Unpacking the Top Chatbot Types and Platforms for Messenger Marketing”

The brand-new world of messenger marketing! With over 2.8 billion monthly active users across messaging apps, it’s hardly a surprise that businesses of all sizes are jumping on the chatbot bandwagon. Messenger marketing is rapidly becoming a go-to strategy for businesses looking to engage with customers, drive sales, and streamline communication. And with the rise of codeless chatbot builders, it’s easier than ever to create and deploy a chatbot tailored to your business needs. But with countless types of chatbots available, how do you know which one is right for your business? In this article, I’ll explore the different types of chatbots, their advantages, and the top chatbot builder platforms available to create one. So, buckle up and get ready to learn how messenger marketing can transform your business!

Some figures on the most popular messengers

According to a survey conducted by Statista in 2021, the top 5 most popular messaging apps used in the United States are:

1. Facebook Messenger – with a user base of over 106 million users, it is the most popular messaging app in the US.
2. WhatsApp – with a user base of over 73 million users, WhatsApp is the second most popular messaging app in the US.
3. Apple iMessage – with a user base of over 67 million users, Apple iMessage is the third most popular messaging app in the US.
4. Instagram Direct – with a user base of over 35 million users, Instagram Direct is the fourth most popular messaging app in the US.
5. Snapchat – with a user base of over 31 million users, Snapchat is the fifth most popular messaging app in the US.

In Europe, the most popular messengers are:

1. WhatsApp – WhatsApp is the most popular messaging app in Europe, with over 400 million active users.
2. Facebook Messenger – Facebook Messenger is the second most popular messaging app in Europe, with over 200 million active users.
3. Viber – Viber is a popular messaging app in Europe, particularly in Eastern Europe, with over 100 million active users.
4. Telegram – Telegram is a popular messaging app in Europe, particularly among tech-savvy users, with over 50 million active users.

Messenger marketing is a relatively new form of marketing that leverages messaging apps like Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and SMS to reach customers and promote products or services.

Benefits of messenger marketing

Compared to other types of small business marketing like email and SMS, messenger marketing offers several advantages:

• Personalization: Messenger marketing allows for more personalized and targeted messaging. Businesses can use data from their customers’ messaging interactions to tailor their messaging and offers, leading to higher engagement and conversion rates.
• Conversational nature: Messenger marketing is more conversational than email or SMS. Messaging apps provide a platform for real-time conversations between businesses and customers, which can improve customer satisfaction and increase brand loyalty.
• Cost-effective: Messenger marketing can be more cost-effective than other types of marketing. While email and SMS campaigns require a list of contacts, messenger marketing can leverage existing messaging apps and contacts, saving businesses money on list-building and maintenance.
• Compliance: Messenger marketing is subject to strict regulations and compliance requirements, such as opt-in requirements and messaging frequency limitations. While this may add some complexity to the process, it also ensures that businesses are communicating with customers who are interested in their products or services and reduces the risk of spamming.

Overall, messenger marketing can be a valuable addition to a small business marketing strategy, particularly for businesses looking to engage with customers in real-time and create more personalized experiences. However, it should be used in conjunction with other marketing channels, such as email and SMS, to maximize reach and effectiveness.

Chatbot for small business messenger marketing

Integrating a chatbot into a messaging app like WhatsApp or Telegram can be worth it for small business owners and marketers. Here are a few reasons why:

• Improved customer experience: A chatbot can help improve the customer experience by providing instant and personalized support. Customers can get answers to their questions or concerns quickly, without having to wait for a human customer support representative.
• 24/7 availability: A chatbot can be available 24/7, which can be especially valuable for small businesses with limited resources. Customers can interact with the chatbot at any time, even outside of regular business hours.
• Cost-effective: A chatbot can be a cost-effective solution for customer support. It can handle routine inquiries and tasks, allowing human customer support representatives to focus on more complex issues.
• Increased engagement: A chatbot can also help increase customer engagement by providing personalized recommendations or offering promotions based on a customer’s previous interactions with the chatbot.
• Reach: WhatsApp and Telegram have large user bases, which means that integrating a chatbot into these messaging apps can help a small business reach more customers and increase brand awareness.

However, it’s important to keep in mind that chatbots are not a one-size-fits-all solution. A poorly designed chatbot can frustrate customers and hurt the customer experience, so it’s important to invest time and resources into designing a chatbot that is user-friendly and effective.

Messenger chatbot use cases

Many small businesses are using messenger chatbots to improve their customer experience, increase engagement, and grow their business. Here are a few examples:

• Beauty businesses – salons, hairdressers, or tattoo parlors are using Facebook Messenger chatbots to allow customers to book appointments, ask about services, and receive reminders about upcoming appointments.
• Online stores – Small online stores are using Facebook Messenger chatbots to provide customer support, answer questions, and send order updates.
• Restaurants – Restaurants are using Facebook or WhatsApp chatbots to take orders, make reservations, and provide information about menu items.
• Real estate – Real estate agents are using Facebook or Instagram chatbots to provide property information, schedule viewings, and answer questions from potential buyers.
• Fitness businesses – Fitness businesses, such as gyms and personal trainers, are using Messenger chatbots to provide workout plans, answer questions about services, and schedule appointments.

There are several small businesses that have successfully integrated an Instagram chatbot into their social media strategy. Here are a few examples:

• The Lip Bar: This cosmetics company uses an Instagram chatbot to help customers find their perfect shade of lipstick. The chatbot asks a series of questions about the customer’s skin tone and preferences and then recommends a shade from The Lip Bar’s product line.
• Chomps Snack Sticks: Chomps uses an Instagram chatbot to help customers find their nearest retailer that sells their products. The chatbot asks for the customer’s location and then provides a list of nearby stores that carry Chomps Snack Sticks.

Instagram messenger chatbot can serve as a mediator between businesses and customers by giving answers to FAQs, reacting to stories that mention your brand, or processing payments by means of integrating a payment system.

The same goes for small businesses that use WhatsApp as their primary way of keeping in touch with their customers.

• Customer support: A business can use a WhatsApp chatbot to provide customer support to their customers. Customers can ask questions about products, services, or any other queries, and the chatbot can provide instant responses. This can help to reduce response times and improve customer satisfaction.
• Sales and marketing: A WhatsApp chatbot can also be used for sales and marketing purposes. For example, a business can use a chatbot to promote a new product, offer discounts or coupons, and even take orders directly through the chatbot.
• Appointment scheduling: A WhatsApp chatbot can be used to schedule appointments or meetings. Customers can simply request an appointment or meeting with a business, and the chatbot can help to schedule a time and send reminders.
• Information retrieval: A business can also use a WhatsApp chatbot to provide information to their customers. For example, a travel agency can use a chatbot to provide information about flight schedules, hotel bookings, and other travel-related information.
• Surveys and feedback: A WhatsApp chatbot can be used to collect customer feedback or conduct surveys. Businesses can use this feedback to improve their products and services and enhance the overall customer experience.

Best free and paid chatbot builder services

• Dialogflow: Dialogflow is a free chatbot builder platform that uses natural language processing (NLP) to create conversational bots. It integrates with several popular messaging platforms, including Facebook Messenger, Slack, and Telegram, among others.
• Tars: Tars is a drag-and-drop chatbot builder that allows users to create bots without any coding experience. The platform offers a free plan with limited features, as well as several paid plans with additional functionality.
• SendPulse: Marketing automation platform featuring a visual chatbot builder that allows to create a chatbot for one of the popular messengers: Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, Telegram, or Viber. There is also integration with ChatGPT so it is also an AI chatbot builder.
• ManyChat: ManyChat is a popular chatbot builder platform that specializes in Facebook Messenger bots. The platform offers a free plan with limited features, as well as several paid plans with more advanced capabilities.
• Flow XO: Flow XO is a platform that allows users to create chatbots for several messaging platforms, including Facebook Messenger, Slack, and Telegram. It offers a free plan with limited features, as well as several paid plans with additional functionality.
• ChatCompose: ChatCompose is a drag-and-drop chatbot builder that allows users to create Viber chatbots without any coding experience. The platform offers several pre-built templates and integrations with popular tools like Zapier and Google Sheets.
• Landbot.io: Landbot.io is a codeless chatbot builder that offers a visual interface for creating Viber bots. The platform uses a drag-and-drop interface and offers several pre-built templates to make bot creation easier.
• Botscrew: DIY chatbot builder platform that allows users to create chatbots for several messaging platforms, including Viber. The platform offers a visual interface for building bots and uses natural language processing (NLP) to make conversations more human-like.

Before making an investment, small businesses can go for a free chatbot builder platform and see how it goes. Some of the platforms even provide integrations with Open AI company that allows users to give instructions to their chatbots instead of writing premade responses.