A lot of small business owners are getting fatigued with Facebook, worried that everyone is on the platform, so their voice is becoming diluted in all the noise. While there are many ways to make your small business stand out on Facebook, one very under-utilized tactic, in particular, is Facebook Messenger. We’ve assembled a few simple tactics for using Facebook Messenger for your small business marketing efforts.
First things first: what is Facebook Messenger?
Facebook Messenger is an instant messaging feature built into Facebook. It’s not a platform in and of itself; it’s an app. It’s actually been around for several years now but mostly used by individuals to communicate with friends and family. It allows Facebook users to connect with each other and send instant messages, emoji, photos, videos, and perform other light tasks. You can send money to friends within Facebook Messenger and even place product orders with the help of Facebook Bots.
Why use Facebook Messenger as a business?
We’ll get to some specific marketing tactics in a minute, but first, let’s illustrate just how popular messenger is. There are now more than 1.3 billion people using Facebook Messenger every month. Facebook IQ conducted a study on the use of mobile messaging with 12,500 people across the world and found several promising trends among the people surveyed:
- Sixty-three percent said that their messaging with businesses has increased over the past two years
- Fifty-six percent would rather message than call a business for customer service
- Sixty-one percent likes personalized messages from businesses
- More than 50 percent are more likely to shop with a business they can message
How your small business can take advantage of Messenger’s popularity
It’s obvious that Messenger is quickly becoming a viable option for reaching your target audience, but how can you use it for your small business? Here are a few quick ideas.
Use Messenger to promote your event
You can send important information and reminders about your events that people have signed up for, such as a webinar, open house or presentation. It’s easier than you think! With a tool like ManyChat, you can create subscriber lists and broadcast messages easily. Broadcasting messages is very similar to sending an email. Just type your message, add attachments, and send.
Use Messenger to have real-time conversations with prospects
Run click-to-Messenger ads with location targeting on Facebook to reach your target audience on Facebook. When a person clicks on the ad to learn more, they’ll be brought into a Messenger conversation with a chatbot that can ask a series of questions or create the option to speak to a live person, depending on your staffing and availability. This is a great way to use Facebook ads plus Messenger to really engage prospects.
Use Messenger Ads
These are not the same as Facebook Ads. Messenger Ads are still quite under-utilized so it’s a great opportunity to reach prospects your competitors likely aren’t reaching. People will see your ad in the Home tab of their Messenger mobile app. When they tap on the ad, they will be brought to your preferred destination — your website or a Messenger conversation.
Need more inspiration for how to use Messenger? Larry Kim wrote a nice little article for Wordstream on how 4 Facebook Messenger Marketing Strategies You Have to Try.
Using Facebook Messenger is easier than you think! Facebook is working hard to make Facebook Messenger a great channel for businesses. Facebook created a new Messages objective for Facebook ads, which allows you to reach people who will most likely reply to your business on Facebook Messenger. Not sure how to get started? Reach out to a small business marketing pro to help get it up and running for you in no time, and see how it can impact your business.
- Marketing Tactics That Your Small Business Can Do for Free - January 10, 2024
- How to Create Images for Your Small Business Website - December 6, 2023
- How Small Businesses Benefit from Referrals - November 6, 2023
