Chatbots are a powerful marketing tool for brands and businesses.
Not to be confused with robots, chatbots provide an effective way for brands to engage with users 24/7 – even when your team’s technically off the clock.
By adding chatbot systems to your social channels, you can streamline communication and save a ton of time!
Whether you’re looking to resolve a customer issue, provide information, or just get to know your audience, a chatbot can both drive sales and brand awareness.
Ready to dive into all the chatbot hype? Learn how you can use a chatbot for Twitter, Facebook, and WhatsApp below.
What is a Chatbot?
A chatbot is a piece of software that imitates human conversation, allowing companies to optimize their marketing efforts, and engage in conversations with potential customers 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
You’ve probably chatted with a bot at some point and didn’t even know it.
That’s because chatbots come in all shapes and sizes, leveraging messaging mediums like SMS text, social media platforms, and website pop-ups.
And, they can also function as conversational interfaces and virtual assistants – ever heard of Siri or Amazon’s Alexa?
They offer a novel way to interact with brands and businesses on social media channels, whether you’re hoping to make a clothing return or catching a flight.
What's more, research has shown that people who have interacted with chatbots are a whopping 67% more likely to purchase items from a brand – which means if you're searching for new ways to drive sales, a chatbot might just be your ticket!
How to Set up Chatbots for Your Brand or Business
If you’re looking to add a chatbot to your brand’s marketing toolkit, it’s important to note that a chatbot is not a feature within an app.
You’ll have to build a chatbot on your own – where the capabilities of what you can build depend on what’s available on the public-facing API (Application Programming Interface).
PS: An API is essentially an interface that allows two applications to talk to one another.
You can set up a chatbot one of two ways: Either in-house (so long as you have skilled developers on your side) or you can partner with a third-party agency that specializes in chatbots.
Keep in mind, not all chatbots are created equal. Most chatbots are powered by conversational AI or ruled-based technology:
Conversational AI Chatbots:
Use machine learning to understand the context and intent of a question
More sophisticated, task-oriented, and personalized responses
Predictive and thus learns from patterns of past behavior
Offers more complex questions
Rule-based Chatbots:
Uses a series of defined rules to map out conversations in anticipation of what a user might ask
Often resemble interactive FAQs
Offer basic capabilities through pre-programmed answers
Less costly and better suited to hand-off to a human agent
The right chatbot type for your brand or business will depend on your unique requirements, goals, and budget.
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6 Reasons Why Social Media Chatbots Are Valuable to Brands
With a projected global market size of over $1.3 billion by 2024 – chatbots are a hot topic in the social media marketing world.
At their core, chatbots facilitate a ton of automated customer service objectives but they can also help reach your brand's marketing goals!
1. Relay Important Company Information
While bots have traditionally been used to support customer service teams, they can also be used for tasks like sales and marketing automation. Want to spread the word about new brick-and-mortar shops opening up? A chatbot site pop-up can be crafted to deliver that news!
2. Promote a Product
Yep, you heard right, bots can help promote products. If you have a new product launch or want to push something specific, you can set up an automated chatbot message for when users visit your website.
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3. Generate Leads and Drive Sales
You know when you visit a site and you’re immediately greeted with a promotional code? That’s the power of a bot generating a lead through incentive!
4. Learn About Your Audience
Through interactive prompts, companies can ask questions, start a dialog, and get to know their audience more intimately.
5. Provide Round the Clock Customer Service
Because bots are always “on,” customers don’t have to wait to get the answers they’re looking for. Chatbots can be programmed to answer frequently asked questions and adapt to fit specific situations.
6. Free up a Ton of Time
Chatbots offer 24/7 customer service without paying for expensive human labor or having workers on-call during all hours of the day – talk about winning back tons of time!
Chatbots on Facebook
One way brands can use chatbots is by offering promotions via a Facebook Messenger bot.
Take JW PEI for example, as soon as you visit their Facebook page, a bot greets users with a welcome message and a discount code – directing customers to revisit their cart.
Not only does this communication aid in driving sales (who doesn’t love a discount code?) but this type of engagement also builds brand loyalty through a positive (and memorable) customer experience.
Chatbots on Twitter
Beyond a space to receive news and discuss the latest in entertainment, Twitter is an excellent source for brands to deliver valuable information to users.
Look at how a user can message Audible directly without having to search through website pages and navigate menus.
Answering a series of prompts, Audible is easily able to reroute users to the right place.
Chatbots on WhatsApp
Given the fact that WhatsApp is the most popular messaging app – with over 2B global users – the platform is an amazing way to address customer service queries.
See how Telecom Wireless WhatsApp bot can adapt responses to fit a user’s specific keyword and situation.
Enabling customers to self-serve their top-up journey without breaking a sweat!
Simply put, chatbots can be a marketing goldmine.
By allowing brands and businesses to automate customer support, facilitate a user’s transaction, and build community – they’re a win-win-win!
So what are you waiting for? Add a chatbot to your marketing strategy, kick back and let the pop-ups practically do the work for you!
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