantly, Instagram have released automation capabilities inside of Direct Messages. This is going to be a HUGE game changer for those who do any type of business on Instagram.