Following on from a recent article we published about how using chatbots can help you increase conversions, we’ve decided to write up a guide on how to get started with creating a chatbot for your Facebook Page using Messenger.
Before we dive into setting up a chatbot for Facebook Messenger, here are a few statistics about how consumers feel about chatbots…
🤖 57% of UK consumers understand what a chatbot is (ubisend)
🤖 48% of consumers would rather a chatbot that solves issues over a chatbot that has personality (Business Insider)
🤖 35% of consumers want to see more companies start using chatbots (ubisend)
🤖 27% of consumers said they would buy a product through a chatbot. (Drift)
🤖 21% of consumers see chatbots as the easiest way to contact a business (ubisend)
FAQ: Facebook Messenger Bots
What is a bot on Messenger?
On Facebook Messenger, a bot is a robot that will automatically reply to your users with pre-written responses. Depending on set-up, they can display latest blog posts, show your booking confirmation for a flight, event, restaurant etc. You can also receive notifications about order confirmation, updates and much more.
How do Facebook Messenger bots work?
Facebook Messenger bots work by replying to your users with a pre-written response. You can set-up AI and other automated responses either by following Facebook Developers guide or using a platform like Chatfuel or ManyChat. These allow you to set-up and customise your bot with ease.
Facebook Messenger Bot Tutorial
In order to get started with a Facebook Messenger bot, you first need to have admin access to a Facebook Page. Once you’ve received that, it’s time to connect the account to a Messenger bot. There are a few options here. You could either follow Facebook’s official documentation for developers on creating a Messenger bot, or, instead use a platform like Many Chat or Chat Fuel. The latter being my prefered choice.
Connecting the bot:
First things first, head on over to Chatfuel.com and log in with Facebook Messenger. You’ll then see an option to connect your Facebook account and choose the desired pages to run your bot on. Once you’ve selected the page, you’ll then be given the option to choose a template or start from scratch with their Blank Bot. I’d recommend starting from scratch, however, it’s always nice to see what templates there are and the functionality they offer.
Configuring the Messenger bot:
To get started customising the Messenger bot, visit your dashboard and then choose the specific bot you would like to configure. You’ll then be redirected to another page where you can set-up the automation for the bot. Below is a little preview of what I’ve set-up for the Creation Agency bot.
The above is set-up so whenever someone decides to contact the Facebook Page for the first time (or if they’re getting in touch again) it’ll show the above welcome message with a few options.
If the person is interested in what services we have to offer, they might click the services button and will receive the following.
Or, if they decide to click the Resources button, they’ll be displayed with three options – view the blog, browse eBooks or discover upcoming and on-demand webinars.
We’ve set-up our blog with Facebook Messenger so when a user types “blog” or clicks on the view blog button, our recent articles will be displayed in Messenger. Here’s a little preview…
Lastly, we also display the option to view online courses. Once clicked, they’ll be told about the courses available.
Advanced features:
One of the perks about using Chatfuel is that you’ll have a few extra advanced features. Such as setting-up AI, Broadcasts, Growth tools and of course, Reporting.
The AI feature is very powerful and comes in extremely handy. You can set-up specific phrases or keywords, where once mentioned, the Facebook Messenger bot will reply with either some custom text or a block which you would have set-up in the ‘Automate’ section.
Testing the bot:
After you have set-up the Facebook Messenger bot to your liking, it’s time to test it out. This is very easy to do and can be done both via desktop and mobile. If on a desktop, head on over here. If on a smartphone or tablet, open up the Messenger app. You’ll then need to search for the Facebook Page and begin a conversation.
Over to you…
So as you can see, it’s fairly easy to create a Facebook Messenger bot using a web app. The downsides of using a web-app like Chatfuel or Many Chat is the branding they include for those looking to stay on a free plan. This can be removed if you decide to upgrade, which isn’t too bad when using Chatfuel. It’s $15/month for up to 500 users, $20/month for 1,000 and so on….
If you decide to set-up a Facebook Messenger Chatbot, let us know the Facebook page name in the comments below and we’ll be more than happy to check them out!
