The rise and RISE of Chatbots
MOVE aside Email Marketing. We are in the era of CHATBOTS!
Haven’t heard of a chatbot?
Chances are you have engaged with a chatbot without knowing what it is. A chatbot is a computer program which conducts a conversation via auditory or textual methods. Still confused? If you’ve purchased something in the last 8 months, you may have received an automated conversation window pop up in your Facebook Messenger to chat with you about your purchase or provide you with further information. The conversation is directed at you, and you don’t feel like you’re at the end of an email blast. As a result, businesses have the ability to interact directly with the client and achieve much higher conversion rates.
Facebook Messenger is the future…
Over the last 18 months, Facebook has seen individuals shift from conversing with each other on Facebook itself to their complimentary app Facebook Messenger. This is the result of the average individual having over 300 friends on Facebook, but only conversing on a day to day basis with approx. 20 close friends. It is also the result of individuals being bullied and comments or conversations requiring a more private audience. More and more individuals are moving their social circles to engage on the private Messenger network, which means this is now the platform to engage directly with prospective clients. With over 1 billion active users on Facebook Messenger, this platform cannot be ignored by businesses.
FACEBOOK MESSENGER AND YOUR SALON
It’s become common practice for many prospective clients seeking more information about a service to contact a salon via Facebook Messenger. This movement has been led by Generation Y, who prefer to connect with businesses via social media channels rather than call. What many salons find frustrating, is people contacting their business via Facebook Messenger and asking common questions that can be found on their website or requesting appointments which can be made via an online booking system or simply contacting at odd times out of business hours, when a response cannot be provided quickly enough to the potential client.
An automated conversation with your business in the Facebook Messenger app can be the answer to these common issues encountered. Imagine having your very own virtual “salon concierge” who takes care of your salon Facebook messages and directs individuals to find the information they are seeking or make an appointment with your online booking system? Without you doing a thing! Sounds luxurious and professional, right? It is. This is your chatbot. And it’s incredibly powerful. You will always have a few individuals who will want to ask a difficult question your “salon concierge” cannot answer, and your team can respond in due time.
As seen in Hair Biz Year 12 Issue 3
What’s super exciting about chatbots is that once an individual starts a conversation with your chatbot, their Facebook Messenger name is saved as a Facebook Messenger subscriber to your salon. Similar to an email marketing campaign, you can send a broadcast message out to your Facebook Messenger subscribers. As most individual’s email inboxes are over-saturated with email marketing campaigns, Facebook Messenger broadcasts are more novel and have an opening rate of 95%. Unlike emails which have an opening rate of less than 15%. This means the advertising campaigns broadcasted to your subscribers on Facebook Messenger are more likely to be seen, and engaged with by your subscribers. WINNING!!!
CHATBOT SETUP
Chatbots, can be a little confusing to setup, however once setup, your “salon concierge” does most of the hard work for you. With only 39% of marketers globally assisting businesses with chatbots, this is your opportunity to shine and thrive above your competition in the digital space and keep the virtual conversation rolling with Generation Y and the awakening Generation Z. If you don’t have a savvy marketer who can setup your chat for you, reach out to Hairpin Digital. We create chatbots for salons. We’ll help you with chatbot setup and ongoing broadcast to your growing subscriber Facebook Messenger list.
Continue the conversation with all things chatbot and social media in our Facebook Group – Salon Social Media Group
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