Automated messaging offers a lot of benefits to business owners who wish to use it. Best of all, it is easy to set up. While you can integrate this functionality into your website by embedding Messenger into your site using a plugin or through Facebook’s integration, this article will only focus on automation through Facebook Messenger.

Getting Started

• To automate your Messenger, you must have admin access to your Facebook business page.
• On the left-hand side of the page is a column of options. You will want to click on “Business Suite.”
• Now you will be looking at your inbox.
• From your Inbox, you will be able to see your messages from both your Facebook and Instagram accounts.
• Just below the Facebook and Instagram links on the left-hand column, you will see “Automated Responses.”

Instant Reply

There are several things we can do within this feature. Let’s start with “Instant Reply.” Instant Reply will pop up when someone first attempts to message you.  It can do anything from alleviating the frustration that customers often feel waiting for you to respond to steering your visitors in the right direction. For example, if you primarily use email rather than Messenger, you can let them know that with a link to your email address.

Personalized Response

There are some great features built into Instant Reply. For example, you can personalize the message by having their name automatically inserted in your response. Messenger pulls this directly from their account. It will instantly add warmth and humanity to your automation.

Embedded Links

Then, you can write whatever reply you would like to go out to the people who message you. You can embed links, including your website. Note that you can only link to your main website, not particular pages. These links will not look like links as you create them on the backend, but when you send them in Messenger, they will show up correctly. You should always do a test run to check it out to be sure everything looks right.

Away Message

Many businesses like to have an after-hours message letting their visitors know that their business is closed for the day. Often these messages include business hours and the assurance that they will return and reply and when to expect the reply.

Frequently Asked Questions

This is another place that business often post their hours. You can also add service costs, how to schedule an appointment, Covid policies, or anything else people may have questions about. It is ideal to have questions to answer with a link to a page on your website. This will be efficient for the customer and will improve your web page’s ranking over time. Keep in mind that you can only use four FAQs in a conversation, so choose your four best questions.

Contact Information & Location

Thankfully, you do not need to include “Where are you located?” in your Frequently Asked Questions. Messenger knows this is such a common question that they have added it as an automatic option. If you choose to turn this on, it can give directions to the person needing your location.

Contact Information is another option. With that, you could link right to your Contact Us page on your website or have your phone or email address.

Schedule Appointments

If you schedule appointments through Facebook’s appointment scheduler, you can add this feature to your automatic messaging.

Finally, save your answers, and you are all set!

Need More Answers to Your Marketing Questions?

Iceberg Web Design has them. We specialize in website-based solutions to your business needs. We build custom websites, turn-key websites and have a host of services that can improve your ability to communicate your message. Contact us online today or call 763-350-8762 to learn more!

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Back in 1997, the first noticeable social media website (Six Degrees) was up and running. Fast forward more than 20 years and 79% of the U.S. population uses social media. For advertisers, the rise of social media has disrupted marketing strategy and uprooted traditional advertising methods. But, believe it or not, the initial setback caused by social has given way to brand new heights in advertising.

Social Media’s Impact on Advertising

Americans now spend an average of 23.6 hours online each week. Out of those 23.6 hours, 30% of the time is spent on social media, outweighing any other activity. To make the most of their ad spend, advertisers have had to change their focus, targeting the digital space to reach the greatest number of consumers.

Ad spend isn’t the only thing that’s changed. By becoming accustomed to the personal feel of social media, consumers now crave different methods of engagement with their favorite brands. No longer do they expect the same run of the mill ads. Instead, they’re looking for targeted and specific content that appears to have been created just for them.

How to Use Social Media to Boost Advertising Success

It may sound like bad news, but it isn’t. The consumer’s wish for more targeted advertising on their preferred social media profile is becoming easier with each update. Platforms such as Facebook and Instagram allow advertisers to focus on specific audiences. Others such as Snapchat allow advertisers to create content that speaks to the target demographic.

Whatever and whenever your target customer wants your ad content, you can put it there—and that’s taking advertising to new heights. What else can you do to boost your social media advertising success?

Build Brand Awareness

Social media isn’t just a starting point for a new ad campaign. It’s easier to sell a service or product to a warm lead, than a cold one. Social media engagement and interaction builds brand awareness, helping consumers become more familiar with what you offer. The more connected they feel, the more apt they’ll be to purchase.

Be Specific With Those Ads

Without targeting the right audience, your ad’s design or copy simply won’t matter. Social media allows you to be ultra-specific when creating ads for your brand, targeting only those customers that are the perfect fit. Use the data and advertising tools provided on the social media platform to boost your ad’s performance.

Test, Test, Test

Social media is the perfect place to test your ads for success. On Facebook, most ads are reviewed and published within 24 hours, meaning you could see ad results fast. To get started, perform an A/B test and test one ad against another to see which one performs the best with your target demographic.

Is Your Social Media Advertising Strategy Up to Par?

It’s safe to say that social media and advertising should go hand in hand. Social media is helping us reach new heights in advertising each and every day. To learn more about social media marketing or paid advertising, send us a message.

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