The Complete Guide to Using Facebook Chatbots for Business

Have you ever messaged a business on Facebook, only to wait so long for a response that when they reply you forgot you contacted them in the first place? For brands looking to stand out in a crowded online marketplace, this isn't a good look.

Most brands don't have the resources to offer 24/7 online customer service and sales support. Luckily, chatbots don't need to sleep (or eat lunch). A good Facebook chatbot can answer customer questions, track packages, provide product recommendations, and even close a sale any time of the day or night.

The latest information available from Facebook indicates that there are 40 million businesses using Messenger and only 300,000 active Messenger bots. Using a bot can help you create a streamlined experience for your customers and followers and set yourself apart from the competition.

What is a Facebook bot (a.k.a Facebook Messenger chatbot)?

A chatbot is a piece of automated messaging software that uses artificial intelligence to converse with people.

A Facebook Messenger bot is a chatbot that lives within Facebook Messenger, meaning it converses with some of the 1.3 billion people who use Facebook Messenger every month.

Chatbots can be programmed to understand questions, provide answers, and execute tasks. They can provide a customized online shopping experience and even make sales.

The benefits of using Facebook chatbots for business

Meet customers where they are

First, let’s look at some quick stats to set the stage for how much of your potential audience is accessible through Facebook Messenger:

• Chat and messaging are the most-used types of websites and apps, followed by social networks.
• 64% of people say they would prefer to message a business than call them
• 60% of people say they are open to receiving personal messages from companies
• Facebook Messenger has the third-most active users of any app, beat out only by Facebook and Whatsapp
• More than 100 billion messages are exchanged on Meta apps every day
• People spend an average of 3 hours every month using Facebook Messenger (and 19.6 hours a month using Facebook itself).
• Meta reports the potential advertising audience for Facebook Messenger is 987.7 million people
• Most people (69% in the U.S.) who message businesses say being able to do so improves their confidence in the brand.

The point is that your audience is already using Facebook Messenger, and they expect to be able to interact with your brand there. Chatbots can increase your rate of response, making it easier for people to get the information they expect in real-time, on a channel they already use.

As a bonus, Facebook Messenger has sponsored ads, which can be targeted to people who have previously been in touch with your Page. Use these ads in tandem with your chatbot to target high-intent customers.

Save time for your team and your customers

Customers expect 24/7 availability, and they hate waiting on hold. They also ask many of the same questions over and over (and over) again.

They’ll save time with instant answers to their questions, and you’ll save time by letting your Facebook Messenger chatbot answer the easy questions, like in this example from Canadian retailer Simons.

6 tools for building effective Facebook chatbots

1. Heyday

Heyday is a multifunctional customer messaging platform that allows you to create Facebook Messenger bots that improve your customer experience. Its built-in conversational sales assistant connects to your product catalog to provide personalized product recommendations in Messenger chats.

2. Streamchat

Streamchat is one of the most basic Facebook chatbot tools out there. It’s meant to be used for simple automations and autoresponders. Rather than managing a whole conversation, it’s useful for out-of-office replies or messages that set expectations about when you’ll be able to respond.

3. Chatfuel

Chatfuel has an intuitive visual interface complemented by editable front-end and customization options. While you can build a Facebook Messenger bot for free, a lot of the more complex (and interesting) tools are only available with Chatfuel Pro accounts.

4. MobileMonkey

This free tool features a visual chatbot builder for Facebook Messenger designed for non-technical users. You can use it to build Q&A sessions in a Facebook Messenger chatbot.

There’s also a “Chat Blast” feature, similar to Chatfuel’s “broadcasting” feature, that allows you to send messages to multiple users at once. (Remember: Only do this if you have permission!)

5. Messenger for Developers

If you have the solid coding knowledge required to code your own Facebook chatbot, Facebook provides plenty of resources to get you started. And they are always working with their developer community to come up with new ideas to improve the user experience.

6. Facebook Creator Studio

While it’s not strictly speaking a Facebook Messenger bot, Facebook Creator Studio does allow you to set up some basic automated responses to common requests and events in Messenger. For example, you can set up an away message, provide contact information, or set up a list of FAQs and answers. There’s no artificial intelligence happening here to enable conversation or sales, but you can get some autoresponder functionality to keep Messenger working at a basic level when you’re away from your desk.