Facebook Messenger Marketing – should you be using it for your small business?

According to Buffer, there are now more than 1.3 billion people using Facebook Messenger every month. You’ve probably used it yourself to keep in touch with friends and family, but have you ever considered using Facebook Messenger as a way of marketing your business and keeping in touch with your target audience?

In this blog I want to share with you what Facebook Messenger marketing is, some of the benefits from using it and how to get started with it in your business today.

What is Facebook Messenger marketing?

Facebook Messenger marketing is using Facebook Messenger to reach potential customers and existing clients with target messages for marketing purposes, as well as for customer service queries and updates.

Have you ever visited a brand page on Facebook and a Messenger window has popped up at the bottom of the screen inviting you to start a conversation? That’s Facebook Messenger marketing, and it’s a fantastic way to get individuals engaged and interested in what your business has to offer.

Why is using messenger a good idea

Did you know that 56% of individuals would rather send a message than call a business for customer service?

It’s not just that our busy lifestyles make a long phone call unreasonable when a quick message will do, but messaging is also a simpler way for disabled customers to get in touch too. Facebook Messenger is already compatible with the software disabled clients use, so it’s an inclusive method to be using for customer service and marketing.

Messenger marketing has shown to be effective too. More than 50% of individuals are more likely to shop with a business they can message, 61% enjoy receiving personalised messages from businesses and 63% have said that their messaging with businesses has increased over the past two years.

Should you be using Facebook Messenger marketing for your small business?

I believe Facebook Messenger marketing is a fantastic way to reach new customers and keep your existing clients happy and engaged. However. I would only recommend using this strategy if you already have a solid Facebook marketing strategy in place.

You need to be active on Facebook with a good audience on your brand page for Messenger marketing to work. It’s no good receiving messages from prospective clients if you’re only checking your page once or twice a week, if you take too long to respond they’ll go elsewhere.

If you do have the time and resources in place to support Facebook marketing, then here are my top tips for making Messenger marketing a success.

Use automated messages

Having automated messages such as estimated time for responses, answers to frequently asked questions, etc will ensure that people know you won’t reply in the middle of the night and may not need a response at all if their query has been answered.

Use Messenger to promote events

Whether it’s your next webinar or your yearly retreat, remind your Facebook followers of your events by sending them a personalised message via Messenger.

Use Facebook Messenger as part of your Facebook Ads

Rather than directing your target audience to a landing page from a Facebook ad, why not direct them to Messenger instead? It’s a fantastic way to see how well your ads are performing and enables you to build that rapport with your prospective customers directly.

Offer Messenger as a customer service channel

If customers might need to come back to you for support with a product or service, why not include Messenger as a means for them in touch with you. Many individuals have the Messenger app on their phones so it’s a quick and easy way for them to get in touch.

I do think using Messenger is a fantastic way to build rapport with your target audience and is often an under-used marketing tactic, however you do need to be able to dedicate time and resources to this strategy.

What do you think? Are you already using Facebook Messenger marketing or has this blog inspired you to give it a go? If you need any support or assistance with Facebook, don’t hesitate to get in touch for a friendly and inspiring chat.