Bojana Vojnović

Platforms

Industry News

<p>Today’s e-commerce market has to take the social aspect into consideration. That means leveraging social media as a tool. You’re probably already maintaining a social media presence and running social media ads. In this article, we will make a case for why you should also have an actual store on social media. We’re talking about Facebook Shops.</p>
<h2>What is Facebook Shops?</h2>
<p><a href="https://about.fb.com/news/2020/05/introducing-facebook-shops/">Facebook Shops</a> is a part of the Facebook platform. It’s a shopping interface that a business can set up and link to their business pages. It can be a single online store for both Facebook and Instagram. Brands choose the products and customize their shop with a cover image and accent colors. This means any seller can bring their business online and connect with customers wherever and whenever it’s convenient for them.</p>
<p>People who are already socializing with friends and keeping up with businesses on Facebook will be able to find your shop easily. Your business page will have a link, and you can run ads that lead to it, too. Some businesses can even offer a native buying experience, so users can enjoy shopping on Facebook and then check out without leaving the site or app. Users can also bookmark favorite items and message the business directly through Messenger if they have questions.</p>
<h2>Top reasons to sell on Facebook marketplace</h2>
<h3>1. Global audience</h3>
<p>Facebook has 2.7 billion monthly active users worldwide. If your business has a presence on this platform, you’ve access to a vast audience. Statistics show that people want to connect with brands on social media. <a href="https://www.kleinerperkins.com/perspectives/internet-trends-report-2018">78% of US consumers</a> say they’ve discovered products on Facebook. And there’s now a dedicated marketplace tab on Facebook. Users can browse products by category or search for a specific shop. They’ll also be able to access your shop through the prominent View on Website button on your business’s Facebook page. This sets the stage for your business to benefit from the shopping development on Facebook.</p>
<h3>2. No monthly fee</h3>
<p>Even though there are no initiation or monthly fees, some payments associated with being a merchant on this platform occur. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/business/help/223030991929920?id=533228987210412">Facebook takes 5%</a> of all orders processed with their in-app checkout option (or $0.40 on items cost $8 or less). These fees include taxes and payment processing costs. Merchants don’t need to worry about manually paying for their Facebook shop since Facebook automatically deducts the fees.</p>
<h3>3. Easy to save time and sell more</h3>
<p>In an e-commerce shop, a Messenger chatbot plays the role of a sales associate. Set up a chatbot and equip it to answer common questions about your Facebook Shop’s products. It will automatically respond to every customer inquiry and give them information in a seamless, back-and-forth style. That means prospective buyers will no longer fall through the cracks because you were too busy manually responding to messages. And after answering the user’s question, your chatbot can even cross-sell and upsell additional products related to the one the customer showed interest in.</p>
<h2>How to set up a Facebook marketplace automation</h2>
<p>Setting up a Facebook Shop is simple to do but can be a game-changer for the success of your new or well-established brand. As long as you’re an admin of your page in Business Manager and have permissions to manage the page and its catalog, you can set up a Facebook Shop in minutes. If you already have an e-commerce store set up on Shopify, you can create a Shopify Facebook store. That way, you’ll be able to continue selling on your original site and attract business from Facebook. Follow <a href="https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/online-sales-channels/facebook/facebook-shop/setup">Shopify’s instructions for linking</a>.</p>
<p>If you’re starting your e-commerce store from scratch on Facebook, follow these instructions to set up a Facebook shop:</p>
<p><strong>Step 1.</strong> Start at Facebook’s <a href="https://www.facebook.com/micro_site/url/?click_from_context_menu=true&country=US&destination=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fcommerce_manager%2Fonboarding_landing&event_type=click&last_nav_impression_id=0SUqiKhNw3znG8uzM&max_percent_page_viewed=100&max_viewport_height_px=713&max_viewport_width_px=1343&orig_http_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F&orig_request_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fbusiness%2Fhelp%2F268860861184453&primary_cmsid=268860861184453&primary_content_locale=en_US&region=noam&scrolled=true&session_id=10OlnbYqweCi1WIpp&site=fb4b&extra_data%5Bview_type%5D=v3_initial_view&extra_data%5Bsite_section%5D=help&extra_data%5Bplacement%5D=%2Fbusiness%2Fhelp%2F268860861184453">Create Your Shop page</a> and click <strong>Next.</strong></p>
<figure><img alt="How to set up a Facebook shop automation" src="/cms/static/blog/62580ebbc996a8156af20606_b70c1bd150b18597c302f82b0499e43613aa218c9c30c3b037f1fd6e5869083a45ca9b63b0c7ac485610986debb33063e6368534ffa78c643107f2a173f20afcc23bccbddb31ca6bddbe5ca41fbbe0c9c1714442733fce40ae07b74b0c36651afa53e121.png" height="1168" width="2080" blurDataURL="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAQAAAACCAIAAADwyuo0AAAACXBIWXMAAAsTAAALEwEAmpwYAAAAI0lEQVR4nGN4++6dqKgoNw/PnLlzGb59+9rR0bFt27bW9i4AoFcNM+arjoEAAAAASUVORK5CYII=" placeholder="blur"></figure>
<p><strong>Step 2.</strong> Choose a checkout method. We recommend the <em>Checkout with Messaging</em> option, so you can enable tools like Chatfuel to help you sell more. Then click Next.</p>
<figure><img alt="How to set up a Facebook shop automation" src="/cms/static/blog/62580ebbdf20ab28560cccd7_5ec6d99d04be6eb60088940f019c21fbd8b7d09b150e6be71fd3b8ac4179d095bd4fc235bdd0abede03247efd00a211bf3e38d53c2c2550b96ddb17062eb73be68bb4f6d8973581d6d520361e7eda02eb178ab7f6ba7d041cb74c1f1512f6f90620481e8.png" height="1168" width="2080" blurDataURL="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAQAAAACCAIAAADwyuo0AAAACXBIWXMAAAsTAAALEwEAmpwYAAAAI0lEQVR4nGPYd+DAqlWr3NzchEVFGJ4/fzFlynT/gABbW1sAo+MLZujuNXoAAAAASUVORK5CYII=" placeholder="blur"></figure>
<ol>
<li>Select your business from the list or start a new one. Click Next.</li>
<li>Select existing products in the Add Products section, or add a new catalog. Click Finish Setup.</li>
<li>Create a collection of up to 30 products.</li>
<li>Customize the colors and other visual settings of your shop.</li>
<li>Publish your shop and wait for approval from Facebook.</li>
<li>Set up a Messenger chatbot to increase your sales and improve customer service.</li>
</ol>
<h2>Facebook marketplace and chatbots</h2>
<p>Facebook Shops lets you access a vast, engaged audience. They load faster than a mobile website, and you can make your shoppers' lives easier by enabling in-app checkout. Thanks to the prominent tab and buttons, shops efficiently market with Facebook ads, making organic discovery easy.</p>
<p>Integrating a Messenger chatbot helps Facebook Shops grow faster with conversational marketing. Setting up a chatbot for e-commerce to do all of the above on Facebook is easy. With Chatfuel, no coding experience is required. <a href="https://dashboard.chatfuel.com">Sign up</a> for your free account today to get a chatbot for e-commerce up and running in minutes.</p>

Top reasons to sell on Facebook marketplace and how to set up a Facebook shop automation with chatbot

How to automate your Facebook marketplace

Features

We talked to 8 Messenger experts to get their take on chatbot trends and the future of chatbots for marketing in 2021 and beyond.

8 Experts Predict the Future of Chatbots in 2021 and Beyond

Mary Rybakova

<p><em>Missed an episode of Chatfuel School—the podcast where we cover hot topics in the world of bot-building and marketing? Don’t worry; we took notes for you.<em>🤓</em>The topic for October 20, 2020 was Instagram expert Jenn Herman’s top tips to help businesses decode the Instagram algorithm. Here’s the full episode on how to use Instagram for business.<em>👇</em>Keep scrolling for a recap of what you missed.</em></p>
<figure><iframe allowfullscreen src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rJNxfbkCDOQ"></iframe></figure>
<p>If you’re new to social media marketing, or if you simply don’t have much time to spend on it, the word <em>algorithm</em> might send shivers up your spine. It might make social media platforms seem like complex, confusing tools for businesses. But in reality, you don’t need to understand every detail of how the algorithm works on a platform like Instagram to be successful marketing there. You really just need to know one key rule: <em>the Instagram algorithm looks out for and rewards content that engages users</em>.</p>
<p>That’s the main takeaway from <a href="https://www.jennstrends.com/">Instagram expert Jenn Herman</a>’s appearance on our marketing podcast (video above). Keep reading for our five-minute recap of her strategies on <em>how</em> to create this content that engages users, plus a handful of other simple, easy-to-implement Instagram marketing tips. By the end of it, you’ll have all her best advice on how to make the Instagram algorithm work for your business.</p>
<p>👉<strong>BONUS:</strong> After that, we’ll talk about how new <a href="https://chatfuel.com/instagram">messaging tools for Instagram</a> are coming soon, and what Jenn and other marketing experts have to say about how those will make business success on Instagram <em>even easier</em>.</p>
<h2>How to show up in Instagram search results</h2>
<p>Jenn’s first tip for marketing on Instagram is a tweak you can make to your Instagram profile in seconds: changing your profile name (and possibly your handle as well). She shares that Instagram search only looks at your name field and your username/handle for keywords, not the rest of your bio. “So if you want to be found for a keyword, or something specifically relevant to your business, your brand, your niche, your solution, or your product, those words need to be in both the name and username,” she explains.</p>
<p>Take a look at Jenn’s own Instagram bio to see this tip in action. “If someone goes to Instagram and looks for my business name, my personal name, or an Instagram expert, they’re going to find me in search,” Jenn says.</p>
<figure><img src="/cms/static/blog/60afa6a88bd1bb7d60deacd6_Instagram search results_instagram bio to find in search.png" loading="lazy" alt="Instagram search results" height="712" width="2068" blurDataURL="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAQAAAABCAIAAAB2XpiaAAAACXBIWXMAABYlAAAWJQFJUiTwAAAAFUlEQVR4nGNIS0kSEhL09vR48+IFABhpBPqLE4E8AAAAAElFTkSuQmCC" placeholder="blur"></figure>
<p>So don’t waste time stuffing your bio full of keywords and hashtags; they won’t make a difference in Instagram search. Instead, use that space to explain what your business does and why prospects should choose you. Save the keywords for your name field and handle.</p>
<h2>What type of images to post on Instagram</h2>
<p>Now that you’ve got a search-optimized Instagram business account, what should you be posting to it? Jenn reminds us that your main goal in posting content to your Instagram feed should be to stop people mid-scroll—even if it’s no more than a temporary slowing of their pace. Instagram counts both of these as positives algorithmically. So Jenn’s number-one rule for what content to upload to Instagram is: <strong>Don’t post busy images</strong>.</p>
<p>“Have simple backgrounds, clear focal points, or a pop of color that draws attention to a specific place,” advises Jenn. Otherwise, users won’t stop to look at your content. “When they see a busy photo,” she continues, “their eyes can’t focus, and they’re most likely going to keep on scrolling. But if there’s a clear focal point, they’re more likely to slow down and pay attention.” And Instagram will reward that slowing down, stopping, and/or double-tapping with more visibility for your content overall.</p>
<p>You can see a clear example of this principle in the images below. 🍦The photo on the left is busy. There’s a lot going on in the background and too many possible points of focus. But the one on the right is crisp, clear, and immediately shows the eye where to go, making it a better choice for posting to an Instagram account.</p>
<figure><img src="/cms/static/blog/60afa6a88bd1bb06e3deacd7_What type of images to post on Instagram.png" loading="lazy" alt="Images to post on Instagram" height="1300" width="2000" blurDataURL="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAQAAAADCAIAAAA7ljmRAAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAMElEQVR4nGMoKs6dNL2zkEHFl4GfISc60ElfOYCBIYCBgeH/r2/nDuz+v2Pzv1XLAPziEDJ2zrJPAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC" placeholder="blur"><figcaption>The photo on the right is the better choice for posting to Instagram because it's not too busy and has a clear focal point.</figcaption></figure>
<p>Jenn adds that, if you’re going to use text in your images, keep it minimal. A few words is okay, but any more than that and your Instagram followers won’t take the time to stop and read. If you have more words to share than what can be read on an image at a glance, put them in the caption instead.</p>
<h2>When to post to Instagram</h2>
<p>Should brands on Instagram aim to post seven days a week? Definitely not, according to Jenn. “Posting every single day to your Instagram feed is too much,” she tells us. “When you post every day, you’re actually making your content compete with itself.” Why? Because your business’s average follower doesn’t open the Instagram app every day.</p>
<p>So let’s say you post an image every day starting on Sunday, but one of your Instagram followers doesn’t log in until Friday. In this case, the Instagram algorithm’s not going to show that user all six of your posts. It’s going to choose one or two it thinks are most important, and not display the rest in their feed. As a result, your followers may miss important information from you, and your images will all receive lower reach than if you had just posted twice.</p>
<p>So how often <em>should</em> you post to Instagram? “Three to five times a week is usually enough for most businesses,” Jenn explains. However, she shares that she only posts to @jenns_trends twice a mont. “If I don’t have high-quality content that’s relevant to my audience,” says Jenn, “I’m not posting to the feed.” And that’s the bottom line of marketing with Instagram: Post when you have something to say—something valuable or entertaining or otherwise useful for your followers. Don’t burn yourself out trying to post more than that for your Instagram marketing strategy just because you think you’re supposed to.</p>
<blockquote>
<p><em>“[Posting to Instagram] three to five times a week is usually enough for most businesses.”</em> –Jenn Herman, Instagram expert</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>How to design captivating Instagram Stories</h2>
<p>Now you know what kind of content to post to your Instagram feed and when—but what about Instagram Stories? These pieces of content only stay visible on your profile for 24 hours (unless you <a href="https://www.facebook.com/help/instagram/813938898787367">add them to your highlights</a>), so there’s a bit less pressure to create something picture-perfect. (Think of the photos and videos you post to your feed as your stage performance, and Stories as the behind-the-scenes peek.) Instead, Jenn recommends focusing on generating active engagement there. And what’s the best way to get audiences to engage with your Stories? According to Jenn: <a href="https://help.instagram.com/151273688993748"><strong>stickers</strong></a>.</p>
<p>There are lots of different types of stickers you can add to your Instagram Stories. Jenn recommends the ones that get viewers to tap right on your Story to engage with it, like polls, questions, and quizzes. It could be a simple question (<em>Are you decorating for the holidays?</em> is one example Jenn gives), or a quiz that teachers users something. Whatever you choose, your goal is to “get people to interact,” says Jenn. “That drives engagement, and engagement keeps your content ranking higher.”</p>
<figure><img src="/cms/static/blog/60afa6a88bd1bb6b1edeacd8_How to design captivating Instagram Stories.png" loading="lazy" alt="" height="788" width="940" blurDataURL="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAQAAAADCAIAAAA7ljmRAAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAL0lEQVR4nGOQVLNiEdd2sLP19PRkUNSy5JNU5+VgV1NVZXj77tPHz980VZRtrS0BnZkKfA1cibsAAAAASUVORK5CYII=" placeholder="blur"><figcaption>Examples of two Instagram Stories that use stickers (poll on the left, quiz on the right) to generate user engagement.</figcaption></figure>
<p>And to help get your Stories seen by more people, Jenn urges brands on Instagram to use hashtags in them. She recommends adding the hashtag sticker with one broad or general hashtag (like an industry, topic, or geographical area: #science, #socialmedia, #sandiego, for example). “Stories are only available for 24 hours, so the chances that someone’s looking for something super niche-specific in that time frame: not likely,” explains Jenn. “You have a greater chance of showing up in those search results with a broader hashtag,” she says, despite the fact that there’s generally more competition for those.</p>
<h2>The next big thing for brands on Instagram</h2>
<p>In case you haven’t heard, <a href="https://developers.facebook.com/blog/post/2020/10/19/messenger-api-to-support-Instagram/">Facebook announced</a> in October 2020 that it’s about to get a lot easier for brands to have one-on-one conversations with prospects and customers at scale, via Instagram messaging. Here at Chatfuel, we’re building tools to make this new functionality as powerful and easy-to-use as possible, so you can <a href="https://chatfuel.com/instagram">automate Instagram messaging</a> for your business. Here’s what Jenn has to say about this exciting new development in Instagram marketing:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“I’m excited! We’ve known this was an eventual end goal, and it’s good to see this coming to fruition. I look forward to seeing how more businesses can be creative and unique with their use of automated messaging to better serve their customers, build their audiences, and drive sales. From simple customer service needs to contests and more, this is going to open so much more opportunity for businesses on Instagram. If you’re not yet familiar with Messenger marketing and chatbots, now is a good time to do some research, find the <a href="https://chatfuel.com">experts in the industry</a> to help you learn, and to ultimately start experimenting with these features.”</p>
<p>“I look forward to seeing how more businesses can be creative and unique with their use of automated messaging to better serve their customers, build their audiences, and drive sales.” –Jenn Herman, Instagram expert</p>
</blockquote>
<p>We also chatted with <a href="https://www.marismith.com/">social media marketing expert <strong>Mari Smith</strong></a> to get her take on this news. “The ability to reach your audience—whether B2B or B2C—in the inbox of their choice is phenomenal.” More from Mari:</p>
<figure><iframe allowfullscreen src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3OjJL3ZsdYk"></iframe></figure>
<p>Agency owner Harry Bankov of <a href="https://www.marketingharry.com/">Brave Social Media Marketing</a> also shared some exciting ideas about how this development will change the future of the industry:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“This update will allow social media marketing professionals such as myself to bring the ‘social’ element back to social media: Creating stronger relationships with our existing community, streamlining our onboarding processes for clients, and expanding our online communities. I’m grateful for this amazing opportunity, as it has the potential to change Instagram.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>And finally, digital marketing expert Amanda Robinson of <a href="https://thedigitalgal.com/">The Digital Gal</a> gives more context on the Instagram automation announcement, and how it’ll help businesses to “expand the user experience and have better conversations when it comes to <a href="https://chatfuel.com/blog/chatbot-for-customer-service">customer service,</a> business transactions, and shopping.” 👇</p>
<figure><iframe allowfullscreen src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jxH9NbYYdnE"></iframe></figure>
<h2>Instagram made easy</h2>
<p>Thanks to Jenn’s expert tips and the coming of automation tools for Instagram messaging, it’s never been easier to level up your business’s Instagram presence. Don’t forget to sign up to <a href="https://chatfuel.com/instagram">get notified when we launch</a> our Instagram automation tools. Until then, learn how to <a href="https://chatfuel.com/blog/use-instagram-ads-to-bring-users-to-your-dms-or-your-messenger-bot">set up ads to bring Instagram users to your DMs</a> or Facebook bot.</p>
<p>To <a href="https://chatfuel.com/blog/top-9-reasons-your-business-needs-a-chatbot">start automating conversations</a> with prospects and customers on Facebook Messenger today, <a href="https://dashboard.chatfuel.com">sign up for a free Chatfuel account</a>. Interested in more digital marketing content like this? <a href="https://www.youtube.com/chatfuel">Subscribe to our YouTube channel</a> to get notified when we drop more videos.</p>

Get this Instagram expert's top tips to help your businesses decode the Instagram algorithm. Plus, new messaging tools are coming soon.

The 5-Minute Guide to Mastering the Instagram Algorithm

<p>Today, more <a href="https://chatfuel.com/blog/top-9-reasons-your-business-needs-a-chatbot">businesses are using chatbots</a> than ever. The market was already worth $2.6 billion in 2019, and it’s expected to reach <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/global-chatbot-market-anticipated-to-reach-9-4-billion-by-2024-robust-opportunities-to-arise-in-retail-ecommerce-1028759508">$9.4 billion by 2024</a>. At first, chatbots could answer only the most basic questions asked by users. But the development of AI and the <a href="https://youtu.be/HX-zA-DkPaU">improvement of chatbot-building software</a> now enables them to answer more complex questions and provide a high-quality customer experience.</p>
<p>In addition to <a href="https://chatfuel.com/blog/chatbot-for-customer-service">answering FAQs</a>, chatbots can now also automate lead generation, sell products, gather feedback, and more. To get a clearer picture of how chatbots are used by businesses today, we analyzed data from over 41,000 brands that currently use them. Here are the key takeaways, and what each one means for chatbot adoption in 2021 and beyond.</p>
<figure><iframe allowfullscreen src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/A499Eeq9Lq8?start=1"></iframe></figure>
<h2>#1. The US is still the leader in chatbot adoption. 📈</h2>
<p>Over 70% of brands that use chatbots are based in one of the nine countries shown on the graph below. As you can see, the United States is home to the majority of brands that use chatbots (65%). The US also had the second-fastest growth rate in chatbot adoption between 2018–2020. This upward trend strongly suggests that consumers are responding well to chatbots, and that these bots are positively impacting the bottom line of adoptive companies. Other data also supports this: Research from Salesforce shows that half of all Americans engage with a chatbot <a href="https://www.salesforce.com/blog/chatbot-statistics/">at least once a week</a>.</p>
<figure><img src="/cms/static/blog/60afa6a88bd1bb86bfdeacc7_4qzjwomfnkw492rY7dJDYv3jmraxytohKrOlxe66PnE_Z0e2oF1WhLVBPtcqn54Yeo45y1JyTuKbwr53cvbwlW2m745COGySGsnZqTPKaznLOMASXjzJeQUqrkbmeShMb4GnQn85.png" alt="" height="548" width="829" blurDataURL="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAQAAAADCAIAAAA7ljmRAAAACXBIWXMAAAsTAAALEwEAmpwYAAAALElEQVR4nGOwcXIxMrXw8PCub2hiYJSWOnr69H8wYNCwstK3t5s8c+a169cBKL0R2oijahoAAAAASUVORK5CYII=" placeholder="blur"><figcaption>The United States has a higher percentage of brands using chatbots than any other country.</figcaption></figure>
<p>But it’s not just the United States that’s experiencing growth in chatbot adoption. European countries also continue to trend upward in bot usage. Every European country listed in the top nine experienced growth in this area between 2018 and 2020. In particular, Germany experienced the fastest growth of the countries in the study, with an increase of chatbot usage by 1.44% per 1,000 people. Consumer surveys across Europe reflect similar results, with about <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chatbots-are-gaining-traction-2017-5">50% of European consumers</a> reporting that they view chatbots as a positive addition to business and customer service.</p>
<p>Of all the countries in the top nine, India and Australia were the only ones that experienced a slight decline in chatbot usage. However, the decrease was only by a small percentage, it may well be a result of the general economic decline caused by COVID-19.</p>
<figure><img src="/cms/static/blog/60afa6a88bd1bb917cdeacc8_ROmTVo1bS4HVhXNpFQS3RclQORRWnzbdHvjqnJ8BrZ0ww8rHCjgsUVy5yPwkPNvVCeXil9momiVsy8EU4Hb48WkuqqT9MAYhtL3Sk0u8PR1fixNfG-4_Vw9sdBhau7MJFioDaKV_.jpeg" alt="" height="934" width="1576" blurDataURL="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAQAAAACCAIAAADwyuo0AAAACXBIWXMAAAsTAAALEwEAmpwYAAAAJUlEQVR4nAEaAOX/AEF/ncHExbq7vP3+/wAAFTrDyMqztbjX2tvKExAjPl2InAAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==" placeholder="blur"><figcaption><em>2018 data credited to </em><a href="https://www.goboomtown.com/blog/chatbot-statistics-study" target="_blank"><em>Boomtown</em></a></figcaption></figure>
<p>‍</p>
<h3>🔮 <strong>What this means for the future:</strong> Chatbots are versatile tools that are becoming popular with consumers in major markets around the world</h3>
<p>‍</p>
<h2>#2. Chatbots are becoming more popular for B2C companies. 🛍️</h2>
<p>Chatbots have become increasingly popular for B2C companies in recent years. In 2020, about 60% of brands using chatbots are B2C brands—and data shows that B2C consumers are embracing the technology. For example: A study by Hubspot found that <a href="https://blog.hubspot.com/news-trends/artificial-intelligence-is-here">47% of consumers</a> say they’d be open to making a purchase through a bot.</p>
<figure><img src="/cms/static/blog/60afa6a88bd1bb979ddeacc9_-7rm1XCJJSLPhYYC4pITS6ig_bhS-WHZ5RGyV5tV4cTOjrnmZ4WFIj_W10RU3gwPZd3dCV4NI-qA6lMCo1_TEXHuHqIhILIbusGeD05As_OmnpAFo4uNvh__G9Bf--Wgi8qk6APp.png" alt="" height="529" width="834" blurDataURL="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAQAAAADCAIAAAA7ljmRAAAACXBIWXMAAAsTAAALEwEAmpwYAAAAKElEQVR4nGP4/////YfPHj9//f//fwYQ5tAJnjITyknOa+2YswrIAQA+Ehwib7K2SgAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==" placeholder="blur"><figcaption>Over half of brands now using chatbots are B2C.</figcaption></figure>
<p>One B2C industry in which bots have become increasingly popular is <a href="https://chatfuel.com/blog/chatbots-for-banking-finance-business">banking</a>. A 2018 survey found that <a href="https://www.emarketer.com/content/chatbots-in-u-s-banking">43% of respondents</a> prefer to address any issue they may have with their bank through a chatbot. This willingness to turn to bots is projected to save banks <a href="https://www.juniperresearch.com/press/press-releases/chatbots-a-game-changer-for-banking-healthcare">up to $8 billion annually</a> by 2022.</p>
<p><a href="https://chatfuel.com/blog/9-reasons-your-ecommerce-business-needs-a-chatbot">Ecommerce</a> is another sector where chatbots are exploding in popularity. One widely cited major brand that adopted bot technology early was Sephora. They built a chatbot to assist with marketing and sales, and it’s been highly successful. Users who begin a chat with the Sephora bot average about <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/case-study-sephoras-adoption-chatbots-anupama-mishra/">10 messages per day</a>. The bot gives makeup advice, shares how-to videos, and even allows consumers to book appointments for in-store services.</p>
<figure><img src="/cms/static/blog/60afa6a88bd1bb06f5deacca_iPhone_11.png" alt="" height="667" width="932" blurDataURL="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAQAAAADCAIAAAA7ljmRAAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAMElEQVR4nGNwcHCwsrISFBTq6upiuH7j5uYt27dv3/b15wcGDw9PZnZuSQmxhMRYAC78DzzxUT5AAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC" placeholder="blur"><figcaption>The Sephora chatbot helps users find the products they're looking for, and provides advice on how to use them. Source: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/case-study-sephoras-adoption-chatbots-anupama-mishra/" target="_blank">LinkedIn case study</a>.</figcaption></figure>
<h3>💡For more ecommerce chatbot examples, check out the stories of how</h3>
<ul>
<li>a whisky brand used a bot <a href="https://chatfuel.com/blog/whisky-brand-triples-conversion-rates-with-gift-recommendation-chatbot">to triple online conversion rates</a></li>
<li>an agency got a <a href="https://chatfuel.com/blog/agency-gets-999-roas-for-ecommerce-client-using-messenger-bot">999% return on ad spend</a> for their car accessories client</li>
<li>a furniture brand uses a bot to generate <a href="https://chatfuel.com/blog/decen-baby-brand-generates-80-of-total-sales-with-messenger-bot">80% of their sales</a></li>
</ul>
<p>However, just because B2C brands are now overtaking B2B brands in chatbot adoption doesn’t mean that B2B brands no longer use bots. About 40% of the 41,000 brands in our analysis that use chatbots are B2B. It’s more likely that the growth rate of chatbot usage in B2C brands has surpassed that of B2B brands, rather than bot adoption declining for B2B.</p>
<p>There are also plenty of interesting case studies detailing how B2B brands use chatbots. Hubspot is one great example of a B2B company using bots to drive sales and <a href="https://chatfuel.com/blog/marketing-agency-uses-messenger-bots-to-deliver-high-quality-leads-for-clients">increase lead volume</a>. Their bot finds out where users are in the funnel, and then sends them to a free tool to solve whatever issue they’re facing. This tactic adds value, increases brand authority and trust, and can actually upsell the user from the free plan to a paid plan. The best part: It’s all done by the bot on autopilot—no human intervention required.</p>
<figure><img src="/cms/static/blog/60afa6a88bd1bb3875deaccb_iPhone_11_29.png" alt="" height="689" width="928" blurDataURL="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAQAAAADCAIAAAA7ljmRAAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAMklEQVR4nAEnANj/AEhHSUZFSwwDAB0bGQC1srOSkJfLycj07+8Ao6Gir7GvkoiGrqekI3wSnlfUDoUAAAAASUVORK5CYII=" placeholder="blur"><figcaption>The Hubspot chatbot provides users with free tools, and offers upsells to paid tools.</figcaption></figure>
<p>‍</p>
<h3>🔮 <strong>What this means for the future:</strong> Chatbots clearly provide both B2B and B2C companies with plenty of opportunities to engage customers, automate support, increase sales and more. Expect to see even more brands of both types adopting bots in 2021</h3>
<p>‍</p>
<h2>#3. IT software is the leading industry for chatbot adoption. 💻</h2>
<p>While chatbots are being adopted by businesses across more and more industries, 38.9% of bot-using brands in our analysis are part of the IT software and services sector. It may seem unsurprising, since businesses in this industry are obviously tech-savvy. But in fact, technological know-how is no longer a requirement for building effective chatbots. <a href="https://chatfuel.com">No-code software like Chatfuel</a> empowers anyone to build a bot—no coding knowledge or experience necessary.</p>
<figure><img src="/cms/static/blog/60afa6a88bd1bb42c3deaccc_9YVq8nPCmHAfvVMhNpHInkqyItS21GvDrMBADsWBxSy-MzuwupTjSq2vZ4MC-vqnINEAzhspQniwJ7gWJmKHBXqhQ87xYoKMCFHvXeSQBuEiBmfj9m0m4faRyB67teCUfPYZkvFM.png" alt="" height="555" width="831" blurDataURL="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAQAAAADCAIAAAA7ljmRAAAACXBIWXMAAAsTAAALEwEAmpwYAAAAMklEQVR4nAEnANj/AIOQkISFiZKRldjY2QAAIB1WdnLz9/bt7+8AgJSTLUlIhpSTxMrJkHgVBnhlsyAAAAAASUVORK5CYII=" placeholder="blur"><figcaption>The IT software and services industry has more businesses using chatbots than any other sector.</figcaption></figure>
<p>At almost 25%, the <em>Other</em> category is the second largest in our findings, which indicates that chatbots are being adopted across a range of industries. The <em>Consumer Goods</em> category was the third-largest chatbot adopter at 10.4%, followed by <em>Professional Services</em> (8.6%), <em>Consumer Discretionary</em> (5.4%), <em>Media</em> (4.6%), <a href="https://chatfuel.com/blog/chatbots-for-restaurants"><em>Restaurants</em></a><em>and</em><a href="https://chatfuel.com/blog/messenger-chatbot-to-help-hotels-through-covid-19"><em>Hotels</em></a> (3.98%), and  Healthcare (3.52%).</p>
<p>‍</p>
<h3>🔮 <strong>What this means for the future:</strong> The industries in which chatbots are used will continue to diversify because of how easy it has become to build effective, fully functional bots</h3>
<p>‍</p>
<h2>#4. Smaller companies are more likely to use chatbots. 👔</h2>
<p>Chatbots are actually the most popular among companies with between one and 10 employees. This may be because a smaller company has to find innovative ways to handle customer service and sales leads with fewer resources.</p>
<h3>💡To learn more about how chatbots can help companies save time and resources, check out these case studies</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://chatfuel.com/blog/emergency-chatbot-helps-nonprofit">A nonprofit chatbot</a> saves the organization hours of time each week 💙</li>
<li><a href="https://chatfuel.com/blog/ecommerce-entrepreneur-uses-chatfuel-bot-to-automate-over-100-000-in-sales">An ecommerce chatbot</a> continues to bring in revenue on autopilot, even when the business owner is on vacation 🏝️</li>
<li>A <a href="https://chatfuel.com/blog/cut-operational-costs-with-messenger-bot">lead qualification chatbot</a> enabled this call center business to save over $25,000/month in operational costs ✂️</li>
</ul>
<p>That doesn’t mean large companies aren’t interested in jumping on the bot bandwagon, however. A Gartner study predicts that by 2021, <a href="https://www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/gartner-top-strategic-predictions-for-2018-and-beyond/">over 50% of enterprise companies</a> (like Google, IBM, and Facebook) will spend more money each year on chatbots than mobile apps.</p>
<figure><img src="/cms/static/blog/60afa6a88bd1bb2bb5deaccd_Zt1Tl3kg8mzufvaxfwevTkm1Nliduc9_mNwo5kclx60vTFk5B7M6CvZJLi0uWkP8g1x0NOyz8bMT8nSe8R2XB0EFPa6BUqD-L2TiJGaNbpZp-qrsSHh0LWCt-BM6zAdA3qZJDuid.png" alt="" height="550" width="833" blurDataURL="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAQAAAADCAIAAAA7ljmRAAAACXBIWXMAAAsTAAALEwEAmpwYAAAAMklEQVR4nAEnANj/AGlwc4SFiYSFiZ2eoAAFMTB2joz////8/f0AU21sAB4cwcjH9fX1djoUyg67UlEAAAAASUVORK5CYII=" placeholder="blur"><figcaption>Small brands (with between one and 10 employees) are more likely to use chatbots.</figcaption></figure>
<p>‍</p>
<h3>🔮 <strong>What this means for the future:</strong> While chatbots can benefit businesses of all sizes, they’ll continue to be especially useful tools for entrepreneurs and smaller businesses, since the technology is cost-effective and accessible to anyone</h3>
<p>‍</p>
<h2>Just how effective are bots for brands and their customers?</h2>
<p>Businesses are adopting chatbots at ever-increasing rates—but what do their customers think? Are bots actually helpful and effective? Can they provide positive results for both the users and the businesses? The answer is yes. Take a look at these telling stats:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://outgrow.co/blog/vital-chatbot-statistics?source=aw&awc=19531_1605815058_2fdd9f02433a833ae3671064d95622c7">56% of consumers</a> already say they’d prefer to message a business rather than call customer support. And as more brands start building high-quality bots, this number will only increase.</li>
<li>The average open rate for email is <a href="https://mailchimp.com/resources/email-marketing-benchmarks/">around 21%</a>. The average open rate for chatbot messages on Messenger is <a href="https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/facebook-messenger-marketing-experiments">close to 80%</a>. That means messages brands send via bot are getting seen.</li>
<li>Retention for chatbot users is between 30-50%, based on this data we analyzed from 41,000 bot-using brands. That means at least half of bot users come back for more.</li>
</ul>
<p>Chatbots are growing in popularity among consumers, and brands are seeing the benefits. As a result, we can all expect the chatbot market to continue its rapid growth into 2021 and beyond.</p>
<h2>Chatbots are here to stay</h2>
<p><a href="https://outgrow.co/blog/vital-chatbot-statistics?source=aw&awc=19531_1605815058_2fdd9f02433a833ae3671064d95622c7">56% of consumers</a> say they’d prefer to message a business rather than call customer support. And as more brands start building high-quality bots, this number will only increase. People are interested in interacting with chatbots. And since your brand can only benefit from a bot (save time, increase sales, automate processes), now’s the time to build one!</p>
<p>👉 To get started, <a href="https://dashboard.chatfuel.com"><strong>sign up for your free Chatfuel account</strong></a> today, then <a href="https://youtu.be/D4n6VLQHE5U">watch this three-minute video</a> to learn the basics. When you’re ready for unlimited users and priority support, <a href="https://chatfuel.com/pricing">upgrade to Pro</a>.</p>

We analyzed data from 41,000 brands that use chatbots to identify trends and predict the future of bots for business in 2021.

The Future of Chatbots for Business, Based on Data from 41,000 Companies

Angela Skowronek

Industries

<p>The digital marketing industry evolves fast. With every new development comes the opportunity to create even better results for your clients. So if you’re not on top of the trends—whether it’s a new social platform, another ad type, a cutting-edge technique or technology—you’ll lose customers to your competition.</p>
<p>That’s why we’re here to let you in on the next big thing in digital marketing: <strong>chatbots</strong>. Facebook Messenger chatbots, to be exact. They’re helping businesses of all sizes, across industries, to automate customer support, lead generation, sales, and more. Here’s why your <a href="https://try.chatfuel.com/agency">marketing agency</a> should offer chatbots as a service to your clients. (Hint: It’s a win-win for you and them. 😉)</p>
<h2>#1. Conversational marketing is the future</h2>
<p>Here’s why:</p>
<h3>📱 Messaging is exploding in popularity, especially on Facebook</h3>
<p>First, consider the fact that Facebook Messenger was the <a href="https://www.visualcapitalist.com/ranked-most-downloaded-apps/">third-most downloaded app</a> last year, and continues to top charts in 2020. Billions of consumer are already spending time on this app, so it makes sense to meet them where they are. Messenger chatbots are a scalable, automated way for businesses to do this.</p>
<h3>💬 Customers expect businesses to be available on Messenger</h3>
<p>People <em>want</em> to talk to businesses on Facebook. <a href="https://chatbotslife.com/messenger-chatbots-the-stats-dont-lie-f8cd640152f1?gi=482c77f189b0#:~:text=63%25%20of%20consumers%20believe%20businesses%20should%20be%20on%20Messenger&text=Messenger%20is%20fast%20becoming%20the,should%20keep%20it%27s%20communication%20relevant.&text=By%20building%20a%20chatbot%20for,business%20and%20get%20immediate%20answers.">63% of consumers</a>believe businesses should be reachable on Messenger. What’s more: Over <a href="https://www.facebook.com/micro_site/url/?click_creative_path%5B0%5D=link&click_from_context_menu=true&country=US&destination=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fbusiness%2Furl%2F%3Fhref%3D%252Fiq%252Finsights-to-go%252Famong-people-surveyed-across-4-markets-who-message-businesses-over-61-say-messaging-is-the-easiest-most-convenient-way-to-contact-a-business%252F%253Fref%253Dfbiq_article_messaging_p2p%26cmsid%3D1800457766740211%26creative%3Dlink%26creative_detail%3Da04%26create_type%26destination_cms_id%26orig_http_referrer%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.google.com%252F%26search_session_id&event_type=click&last_nav_impression_id=0GAyNvOdPsgEJHreH&max_percent_page_viewed=40&max_viewport_height_px=930&max_viewport_width_px=1705&orig_http_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F&orig_request_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fbusiness%2Fnews%2Finsights%2F3-ways-messaging-is-transforming-the-path-to-purchase&primary_cmsid=1800457766740211&primary_content_locale=en_US&region=noam&scrolled=true&session_id=10JuUxdcemeT3gwZy&site=fb4b&extra_data%5Bview_type%5D=v3_initial_view&extra_data%5Bsite_section%5D=news&extra_data%5Bplacement%5D=%2Fbusiness%2Fnews%2Finsights%2F3-ways-messaging-is-transforming-the-path-to-purchase&extra_data%5Bcreative_detail%5D=a04">61% of them say</a> messaging is the most convenient way to connect with brands.</p>
<h3>🙋🏽‍♂️ Consumers are already using bots</h3>
<p>More than <a href="https://www.invespcro.com/blog/chatbots-customer-service/#:~:text=The%20use%20of%20chatbots%20in,a%20human%20agent%20by%202020.">67% of consumers</a> worldwide used a chatbot for customer support in the past year. The public is already getting comfortable with this technology—your agency and clients should too.</p>
<p>Facebook Messenger chatbots are only going to become more commonplace. They’re increasingly becoming the preferred way for customers to have personalized interactions with brands, and they’re a scalable solution for companies across industries. This technology isn’t going anywhere. Lean in to it now to put both your digital marketing agency and your clients ahead of the competition.</p>
<h2>#2. Chatbots are surprisingly easy to build</h2>
<p>We say “surprisingly” because people are often intimidated when they first hear of chatbot technology. To many, it sounds like a complicated and highly technical area that takes years of specialized experience. So allow us to be the ones to tell you first: <strong>ANYONE can build a Facebook Messenger chatbot</strong>.</p>
<p>When you use <a href="https://dashboard.chatfuel.com">a no-code platform like ours</a>, you don’t need developer skills or a tech background. In fact, the newest version of our interface makes bot building <em>even easier</em> than it was before. It’s a drag-and-drop platform that makes it easy for chatbot marketing agencies to create content elements, and get an overview to see how they should fit together. Chatbot building doesn’t get simpler than this, meaning everyone from business owners to marketers and social media managers can take advantage. Take a peek at how it works. ⬇️</p>
<figure><iframe allowfullscreen src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HX-zA-DkPaU"></iframe></figure>
<h2>#3. Chatbots are a scalable marketing solution for clients in most any industry</h2>
<p>From real estate and <a href="https://chatfuel.com/blog/cosmetic-startup-sells-250-000-per-month-with-chatfuel-bot">beauty</a> to sports and <a href="https://chatfuel.com/blog/how-a-bank-or-finance-business-can-benefit-from-a-chatbot">banking</a>, chatbots can benefit businesses in any industry. So no matter what sectors your clients are in, you can build a Facebook Messenger chatbot to help them streamline customer service, lead generation, sales, and more.</p>
<p>If your clients are concentrated in one or two key industries, even better. You can build a few chatbot frameworks that you can quickly customize for each new client. It’s exactly what the Tacobot marketing agency did.</p>
<p>👉 Tacobot gets business from companies in two main sectors: real estate and insurance. So their team decided to build four basic chatbot frameworks for clients in these niches. Each one helps generate high-quality, low-cost leads. One bot framework acts as a quoting tool for auto insurance, for example. It shares relevant information and then gathers the user’s contact details so that the company can follow up personally later. Learn more about <a href="https://chatfuel.com/blog/marketing-agency-uses-messenger-bots-to-win-high-intent-low-cost-leads-for-clients">Tacobot’s scalable model</a> for selling chatbot services.</p>
<figure><img src="/cms/static/blog/60afa6a88bd1bb2070deab48_Marketing-Agency-Uses-Messenger-Bots-to-Deliver-High-Quality-Leads-for-Clients_case-study.png" alt="" height="1231" width="1651" blurDataURL="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAQAAAADCAIAAAA7ljmRAAAACXBIWXMAABCcAAAQnAEmzTo0AAAAMklEQVR4nAEnANj/AAICAnt7e+/v78vN0QCOjo2Ojo3Ew8OkqKsAiIeHubm5y83OvsDFkQIWq4ByWBYAAAAASUVORK5CYII=" placeholder="blur"><figcaption>Tacobot is a Chatfuel Premium agency that produces high-quality results for clients at scale.</figcaption></figure>
<p>The benefit of selling chatbot services to clients in one specific niche is clear. It all starts with a few basic templates, which you can easily customize for countless other clients. The scalability of offering Messenger chatbot services is a major draw for marketing agencies. You can get better results for more clients with less time, money, and effort.</p>
<h2>#4. Chatbots can be a source of recurring revenue for your agency</h2>
<p>Facebook Messenger chatbots aren’t a set-and-forget tool. It’s important for you, the builder, to track their performance and adjust as needed over time. That’s one way you can earn recurring revenue from clients with bots (and delight them with excellent results, too!). Set up a package that includes bi-weekly or monthly check-ins and updates. (We recommend using Chatfuel’s built-in stats to help you keep track of each bot’s performance.)</p>
<p>Another way for a chatbot marketing agency to get recurring revenue is to offer AI as an add-on. Building an <a href="https://chatfuel.com/blog/how-to-build-smarter-bots-with-ai">artificial intelligence chatbot</a> isn’t as complicated as it sounds. But it does involve training the AI over time, which takes regular maintenance. (It’s another reason focusing on clients in a single niche is beneficial. That way, you can train a single AI that fits that industry and use it for multiple customers.) That means you can add that recurring fee to AI chatbot packages you offer your clients.</p>
<p>Chatfuel customer and AI expert Josh Barkin shares his tips on <a href="https://chatfuel.com/blog/pitch-chatbots-to-new-clients">how chatbot agencies can pitch</a> AI to clients. ⬇️ (Get more of Josh’s insights on AI chatbots.)</p>
<figure><iframe allowfullscreen src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/p9e4fTH-AC0"></iframe></figure>
<h2>#5. A chatbot can supercharge your Facebook ad campaigns</h2>
<p>If you already offer <a href="https://chatfuel.com/blog/how-to-create-messenger-ads-on-facebook">Facebook ads</a> services to your clients, a chatbot is an easy upsell. You can charge extra to integrate a bot into your client’s Facebook ads, and it’ll help you win them even better results. Just look at the return on ad spend (ROAS) Chatfuel Premium Agency GoSky AI achieved with a bot for <a href="https://chatfuel.com/blog/agency-gets-999-roas-for-ecommerce-client-using-messenger-bot">their ecommerce client</a>: <strong>999%</strong>!</p>
<figure><img src="/cms/static/blog/60afa6a88bd1bb5734deaaf0_Marketing-Agencies.png" alt="" height="505" width="2048" blurDataURL="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAQAAAABCAIAAAB2XpiaAAAACXBIWXMAAAsTAAALEwEAmpwYAAAAFUlEQVR4nGNQUFNZtHTl46fPMrNzASPxBkrGkAJUAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC" placeholder="blur"><figcaption>GoSky AI achieved a 999% return on ad spend for their ecommerce client using a chatbot.</figcaption></figure>
<p>They did it primarily with <a href="https://chatfuel.com/blog/how-to-create-ads-that-click-to-messenger">click-to-Messenger ads</a>, which direct users to a chatbot in Messenger when clicked. Here’s why this is <a href="https://www.sevenatoms.com/blog/facebook-messenger-ads-best-practices">such an effective tactic</a>:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://chatfuel.com/blog/use-instagram-ads-to-bring-users-to-your-dms-or-your-messenger-bot">These ads can be placed on Instagram</a> and Facebook, two of the most heavily trafficked social media platforms out there. That means you have the potential to reach billions of users worldwide with your client’s message.</li>
<li>The click-to-Messenger ad format is underutilized. You won’t have much competition in that sense, which means it’ll be a memorable new experience for most users.</li>
<li>Chatfuel offers a built-in ads tool to streamline this process. You’ll be able to manage and monitor click-to-Messenger ads and other types of chatbot ads all in one place. It makes it easier to manage your Facebook advertising campaigns, and easier to share results and data with your clients.</li>
</ul>
<figure><iframe allowfullscreen src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/v2F1uXt2AlQ"></iframe></figure>
<h2>#6. You can use chatbot-building software designed specifically for agency teams</h2>
<p>Finally, Chatfuel has a set of features specifically created to make life easier for marketing agencies. As we mentioned, our platform is already intuitive and user friendly. And when you sign up for our Premium Agency plan in particular, you’ll get <a href="https://docs.chatfuel.com/en/articles/3882031-an-overview-of-chatfuel-s-premium-agency-plan">extra perks designed just for businesses like yours</a>, such as:</p>
<h3>🏷️ A white-labeled dashboard</h3>
<p>It’s one centralized place where your team can access all the bots you’re working on. (That means no more keeping track of dozens of passwords or wasting time logging in and out of different projects all day.) You can invite your clients to this dashboard too, so they can check on the progress or analytics of their specific bot any time.</p>
<h3>👯 Synced Cloning</h3>
<p>This feature lets you sync edits from one master bot to others in a single click. It’s ideal if you’re using one bot template for multiple clients, or if you handle marketing for any multi-location businesses like franchises.</p>
<h3>🧾 Shared pricing</h3>
<p><a href="https://chatfuel.com/pricing">Chatfuel plans</a> are priced according to the number of chatbot users. As a Premium Agency client, you can buy a certain number of users in bulk, then distribute them as needed among the bots you manage. It involves just a single transaction for you, after which you can charge each client based on the users you’ve allocated for them.</p>
<h3>💡 Training and support resources</h3>
<p>First, we’ll run a custom onboarding session just for you and your team to get you acquainted with the platform. From there, we’ll invite you to join our exclusive agency Slack group where you can network, ask questions, and be the first to learn about new Chatfuel features. Finally, you’ll get priority support, which means answers in one business day or less.</p>
<p>…and lots more! To get additional information about how your marketing agency can use Chatfuel to grow, <a href="https://try.chatfuel.com/agency">book a demo</a> with our team.</p>
<h2>BONUS: Use a chatbot to get new clients for your agency</h2>
<p>What better way to advertise your chatbot agency’s new services than with a fully functional marketing bot? You can build a chatbot and <a href="https://chatfuel.com/blog/how-to-add-a-messenger-chatbot-to-your-website">embed it on your website</a> or connect it to your agency’s Facebook ads. Then, potential customers who chat with it will get to experience the magic for themselves. The bot can <a href="https://chatfuel.com/blog/chatbot-for-customer-service">answer FAQs</a> about your services, offer <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_93xjJ0dZaM">Live Chat</a> for those with more complex questions, and automatically gather lead information in the process.</p>
<p>Remember Tacobot, the client we mentioned above? Here’s a peek at how they use a chatbot to gain new clients. ⬇️</p>
<figure><img src="/cms/static/blog/60afa6a88bd1bbf0bddeab2b_Marketing-Agency-Uses-Messenger-Bots-to-Win-High-Intent--Low-Cost-Leads-for-Clients---4.png" alt="" height="788" width="940" blurDataURL="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAQAAAADCAIAAAA7ljmRAAAACXBIWXMAAAsSAAALEgHS3X78AAAAMklEQVR4nAEnANj/AJaXmIOHiwYHByMjJACdnp10eHnCw8Tw8fIAlJWUc3R0ysvL4+LiUZQUUe+p6s4AAAAASUVORK5CYII=" placeholder="blur"><figcaption>This Chatfuel Premium Agency uses a chatbot to get new clients.</figcaption></figure>
<h2>Marketing agency + Messenger chatbots = 💙</h2>
<p>Adding Messenger chatbots to the services your digital marketing agency offers is a smart move, especially <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HjA0MTMMXk">in times like these</a>. They’re easy to build, especially with no-code software like Chatfuel. They have the potential to bring you a new revenue stream, and to create even more impressive results for your clients. To learn more about Chatfuel’s Premium Agency program, the one tool your agency needs to get started with chatbot marketing, <a href="https://try.chatfuel.com/agency">book a demo</a> with us.</p>

Here's why your marketing agency should offer chatbots and conversational marketing as a service to your clients.

Marketing Agencies: Here Are 6 Reasons You Should Offer Chatbot Services

<p>A solid and consistent brand voice is a marketing aspect that often gets pushed to the bottom of the priority list of the priority list. But a clear and expressive brand voice brings trust to your brand, increases conversions and sales, gets social proof and word of mouth, and ensures high customer retention and loyalty.</p>
<p>It isn’t easy to create a brand voice when you’ve never done it before. So, we asked copywriter Leana Tajkov to share some tips. This article will demonstrate how to make a brand voice recognizable on different channels.</p>
<h2><strong>What brand voice is and how it works</strong></h2>
<p>Your brand’s voice is the recognizable, consistent style you use when communicating with your audience. It’s deeply integrated into everything your business does. It applies to your website, newsletters, social media, and a Messenger chatbot</p>
<p>Your brand voice is how you want people to view your company and how you want to make them feel using language tools:</p>
<ul>
<li>word choice;</li>
<li>spelling and punctuation;</li>
<li>emojis.</li>
</ul>
<p>Brand voice <a href="https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/joinma/v41y2018icp60-80.html">directly influences</a> customers behavior, so let’s learn how to build it correctly.</p>
<h2><strong>Five steps to craft a brand voice that converts</strong></h2>
<p>Be ready to answer the questions you possibly didn’t ask yourself before. So, take time to work out the brand voice and involve your colleagues.</p>
<h3>Define your brand values</h3>
<p>Specify what’s important to you as a brand, and what you’re focused on providing for your customer. Analyze which behavior you support in your team, for what you spend more money and time no matter the business results, and why you define your product as better than others. Write answers to all questions—these are the brand mission and values.</p>
<p>If it’s hard to put the values into words, search for examples of values that exist. Here’s a list of the most popular values:</p>
<ul>
<li>high-quality product;</li>
<li>customer satisfaction;</li>
<li>sustainability;</li>
<li>originality;</li>
<li>honesty.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Define your brand personality</h3>
<p>Imagine how your brand would look and behave if it was a person—it’s called brand persona. It’s not an easy task when you do it for the first time, so ask your team members for help:</p>
<ol>
<li>Ask them to list a few adjectives that describe your brand persona. For example, motivational, trustworthy and sophisticated.</li>
<li>Then ask to explain how these adjectives are expressed in actions. For example, “Trustworthy means supporting all theses with statistics and research.”</li>
<li>Collect all the results and take the most popular ones.</li>
</ol>
<blockquote>
<p>“If you’re selling online business courses, you want to make the person confident that they can transform into a business owner. So your brand persona should be empowering, inspiring, and reliable.</p>
<p>If you’re selling science toys for children, you want to make the purchasing parent feel like they’re making a good investment in their child’s future. So your brand personality should be intelligent and aspirational for the parents, yet approachable and fun for the kids”, says Leana.</p>
</blockquote>
<h3>Define your target audience</h3>
<p>You should speak your customers’ language to reach the business goals. To do this, create a portrait of your customers.</p>
<p>Not to be mistaken, brands with a gross budget can run market research, launch A/B tests, and speak directly to focus groups. If you’re not on this level yet, go to social media and read comments on your posts. Look who’s following you and who buys your competitors’ products to know:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Your customers’ pains:</strong> problems that they can’t solve, but your product can help them.</li>
<li><strong>Their preferences:</strong> what they watch, read and listen to in their free time.</li>
<li><strong>Demographic characteristics:</strong> what age group they are, which field they work in, do they have children or not.</li>
</ul>
<p>“A bicycle company selling racing bikes would have a different brand voice than one selling beach cruisers. The target audience for the first brand is experienced athletes. The target audience for the second might be families who want to get exercise and fresh air together for fun.</p>
<p>An e-commerce business that sells orthopedic walking shoes won’t get very far if they speak in memes, puns, and pop-culture references. That kind of voice wouldn’t resonate with their target audience and sound reliable in health sphere. However, it might work perfectly for a brand that sells bright sneakers for skateboarding”, says Leana.</p>
<h3>Create a style guide</h3>
<p>It’s a document fixing the results of previous steps. You’ll give it to team members who communicate with clients and create content. Then, you offer hypotheses based on it. What to include in the guide:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Glossary.</strong> Collect a list of words commonly used in your industry and your brand. Decide how you’ll spell specific terms in all channels of communication. Rely on dictionaries, your customers’ habits, and Search Engine Optimization ranging—check how people spell the words in Google and take the most popular option. Or, if all options are correct, just choose the one all of you will use. For example, decide to write “e-commerce”, not “ecommerce” or “E-commerce”.</li>
<li><strong>Formatting rules.</strong> Beyond basic grammar, decide which stylistic elements your brand will follow. Include rules on how your copy should look in formatting and mechanics like punctuation, too. Regulate the number of emojis per paragraph and make a list of emojis you never use. Think of a way to deal with quotes—‘quotation marks’ or italics?</li>
<li><strong>Examples.</strong> Support every term and rule with example and anti-example. Collect your successful and unsuccessful ads and messages in the style guide and explain the mistakes.</li>
</ul>
<p>If you need examples, look at publicly available style guides like <a href="https://styleguide.mailchimp.com/voice-and-tone/">MailChimp’s</a> or <a href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/style-guide/welcome/">Microsoft’s</a>. Keep in mind that these guides for their companies. Every guide solves the exact brand problems, so don’t try to make it the same.</p>
<h3>Get inspired by other brands</h3>
<p>Analyze other brands across your industry and try to understand how their social media posts and ads are connected with their products. We analyzed three popular brands to show you an example:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Slack</strong> can be described with adjectives: approachable, light, genuine, concise, casual but professional, like a friendly chat at the water cooler. Slack’s brand voice reflects the style of instant messages between close colleagues—which is precisely what their platform offers. They focus on accessibility and simplicity. They’re upbeat, warm, and friendly but still professional.</li>
<li><strong>Nike</strong> is powerful, encouraging, and empowering, like an inspiring coach. Nike’s brand voice portrays athletes as heroes and empowers anyone active to call themselves an athlete. They focus on a global community that play sports, which is evident in their inclusive language. They use short, simple, impactful sentences and inspirational phrasing. Audience can recogzine Nike’s content even without their famous logo—it’s that unique. For example, “Listen up. Equality isn’t a game. But achieving it will be our greatest victory. That’s why we keep playing, until we all win.”</li>
<li><strong>BarkBox</strong> is playful, bright, endearing, funny, and quirky, like your dog if it could talk. BarkBox has created a brand voice that appeals to dog lovers. Their voice reflects the qualities we all love most in dogs: that infectious, always-upbeat, “happy to be here” attitude. They use wordplay, whimsy, and a hint of silliness to make pet owners smile.</li>
</ul>
<h2><strong>Let your brand speak with the right voice on autopilot</strong></h2>
<p>Adapt all your communications to a new high-converting brand voice and automate them with Chatfuel. We offer various conversational options that you can set up in intuitive bot-building software. Decide how you want to sound for your customers and set up automation. Your chatbot will answer FAQs, collect all customers’ replies in one place, and analyze them to make your communication even more effective, following the style rules you created.</p>
<p>Automation with us doesn’t require coding experience. <a href="https://dashboard.chatfuel.com/sign-up">Sign up for free</a> and get first 50 conversations for free.</p>

What brand voice is and how it works? This article will demonstrate how to make a brand voice recognizable on different channels.