Facebook launched one of the biggest changes in digital marketing – Messenger Marketing – and international brands like Sephora, Chevy and Tommy Hilfiger have been quick to jump on the bandwagon and benefit from the boom!
With 1.3 billion active Messenger users exchanging more than 2 billion messages per month, Messenger Marketing is a powerful way for you to engage your customers and potential customers and grow your business – fast!
Facebook Messenger Marketing allows businesses to communicate directly with registered customers via the Messenger app using text, videos, images and gifs.
It is a huge change on the digital marketing landscape creating massive opportunities for business. It can allow your business to increase social media engagement, improve open rates on eDMs, increased sales conversions and make marketing easier!
How does Messenger Marketing Work?
Just as you’d send a message to your friends or family from your personal Facebook account, once customers are subscribed to your Messenger list, you can communicate with them directly through the app.
Businesses with a social media Facebook presence can build a Messenger subscriber list through third party platforms, which allow them to grow, manage, segment and send messages. Third party platforms to build Messenger lists work much like you would build an email subscriber list through Infusionsoft or Mailchimp.
It is just like email – only better! Facebook Messenger is quicker, more authentic, more organic, more engaging and more fun. But Messenger marketing shouldn’t replace email marketing entirely but rather complement it.
6 Reasons your business needs to be doing Facebook Messenger Marketing
- Far Reaching
Facebook Messenger Marketing increases your business reach by allowing you to engage with people who want to buy what you have to sell.
If stats like 1.3 billion active Messenger users and 2 billion messages per month aren’t enough to impress you then understanding that 53% of people are more likely to shop with businesses who message them directly and 56% of people would rather communicate by message than call customer service ought to do the trick.
Your customers are on it. You should be too.
- Increased Open Rates and Click Through rates
Another impressive stat is that Facebook Messenger open rates are as high as 100%, with click through rates often greater than 90%, which means that messages are leading to conversions faster and more of the time. In fact, Messenger Marketing can reduce the sales cycle from days to just minutes resulting in faster sales and better cash flow!
- Personalised Marketing
Plugging in with AI bots means customers drive the marketing in a ‘choose your own adventure’ type way by using words and buttons.
This means your business is able to deliver customers what they want, quicker and cheaper!
- Easy set up & automation
Facebook Messenger marketing may seem overwhelming and confusing to start with, but with a little guidance it is actually very simple to set up and fully automate, saving you time and money and meaning your pre-set auto-responses can address customer needs more quickly and cheaply.
And it is full scalable – even for small businesses.
- Conversational & Interactive
Unlike email, Facebook Messenger is talking with customers not at them. It is interactive and engaging, two-way dialogue.
When customers reply with certain words, or using certain buttons, pre-set auto responses can be tailored to the customer and their needs. This means messages can be conversational, informational, educational and authentic which contributes to a credible and non-threatening sales approach based on relationship marketing. Much like social media.
- Decreased Marketing and Advertising Costs
But the bottom line in business is dollars.
Facebook Messenger allows business to reach a greater number of customers and potential customers with higher conversions rates but at very low cost.
In fact, businesses using Facebook Messenger Marketing are experiencing ROI as high as 400%!
Examples of where efficiencies can be leveraged through the use of Facebook Messenger Marketing include:
- Utilising the ‘Comment to Messenger’ Feature can significantly increase organic Facebook post reach. When people type a certain response (for example ‘yes’) as a comment on a Facebook post, Facebook Messenger can automatically send them a message within seconds to their inbox.
This automation decreases ad costs, targets communication, increases reach and builds demand through social proof and increases consumer confidence.
- It is easier and cheaper to build a Facebook Messenger subscriber list than an email database.
- Businesses can effectively re-engage customers with sponsored messages. Meaning you can send targeted messages quickly, cheaply and directly to people already talking to you.
The real bottom line
The bottom line in business is dollars….. but the other bottom line in business is getting things done.
New developments like Facebook Messenger marketing can be overwhelming and distract business owners from their core business – and that is where Purple Giraffe can help.
As your outsourced full-service marketing agency, Purple Giraffe can help you leverage this new marketing phenomenon to take your customer communications to the next level resulting in new leads, new customers and better cash flow.
