Get Live Chat with Facebook Messenger

What is Facebook Messenger?

Facebook’s Messenger app is a real-time messaging feature that automatically connects and syncs with your Facebook account. Messenger debuted in 2011, and it has become so popular that it launched as a separate mobile application in 2014.

The Messenger application and website have replaced the in-app Facebook messaging service, allowing users to communicate instantly through instant messages, photos, videos, and more.

Today, Facebook Messenger has more than 1.5 billion users, and it is used to exchange over 60 million messages between businesses and clients every day.

For many ecommerce brands, integrating Facebook Messenger into their marketing mix is an opportunity to increase brand awareness, improve customer service, and boost sales, especially now that the ability to complete a transaction directly through the app has been introduced.

Messenger allows you to guide your customers through the purchase process, from first contact to payment, without the need for external tools.

How Do I Use Facebook Messenger for Ecommerce?

Around 60 million companies are currently active on Facebook Messenger. However, not all of them use the same approach when it comes to channel management. In most cases, the messaging app is simply used as a “passive” tool to respond to client customer service requests.

On the other hand, some businesses utilize this tool to start new conversations with potential clients, as well as through sponsored advertisements, which help customers progress through the sales funnel from product discovery all the way to payment.

There are three ways you can connect Messenger to your ecommerce store. Pick one or try out all three and see what works best:

• Connect Messenger to your product catalog
• Add Messenger’s Live Chat to your website
• Add the Buy Now button to your Messenger account

Companies may use Facebook Messenger proactively to recruit new clients by engaging with customers through their own site. This technique is especially powerful if your company doesn’t have a website or isn’t optimized for chat, and you want to utilize Facebook Messenger as a sales channel.

Once you start a customer conversation on messenger, all you have to do is lead the customer toward purchasing your product and answer any question they might have along the way.

Selling on Facebook Messenger: Best Practices

You can impact how your brand responds to incoming consumer messages through Messenger. Take a look at some strategies below to get started.

Provide faster and more meaningful support

The key to great customer service is providing helpful information in response to requests from your consumers. Reducing the time it takes you to respond to their messages, or, even better, giving real-time assistance makes for happy customers.

Use automated greetings and responses

Sometimes all a client needs to know is that their message was received and assistance is on the way. Instant replies are simple; these days you can use an easy automation tool to inform your customers that you’ve received their request, and when they should expect an in-depth response.

To set Instant responses, open your Facebook company page settings, then go to the Messages tab and select the Response Assistant option.

There you can add a greeting that people will see the first time they open a conversation with you on Messenger. When you get a message, they’ll instantly receive an Instant Reply, Away Message, or link to the Frequently asked questions section of your website.

Learn more about your customers

Facebook Messenger is linked to a customer’s profile page, which means you can scope out the Facebook page of anyone who messages you. This profile can include a wealth of valuable information about who your consumer is—not only the age and gender of your most frequent site visitors, but also some common interests, activities, and communication styles that your customers have. Keep this data in mind while developing your brand’s communication style on Messenger and beyond.