Dmytro Kot

Industries

Instagram

<p>Social media is the second lead generation channel in real estate. It brings <a href="https://theclose.com/agent-survey-2021">44%</a> of new leads and only falls behind referrals in #1 place with 82%. Since most real estate work is done offline, keeping socials active comes with a bit of a challenge. Below are 5 ideas for social media put together with real estate in mind.</p>
<h2>Showcase local businesses</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/brokergayane">Gayane</a> is “Denver’s Most Charismatic Real Estate Agent”. She mostly posts listings, expert advice, home constructions videos and more. Another thing Gayane does are ‘local business review’ stories and videos. Such posts not only make her relatable, they also raise her credibility as a real estate expert in her area.</p>
<figure><img src="/cms/static/blog/62d571438e8975c9fe0b325e_gayane_ig.png" loading="lazy" alt="" height="906" width="1605" blurDataURL="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAQAAAACCAIAAADwyuo0AAAACXBIWXMAAAsTAAALEwEAmpwYAAAAIklEQVR4nGOoiA/m4OY0sHb9/fMHQ2GolyADg6uz6/+/fwFtAQnKjoSoMQAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==" placeholder="blur"><figcaption>Gayane showing Denver local spots in stories and posts</figcaption></figure>
<p>A story and a video example from Gayane’s Instagram</p>
<p>To adapt this idea to your business:</p>
<ol>
<li>Think of both popular and lesser known coffee shops or restaurants in the area of your listings.</li>
<li>Pick a place you want to showcase.</li>
<li>Make a short video or a story about the spot you picked.</li>
</ol>
<p>Remember, these reviews are a way to gain some social proof and show that you’re relatable. So, don’t overthink it. Talk about the food and service, the location and neighborhood the way you’d tell it to a friend. Reassure homebuyers (<a href="https://fitsmallbusiness.com/real-estate-statistics">40%</a> end up regretting location choice) that the location they’re picking is a good one by showing the neighborhood yourself.</p>
<h2>Ask what your audience thinks</h2>
<p>An active discussion in comments improves your engagement rate and shows Facebook algorithms that people are interested in your content. Look at how <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Etsy">Etsy</a>, an e-commerce platform, uses questions to encourage people to comment.</p>
<figure><img src="/cms/static/blog/62d571cfc006b7aba36cc580_vivaldi_nPygaxxsV5.png" loading="lazy" alt="" height="651" width="684" blurDataURL="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAQAAAAECAIAAAAmkwkpAAAACXBIWXMAAA7DAAAOwwHHb6hkAAAAP0lEQVR4nAE0AMv/AIGLh87X19/g4Nvb2wAAJCYAExIXHiBbW1wAAB4dAB0dGjY2YGxsAMLY2dzt7er09ubs7EGJGASxVsNUAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC" placeholder="blur"><figcaption>A simple <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Etsy/posts/pfbid02fT9xXvEjkk1F5VoRvk9jbgDpn8wc7aLB7xsqxX42ZU214ruBM4XEjSRqccJT82ERl" target="_blank">question post</a> that generated almost 300 comments</figcaption></figure>
<p>To start using this idea, come up with a list of questions related to real estate. Here are some examples to get you started:</p>
<ol>
<li>Home renovation: Which cabinet style do you prefer? Which exterior style do you prefer? What kind of kitchen do you look for?</li>
<li>Home buying: How much does an average home sell for? What common mistakes first-time homebuyers make? Can you buy a home with a bad credit score?</li>
<li>Asking opinions: What state is the most popular among homebuyers? Is it worth buying a fixer-upper? How many rooms do you look for in a house?</li>
</ol>
<p>Use and expand on these examples and if you get stuck, don’t hesitate to google some more. You can go one step further and set up automated lead generation from the comments you receive.</p>
<h3>Generate leads from comments</h3>
<p>Automated lead generation is when a preconfigured bot responds to comments instead of you. Don’t worry, this is a bot compliant to Facebook rules. Here’s how it works, you sign up with <a href="https://chatfuel.com">Chatfuel</a>, connect your Facebook or Instagram page and create a conversation logic. You then connect a single or multiple posts to this logic and set automation live.</p>
<p>To generate leads from comments, use Comments Autoreply functionality. It lets you leave a public or a private reply to a new comment. Go to Flow Builder and choose Comments Autoreply, select your posts and add your response.</p>
<p>The response can be a simple message saying ‘Thanks, we appreciate your comment! Do you want to learn more about our products? ’ with a button to your website under it. Or the logic can be more complex. For example, a survey with multiple questions where the results and contact data are automatically sent to your email address.</p>
<p>Sign up with <a href="https://chatfuel.com">Chatfuel</a> to try lead generation from comments yourself.</p>
<h2>Share your expertise</h2>
<p>Educational posts address questions and concerns of your followers. These include obvious ones and the ones that your audience is not aware of. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Zillow">Zillow</a> has a good example of a short, informative post.</p>
<figure><img src="/cms/static/blog/62d572276c52376fea0bf4e8_vivaldi_Viu8H65Kxg.png" loading="lazy" alt="" height="803" width="679" blurDataURL="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAMAAAAECAIAAADETxJQAAAACXBIWXMAAA7DAAAOwwHHb6hkAAAALklEQVR4nGNY/+7/kf//D/37z8Ag08egN59BoAnMUp3OwFrDwBB7kiHqOEP4EQB2kQ9w/hUAigAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==" placeholder="blur"><figcaption>Zillow <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Zillow/photos/a.344233548593/10160960164808594" target="_blank">explaining</a> how to sell a house for more profit</figcaption></figure>
<p>Don’t be afraid to experiment with the format of such posts: long or short, images or videos, expert opinion or industry news (more on this later). Here are some things you can talk about:</p>
<ul>
<li>Finance: mortgage, lender, market prices;</li>
<li>Home improvement: planning, renovating, furnishing;</li>
<li>Rules and regulations: legal, pre-approval, income and employment.</li>
</ul>
<p>Come up with a few ideas for any of these topics. Get into homebuyers shoes and think of some of their questions and concerns, then address those with an educational post. If you’re low on creativity, check out this list of <a href="https://criterium-lalancette-dudka.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/100-Questions.pdf">100 before-you-buy questions</a>.</p>
<h2>Post industry updates</h2>
<p>New Mexico realtor <a href="https://www.instagram.com/elinevarez_">Eli Nevarez</a> shows a good example on how to keep your audience well informed. Keeping up with the industry news highlights your expertise on the market and awareness of the trends.</p>
<figure><img src="/cms/static/blog/62d5724fe463d2935627e8fd_vivaldi_tlmmYxCyRm.png" loading="lazy" alt="" height="597" width="673" blurDataURL="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAQAAAAECAIAAAAmkwkpAAAACXBIWXMAAA7DAAAOwwHHb6hkAAAAP0lEQVR4nAE0AMv/AGpgWWpeUd7d3vn6+gBdTU5yVkXc3+Ds6+sAQkBFLy403N7g9PPyAAwRHQAFGebn6P///8vEG/rPjqVTAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC" placeholder="blur"><figcaption>Eli <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CdrIdv2F807/" target="_blank">explaining</a> a recent change in First Time Home Buyers program</figcaption></figure>
<p>Such posts are very similar to educational ones, except they focus more on:</p>
<ul>
<li>Industry news;</li>
<li>Market updates;</li>
<li>Changes in regulation;</li>
<li>Changes in mortgage programs.</li>
</ul>
<p>If you’re looking for some solid sources for industry news, check out: <a href="https://www.realtor.com/news">realtor.com</a>, <a href="http://www.inman.com">inman.com</a> or <a href="https://www.housingwire.com/newsletter">housingwire newsletter</a>.</p>
<h2>Add testimonials</h2>
<p>In real estate, public opinion matters, with as much as <a href="https://www.outboundengine.com/blog/real-estate-marketing-benchmarks-report-is-here">43%</a> of real estate agents investing their extra marketing budget in referrals. To build up your reputation, include posts with the sales you close and show former homebuyers become now homeowners. For example, look at <a href="https://www.instagram.com/biancamorrison_realtor">Bianca Morrison</a> from Chicago, who includes videos with happy clients in their new home after closing.</p>
<figure><img src="/cms/static/blog/62d572711a439b30b7d244a7_vivaldi_vT3u6KRkUy.png" loading="lazy" alt="" height="595" width="669" blurDataURL="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAQAAAAECAIAAAAmkwkpAAAACXBIWXMAAA7DAAAOwwHHb6hkAAAAP0lEQVR4nAE0AMv/AKqVf6qdkN/f3/n5+wBrXlVsY1vj4uLx8fEAGAAASjUz4uLj9fX0AEEcAHBAH/Ht7P///xZMHiTzsAhwAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC" placeholder="blur"><figcaption>Clients <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CZfFA2kq0EJ/" target="_blank">celebrating</a> their home purchase with Bianca</figcaption></figure>
<p>Take several photos or make a video after closing the home, make sure to include your clients, interior and exterior of the home itself. For the description, provide details about: your clients’ story, how and why they chose that property, how your services helped them.</p>
<h2>Do more with your leads</h2>
<p>Applying these ideas should bring you more leads. Why not put qualifying and nurturing them on autopilot? With Chatfuel you can automate up to 98% of requests: responses to FAQs, replies to comments, booking appointments and calls. All done right in Messenger chat or Instagram DMs. Try <a href="https://chatfuel.com">Chatfuel</a> yourself, first 50 chats are free.</p>

Raise credibility, gain social proof, get more comments and generate more leads with these 5 social media ideas for real estate

Top 5 social media ideas for real estate

Guest Experts

Use cases

<p>Every social media manager says you should add interactive posts into your content strategy to increase the engagement rate. Not only to have better statistics but to sell more and become closer to your customers. And marketing analysts prove this: recent research <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s43039-021-00035-8">showed</a> that “engaged customers display greater brand loyalty and satisfaction, and are more likely to contribute to new product development, service innovation and viral marketing activity spread by word of mouth.”</p>
<p>But, it’s hard to engage the followers if you don’t think up anything new. So, we collected nine examples of engaging posts for Instagram showing promising results. Use them as your inspiration, adapt them to your brand, shake up your usual posting process and reap the fruits of your ideas.</p>
<h2>Secrets of good engagement</h2>
<p>Before posting interactive content, take a look at the rules applied to all types of engaging posts:</p>
<ul>
<li>Don’t post them too often to keep the followers surprised. Remember that you don’t sell at once with such posts, and you won’t get comments in a few days after posting a piece of interactive content. So save your resources.</li>
<li>Don’t ask customers to do random activities or actions when you run games in socials. Instead, slightly nudge them to mention your product or to share the values of your brand with their followers.</li>
<li>Ask to follow easy steps. The easier the rules, the more comments you’ll receive. For example, asking to tag a friend in comments is better than demanding visitors to go through several steps, like following your page, leaving a like and tagging a friend. But, sometimes, thought-through comments are needed.</li>
</ul>
<p>Explore the best practices below to understand which approach is better for your case.</p>
<h2>9 examples for interactive content on social media</h2>
<h3>Take what you need</h3>
<p>Shopify published a post with options users can take as if they see tear-off ads hanging on a lamppost. They mixed options for business and private life to grasp a bigger audience.</p>
<figure><img alt="example for interactive post Shopify" src="/cms/static/blog/62680c942061530b631aa45b_67f041139170cffd2ddeb7b758778d16497a5feefe0dffefdad732e386c222aac209bdbd1558a017ccd673087e11bf6c9c85e5fb0b5db3080b44209590593c339a4315a0ce26a0aecc625f0becd3c99bb2eb46a0cb95792ddfa04b8a0bf8be8f34ad0399.jpeg" height="1267" width="750" blurDataURL="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAIAAAAECAIAAAArjXluAAAACXBIWXMAAAsTAAALEwEAmpwYAAAAJUlEQVR4nGPYOEPn0FJ7BmsGHgsGEQYXbgYbBgaGx9en/f+6EQBvDQkv6IoKNQAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==" placeholder="blur"></figure>
<p>Such design takes very little time but gives good engagement.</p>
<p>To adapt the idea to your brand:</p>
<ul>
<li>Write the list of effects your product or service delivers to clients. For example, strong hair, freshness, rich scent — if you sell shampoos.</li>
<li>List the products or services you provide. For example, a full-body massage, uniform tanning, fresh manicure — if you run a beauty salon.</li>
<li>The values your brand broadcasts. For example, consciousness, sympathy, cooperation — if you’re a non-commercial organization helping someone.</li>
</ul>
<p>To encourage the followers to leave comments, ask them to choose a thing from their wishlist and tag a partner or a friend using @ so they know what the person wants. Or say you collect statistics about your clients and will share the results with everyone, so every comment matters. Another thing you can do is to make options funny. So you won’t have to ask people to tag their friends — they’ll share the post just to make other people laugh.</p>
<p>‍</p>
<h3>The first words you see</h3>
<p>This is Olie asked followers to find three words in a set of letters. They devoted the post to the skills the followers should practice as the brand provides training programs and clothes and stands for self-improvement.</p>
<figure><img alt="example for interactive post Olie" src="/cms/static/blog/62680c95a73c187d852982a1_e7b3922f4da1e814c236eeff8ead069fe1ab6767f1973355f20df8cc66dc39664d458bdb932cbf2f35926bb0f8b0c328297de187d81b8030fe6665b438c505854378f5d4f67981bed38c6492bd61da6d95f46799f09d4592890c5f921dc5f7a81143c84b.jpeg" height="1152" width="750" blurDataURL="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAMAAAAECAIAAADETxJQAAAACXBIWXMAAAsTAAALEwEAmpwYAAAAMUlEQVR4nGNgsIji0fdU9cxkEBMx5WdRE+QzZAjV9Yg1DQjT9WI4cfzE08dPf3z9DgCjeg0337AMwwAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==" placeholder="blur"></figure>
<p>Add your brand logo to the design to prevent author’s rights infringement.</p>
<p>To adapt the idea to your brand:</p>
<ol>
<li>Create a list of words connected with your brand, values, or products.</li>
<li>Place them in the square vertically and horizontally.</li>
<li>Randomly fill in the whole square with letters. Make sure you didn’t create new words out of your list.</li>
</ol>
<p>To get more attention to your interactive post, ask the followers to tag friends in the comments to get them playing in the game. Or promise to create a giveaway and give them a small reward for a random comment.</p>
<p>‍</p>
<h3>A simple question to the audience</h3>
<p>People like talking about themselves and sharing their success and news. So, sometimes you can effortlessly get hundreds of comments just by asking your audience a simple question.</p>
<p>Girlboss simply asked the followers whether they have any good news to share and gathered 366 comments. The followers shared their news, tagged friends, and exchanged positive comments with each other.</p>
<figure><img alt="example for interactive post: simple question" src="/cms/static/blog/62680c95d486a0eb59a21fdf_afe0ced47eb645e114b1d25b8776b49840b090cd4854ee012adae85e90430fa52953fee2ac8c12d481b966181da5409e172333640b1d93f793c264dce26bdc18bbb1c29e782ec81cdd51edf2b573431948d42acd4718c645720edd4bb0c1067f8cef0881.jpeg" height="1267" width="750" blurDataURL="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAIAAAAECAIAAAArjXluAAAACXBIWXMAAAsTAAALEwEAmpwYAAAAJUlEQVR4nGPILFP4/m8jg5ouw5RpeQxmLgwF1ZoMQgIiV6/eAACNZgnX/TNMTQAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==" placeholder="blur"></figure>
<p>Experiment with the design: make a screenshot from Twitter, add a sticker from Instagram stories, or call the post a “Honorous board” to get more attention.</p>
<p>The sphere of your business shapes which questions to ask — they should be connected with your brand. But there are questions suitable for everyone:</p>
<ul>
<li>Which three things inspired you today?</li>
<li>What do you think about the (latest event)?</li>
<li>Which (product) do you like the most?</li>
<li>What’s your superpower?</li>
<li>If you win $1 million, how would you spend it?</li>
</ul>
<p>Make sure it’s easy to answer to your questions, and you ask for a little effort or provide options.</p>
<p>‍</p>
<h3>Relatable meme</h3>
<p>Memes gather all likes, comments, and tags if they’re relatable. Think of a meme or a catchy phrase that makes people laugh and share.</p>
<p>A Swedish fintech company Klarna posts memes relatable to their followers. They write comments that they think or feel the same and tag their friends. They connect the memes with shopping as it’s their sphere.</p>
<figure><img alt="example for interactive post meme" src="/cms/static/blog/62680c94127362c94abd65a4_a5e0043d2196c83032db73a561fcfda1cdc601ccb6bb0c403142cf0244fc66c33a878e70db79da069ddc35e90fca9092bbde4589db79f380062348e4913fdc345ccdf2ba777af66b498e4720736b3dc681f7a97fe5312be746df1c6c6e8e2f65c8f12bb1.jpeg" height="1082" width="750" blurDataURL="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAMAAAAECAIAAADETxJQAAAACXBIWXMAAAsTAAALEwEAmpwYAAAAM0lEQVR4nAEoANf/ACUAAMKvq25MZwBMNjT2/PyHYWwAnY2H3N7dZ0FCAKObmK2ko6iYm1tAEzLJOYf/AAAAAElFTkSuQmCC" placeholder="blur"></figure>
<p>Get even more likes and comments — create a funny illustration or take a popular meme and adapt it to your brand.</p>
<p>If you need help and inspiration in meme creation, use meme generators:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://imgflip.com/memegenerator">ImgFlip</a> — a vast library of popular memes. Take them as a template or upload your picture, add the text and customize it. View the most popular memes in a special section to know what’s popular now.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.kapwing.com">Kapwing</a> — a more complex meme builder for those who want to create them like a pro. Here you can create not only an image but a video, add emojis, control the picture using layers, record the screen, and add transitions, audio, and different elements.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.canva.com/create/memes">Canva</a> — a free meme generator that allows editing popular memes available in the app library. They offer over 5000 meme templates and two mln watermark-free images.</li>
</ul>
<p>‍</p>
<h3>This or that</h3>
<p>People adore voting, sharing their opinion, and waiting for the results to know who won. So, give them such an opportunity — ask the followers to choose between:</p>
<ul>
<li>products,</li>
<li>flavors,</li>
<li>colors,</li>
<li>looks,</li>
<li>shops at different addresses.</li>
</ul>
<p>A clothes brand, “Her Treasures Boutique,” regularly publishes posts where they ask to choose one of two looks on the same model. They get comments, involve users, and show the product. People write “A” or “B” in the comments, increasing the engagement rate.</p>
<figure><img alt="example for interactive post: voting" src="/cms/static/blog/62680c95d486a07d79a21fe0_fc51245416103d961eae60a5feb24b3b6736b9694c2894b325ca564d22441637b14ba35c188633da0032c21ffa8bc6eb7cc30a864274a9ee9c06ed1e711aefe869cea70f07f1834c28a6ae5ae2a4a4a1eaed08974a7b9a0798b7aba567fd926ca8a5e448.jpeg" height="1267" width="750" blurDataURL="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAIAAAAECAIAAAArjXluAAAACXBIWXMAAAsTAAALEwEAmpwYAAAAJUlEQVR4nGN4/erVh/fvGQSYGRgFmBj8tfWCzU0ZPrz7/P/vfwCtjAznnljLswAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==" placeholder="blur"></figure>
<p>And don’t forget to leave the shopping tags to lead the followers to make an order.</p>
<p>‍</p>
<h3>Guess the product</h3>
<p>This game works well only with the existing customers or loyal followers as they know your brand and product range. Ask them to guess which product you propounded, give hints for the novelties, and check whether your audience knows the differences between your products.</p>
<p>Coca-Cola asked followers to guess which flavor was hidden. They hid two words plus gave facts that followers may not know. You can take this approach as an example and test it for your followers.</p>
<figure><img alt="example for interactive post: the game" src="/cms/static/blog/62680c95bc2be18bc66afb52_d7c535d611332208abd3d2da0d6e72ed2daaeed63e111a659636df9d01caefa4f528e1de9465c55c654535e1b51cb943e270625d12885cc03daec475eb2f14dfb15db76c1074704a368ce90c4971f7c3b2a3c8a5605c78e1da9d3027c9692fa7940f913e.jpeg" height="1118" width="750" blurDataURL="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAMAAAAECAIAAADETxJQAAAACXBIWXMAAAsTAAALEwEAmpwYAAAAM0lEQVR4nAEoANf/AJuFfsy6t/Xv5ABOPTVnWllkVkoAIwAAgG1uJAEAAMCwq/Th3v/v7mmTEs9rg0dKAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC" placeholder="blur"></figure>
<p>And don’t forget about the hints — you’ll get more comments.</p>
<p>To increase the engaging effect, offer discounts and give a reward to one of the participants. But don’t reward a person who answered the first — others won’t be motivated to participate.</p>
<p>‍</p>
<h3>Match</h3>
<p>Add a few columns and lines to make them cross. Put products, flavors, or services recommendations in these squares. Such “matches” make people feel that the recommendation is personalized and increases leads and sells. To adapt it to your brand:</p>
<ol>
<li>Choose a few products or services you want to focus your followers’ attention on.</li>
<li>Write short characteristics for them.</li>
<li>Match them with anything simple: favorite color, weather, or mood.</li>
</ol>
<p>Starbucks offers followers to guess what their spring will bring. They are to choose a favorite drink and their spring vibe to get an answer. Most of the followers write their results in the comments. Starbucks got 452 comments on this post.</p>
<figure><img alt="example for interactive post Starbucks" src="/cms/static/blog/62680c951496aea1c437da11_4c8f2c6c1539758cf13ddd56d3784a17f85e370e4f697ca4fdb450e168b9f99aa2cbba641a34cd5636475da7455a6e7fda3f64f54090222ac006503466f5eba9ae1369b690b44ca1d9964d19a0096818a0f935e7cfe6ec3f352806ff38239c43ecb7bbaf.jpeg" height="1149" width="750" blurDataURL="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAMAAAAECAIAAADETxJQAAAACXBIWXMAAAsTAAALEwEAmpwYAAAAM0lEQVR4nAEoANf/AKqsq766vdzU2ADAwrwJDgABAwAAtLKsbm4va20nAJOTk8LAwu/u8IwqE/4Jf3IQAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC" placeholder="blur"></figure>
<p>Don’t forget to ask for comment on the results.</p>
<p>Motivate the followers to leave the comments — say they’ll find co-thinkers or that you do the research and will show the results later.</p>
<p>‍</p>
<h3>Tag a friend</h3>
<p>Sometimes people tag their friends without asking when they want to share the post and don’t send it to DM. But if your followers aren’t used to tagging — ask them to do it a few times to create a habit. Their tags help you grow the audience faster for free — don’t ignore this instrument.</p>
<p>HelloFresh asked followers to tag a friend the followers love more than food topped with melted cheese. They got 38 comments. People tagged their friends and wrote “definitely!”, “hahaha you” and “hey bestie lol.”</p>
<figure><img alt="example for interactive post: tag a friend" src="/cms/static/blog/62680c966f5bad0ae7e5c2d1_c91f98267af7f0ccad410f225a6d34984e4eda373e70a141bc6bf53622e1a490c098332c52160de37a013e072b4adb6754f6bf27b3211a228114815ac8b613e944dd2f3e5593a25964d316f01b3bb8f22722e9c863a6b74cfc3ba8cb59e8b5658d172d82.jpeg" height="1224" width="750" blurDataURL="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAIAAAAECAIAAAArjXluAAAACXBIWXMAAAsTAAALEwEAmpwYAAAAJElEQVR4nGPwSnLOaKxnYBBiUDXQZRDW4tX3cGHYvW/vt98/AVzxCRH8qa/uAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC" placeholder="blur"></figure>
<p>Support the picture with a good joke to make closer contact with the followers.</p>
<p>Make sure you create a positive post, and a tag will make your followers’ friends smile or laugh. This way, you connect people’s good feelings with your brand, and there’s a bigger chance your followers’ friends will become your customers.</p>
<p>‍</p>
<h3>Giveaways</h3>
<p>Don’t wait that people who subscribe to you during the giveaway will stay with you for a long. So don’t try to increase the audience with giveaways; use them for engagement and organic growth.</p>
<p>To create an engaging giveaway, think of a unique algorithm. Don’t ask users to write emojis and numbers — it asks too little effort from the users. Ask intriguing questions instead.</p>
<p>Daisy, a jewelry brand from London, posted a giveaway on the 8th of March. They ask to tag inspirational women in the comments and share the stories of why these women are inspirational. They got 652 comments and warm stories and then chose a winner from the comments.</p>
<figure><img alt="example for interactive post: giveaway" src="/cms/static/blog/62680c96e78044aa3ed5e930_c1b3652eddf714f90c32f95503be1d925495cf19954d6653cbc3106d297d29dc1497a910d09bf69dedd6f8b2f2d2b48493746613c89553add7f330603bc69285b42359d39e0c88f88f5078f80f64b2c5890af6c1a4c7fb199a99bf3f42d7961d6e597874.jpeg" height="1270" width="750" blurDataURL="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAIAAAAECAIAAAArjXluAAAACXBIWXMAAAsTAAALEwEAmpwYAAAAJ0lEQVR4nAEcAOP/ALWvqffy6wAtHxYjFQkAnpeRr6ehAGNjZPr6+7TZDVswrz9SAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC" placeholder="blur"></figure>
<p>It’s better to say it’s a giveaway in the picture to catch more attention to it.</p>
<p>To make the giveaway even more engaging:</p>
<ol>
<li>Choose a winner not randomly but for the best comment.</li>
<li>Ask the followers and their friends to put likes on the best comments.</li>
<li>Announce the deadline and see who got more votes.</li>
</ol>
<p>It works as there’s more competition, and while putting likes, people read each other’s thoughts, find new friends, and comment on the comments.</p>
<p>Also, make a screenshot of the results when the deadline comes to prove everything is fair. And if you choose a winner randomly, make a screencast of the process and share it in Stories or the post with the results.</p>
<h2>Turn the engaged followers into customers</h2>
<p>Gathering comments isn’t enough if you want a better conversion and increased sales. Chatfuel automation allows <a href="https://chatfuel.com/blog/automatically-respond-instagram-comments">answering all questions automatically</a>, creates a CRM from users’ comments, and helps to lead the followers further to the marketing funnel. Connect your Instagram page with Chatfuel no-code automation builder and start the first 50 conversations for free.</p>

Secret of good engagement: read about best examples for interactive content on social media and adapt this ideas to your brand.

9 ideas you can steal for interactive posts on social media in 2022

Platforms

<h2>Missing comments in activity feed</h2>
<p>On Instagram, you get a notification every time somebody posts a comment. And if you are running a business, you can’t afford losing a single lead. But notifications about new comments are in the same feed as your likes, new subscriptions, recommendations, etc. This is by design. A unified activity feed helps Instagram engage users, but it makes comments harder to track. So business has to work around it. You can track comments yourself or hire somebody to do it for you. But, there is a more elegant solution. Automation.</p>
<h2>What you can do with automation</h2>
<p>Automation lets you send your customers a message and engage them right away. Instagram has the <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/1274133/engagement-rate-per-post-social-media">highest engagement level</a> compared to Facebook or Twitter. Around 1.16% per post, compared to 0.27% and 0.07% respectively. This means that users post more, but also expect you to reply quickly. That’s key. Automation easily solves two things. How fast your business replies and what engagement level your profile has. It also helps your business save money on staff.</p>
<p>Automation can help you:</p>
<ul>
<li>increase conversion;</li>
<li>retain customers;</li>
<li>increase online sales.</li>
</ul>
<p>You can do all that with Chatfuel. It’s a no-code automation app for small and medium business owners. It lets you create a conversation logic between your users and a bot. Kind of like a chain of messages. In our case, we need to track and reply to Instagram comments. Let’s start with a conversation example.</p>
<p>A user leaves a comment asking if the item is in stock. Our system replies and gives them a link to a website to check availability. A customer then goes to the website. After several minutes, your bot offers them a promo code for a future purchase. All they need to do is leave their email. You can set up responses to FAQs, run promo campaigns or send people a link to your website. In this tutorial, we will focus on replying to Instagram comments.</p>
<h2>How to automate Instagram comments in Chatfuel</h2>
<h3>Sign up with Chatfuel</h3>
<p>To start, you need to create an account at Chatfuel. Go to <a href="https://chatfuel.com">chatfuel.com</a> and sign up using your Facebook account. We recommend using a Facebook account for registration. This is because you will need to connect your Facebook Page before turning on automation. After creating an account, you will get first 50 conversations for free.</p>
<h3>Preparation</h3>
<p>Next, open Flow Builder. It’s a tool that lets you create automation in Chatfuel. Go to Flows tab in the left sidebar menu and create a new Instagram Flow. Then, click on the plus sign button on the right to open a menu. Add Comments Autoreply Entry Point. This will be the place where user starts conversation. Now, it’s time to configure comments reply settings.</p>
<h3>Decide which comments to respond to</h3>
<p>First, decide if you want to respond to all comments or to comments from specific posts. Then, think about keywords. Do you need them for your business? They are useful in case you want automation to react with a different message to a particular keyword. For example, you decide to run a promo campaign. Set up a separate message that responds to a keyword #iwantdiscount. Now, when your clients leave a particular comment, automation responds with this specific message. After that, choose the response to be private, public or set up both. Add more content if needed.</p>
<p>Look at the example below. In this Flow, our system sends a DM to a user after they post a comment. The message contains a link to the online store. After 5 minutes, a bot sends a second message offering a user to leave their email to stay tuned for new promo campaigns.</p>
<figure><img alt="Instagram comments autoreply flow example" src="/cms/static/blog/6202647615d70905a39051af_cf6df8b5a4993c71d4cdc6caea3fa263c7ccfc299ca430e7ac9c1ec24b729420aa2e0260e5e0f4b45c0f97e7e9820076900bc364e69a78204831db3781e464a6e4e61e0edd09504e2c426b64b072936abfe55590ef97800c5934fc029b1dc81e23dd0c2e.png" height="479" width="1420" blurDataURL="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAQAAAABCAIAAAB2XpiaAAAACXBIWXMAAA7DAAAOwwHHb6hkAAAAFUlEQVR4nGPQUFHLzcmpq6nat28fABraBWbdYuvSAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC" placeholder="blur"></figure>
<h3>Connect your Facebook and Instagram</h3>
<p>Finally, you need to connect your Facebook Page. Click on Grow tab in the sidebar menu and find Connect button next to Facebook Page and Instagram Account. Connect your Facebook Page first, then connect your Instagram Account. Your Instagram Account is linked to a Facebook Page, that’s why we need both connected.</p>
<h3>Turn on auto replies to comments</h3>
<p>After connecting your pages, go to your Flow and activate Comments Autoreply Entry Point. Your bot status will change to Live. It means that automation is on and your bot is now responding to comments.</p>
<p>Find this article helpful? We appreciate it. We believe that automation can take your business to the next level. <a href="https://dashboard.chatfuel.com/sign-up">Sign up</a> for Chatfuel and never lose a new lead again. If you want to read some more, check out our <a href="https://chatfuel.com/blog/low-cost-hypothesis-testing">latest customer story</a>.</p>

Missing comments in Activity Feed? You can automate responses to Instagram comments with Chatfuel. This tutorial will show you how.

How to automatically respond to Instagram comments

<p>My name is Mary, I’m a Product Manager at Art&Fact. Personally, I care about my health and my skin in particular. I would even call myself a full-time beauty enthusiast. I usually spend a lot of time reading about different skincare products and take my time to choose a good fit for myself. Now, working at one of the largest beauty brands in Russia — I can help our customers build their skincare routine easily.</p>
<h2>How to make it nice and easy?</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.art-fact-products.com">Art&Fact</a> is a Russian beauty brand that manufactures cosmetics and skincare products. Since April 2020, the company has brought out more than 35 face, skin, and hair products to the market. I think we’re growing pretty fast for a young company. Our brand has its own philosophy regarding the production process: using only effective and clinically-tested formulas.</p>
<p>We develop these formulas in collaboration with leading labs in Europe and the US. And then manufacture them in Russia under stringent standards (quality control). No artificial fragrances, dyes, or flashy ingredients, nothing like that. And, of course — no animal testing. At the same time, the company successfully keeps the products at affordable prices, so most of our customers can purchase high-quality products for each stage of their skincare routine. There are different customer needs, even though there are only a few skin types. So we realized that choosing a right fit might be challenging for some of our customers.</p>
<p>Art&Fact has a nice Instagram account, and many customers prefer purchasing products right there. So we get lots of very similar questions in our DMs: ‘Is it better to buy serum or cream? ’, ‘What products are a good to use in the winter? ’, ‘Are your products safe for my skin? ’</p>
<p>My team and I decided to run a test promo: free Zoom consultations with skin care professionals to help our customers choose suitable products. Initially, we wanted to see if it will simplify selecting and purchasing process for our clients. We kept it simple: 100 video consultations on Zoom, 30 minutes each.</p>
<h2>Please, try again</h2>
<figure><img alt="Art' Fact Chatfuel bot" src="/cms/static/blog/61ee6db90b9790661fb871ad_4edb0cfce434a0a1e13737b7342ea996de316cdb33e4365890310f7a21f8f1c07450393df8c63c3c495f8a9bdd5426c36f16da54dfc4a557e066ead023f840e49eeb8693f09e1334ef1033fbfe2b4a753c9873e0752e1f0ea75e873937514786a908cff7.jpeg" height="1280" width="1280" blurDataURL="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAQAAAAECAIAAAAmkwkpAAAACXBIWXMAAAsTAAALEwEAmpwYAAAAP0lEQVR4nAE0AMv/AOP//4BifFVoZrnFnQClhnxyYUEACS5gZWMAOhQkhGZMMEtVWISPALLH2pWcrGNygavI1FzxF0g7lvj7AAAAAElFTkSuQmCC" placeholder="blur"></figure>
<p>I went through several important steps. First, I hired 5 skincare professionals and prepared info cards for each of them. I added qualification and experience details, so clients could learn more about each professional and choose one to consult with. Next, I created a short survey about the skin type and other details to make each consultation more productive and personalized. Finally, I had to find a platform to put everything together.</p>
<p>Like most beauty professionals, I’ve already heard about YClients. So, I decided to go with them. They can schedule Zoom meetings, which was very important for my project. My initial plan was to make an Instagram post with promo details. Then send a Typeform link to people who replied to the post. They would complete a pre-consultation survey and receive a link to YClients. Finally, they would book a meeting with a skincare professional.</p>
<p>I spent several hours setting everything up: profiles, schedules, small pre-consultation survey, then I tried to launch the whole thing. Bam, error message: please try again. It just wouldn’t work. I was bombarding support and nervously explaining the delay to my manager. It was late in the evening when I left the office feeling really hopeless. I spent two weeks trying to get this ship sailing and still didn’t depart.</p>
<h2>Why don’t we make a chatbot?</h2>
<p>When I got back home that night, my husband Nick noticed that something was off. He asked me what happened and told him the whole story. Why don’t we make a chatbot? — he said. Nick works at <a href="https://chatfuel.com">Chatfuel</a>, and at first, I thought he was joking. I couldn’t manage a platform made for beginner users, and he was suggesting I make a bot. Why not try? — I thought. So I grabbed a laptop and started building my first bot.</p>
<p>It was important for me to make it so that clients wouldn’t leave Instagram. My bot would DM users who commented on the post with the keyword ‘I want consultation’ and offer them the survey. Clients then can answer the key questions before the consultation. Their answers would be saved to Google Sheets. After this, our customers would choose skincare professionals right in Instagram DMs.</p>
<p>I updated the profile cards with pictures and descriptions. After the survey, clients would receive a link to Calendly and schedule a Zoom meeting. Calendly supports sending follow-ups for both email and SMS. That allowed me to solve another problem. The skin care professionals could now recommend products after the consultation with a couple of clicks. 40 minutes later my bot was ready.</p>
<h2>Here we go</h2>
<p>Our marketing team launched an ad campaign and published a post the very next day. And a few days later we got measurable results of my project. Feeling confident, I went to show metrics to our CEO:</p>
<ul>
<li>We raised our outreach and engagement rate. 100 applications made within 2 hours.</li>
<li>We tested a hypothesis with relatively low costs and resources involved.</li>
<li>86 out of 100 applicants made a purchase right after the consultation.</li>
<li>Another 200 users got a discount code.</li>
</ul>
<p>Participants who didn’t make it on time got a discount code and most likely will use it to make a purchase. After the promo was done, we received tons of messages from people asking when is the next one, which indicates a high engagement rate.</p>
<p>And the setting up process wasn’t as difficult as I thought. You just need to get the main idea of building a bot — add one block after another, connect them, add attractive content, and use the integrations that are useful for you. If you want to see an example before building a brand new one, check out <a href="https://chatfuel.com/share/?flow=61c2f9c231fd7715e0b4b33b">my bot</a>. Feel free to use it as a template.</p>
<h2>Against the odds</h2>
<p>When I look back at the path I went through, I feel so proud. I didn’t give up, even though I was so close to doing it. I learned a lot of new things, and I realized that walking a beaten path is not as easy as it seems, and it’s good to venture out. Nowadays it’s very important to think outside the box and try new useful tools.</p>
<p>And a cherry on the top — I got a bonus for my successful project. And I know exactly who’s going to help me celebrate it.</p>
<figure><img alt="" src="/cms/static/blog/61ee6db984ecfbeae202f483_13690b8a038380140a9afaf1e64b139bc4aace22d0586b6a58df65b6c4af806cecf1fc2f5e8902addd1320c29815d0b480467cc20ca5096c1c1b0ea0b078f0a03fa0ff6d0dfa9367c324b7d2312cd2e1e69a76a46bb2d39203fed46fa225804634c2d15e.jpeg" height="1280" width="945" blurDataURL="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAMAAAAECAIAAADETxJQAAAACXBIWXMAAAsTAAALEwEAmpwYAAAAMUlEQVR4nGNoLyutaJ5ZEBnKkJ/iEepoaiMnydAyoWNqS83tozsZfv35y8vO++3bewA+SxH3rkkgJQAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==" placeholder="blur"></figure>
<p>Cheers, Mary 🙌</p>
<p>‍</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://dashboard.chatfuel.com">Sign up with Chatfuel</a> for free today — no coding skills, previous experience, or credit card required. You can also <a href="https://chatfuel.com/share/?flow=61c2f9c231fd7715e0b4b33b">use the template</a> Mary used for her bot as your starting ground.*</li>
</ul>

Beauty brand Art & Fact creates an Instagram bot with Chatfuel. It helped them test a hypothesis easily and at a low cost.

How a beauty brand easily tested hypothesis at almost no cost

<p>‍<strong>The challenge: <strong>A clothing brand from Cleveland wanted to acquire new customers
‍
‍</strong>The outcome:</strong> They increased the conversion rate by 22% in one campaign and generated $1,075 in another one in 15 hours</p>
<h2>ILTHY Brand</h2>
<p>Cleveland natives Kumar Arora and Glen Infante teamed up in 2011 to create<a href="https://www.ilthy.com">ILTHY</a> (I love the hype). In the last ten years the duo launched distinctive products and joined forces with a wide range of collaborators including Lebron James, Nike, Machine Gun Kelly, Cleveland Cavaliers, and more.</p>
<p>The company sells various apparel including shirts, bottoms, hats and accessories.</p>
<figure><div><img src="/cms/static/blog/6112675e61d24b4e26494896_02.jpg" loading="lazy" alt="ILTHY Chatbot example" height="2336" width="4160" blurDataURL="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAQAAAACCAIAAADwyuo0AAAACXBIWXMAABYlAAAWJQFJUiTwAAAAI0lEQVR4nGPYunGrkpwCGwPb25cfGU4dO6KtqcnLJfT/z38AiUkLQwRxVqgAAAAASUVORK5CYII=" placeholder="blur"></div></figure>
<p>ILTHY was looking to expand their reach and promote their creative venture, ultimately getting more customers. Kumar set a goal of driving sales to see how much time he can actually save with Instagram automation. They decided to try to engage new customers by giving them a 10% off gift card.</p>
<p>*"The idea was, if we could get 50-100 people to use the discount code on Instagram, it would clearly demonstrate that there is a demand. The next thing for us then would be to spend more time experimenting with the possibilities that chatbot automation provides.”, *says Kumar.</p>
<p>The company had no previous experience with the no-code approach, but was open enough to embrace it.</p>
<p>The ILTHY team settled down on launching two campaigns. A one month campaign to see how much client engagement and sales they could generate long term. The second, Memorial Day campaign aimed to show just what they could do with a chatbot solution in under 24 hours.</p>
<p>After going through several ideas, Kumar decided to keep it simple. One word. DMs. Well, two words. Direct messages are one of the top ways customers contact stores and business owners. Add a no-code bot to your Instagram store and you’ve got yourself instant replies to customers 24/7.</p>
<p>*"I was initially concerned that I’d be too confused with chatbot building. JSON, integrations and other technical stuff kind of scared me for a second. I quickly went through the basics like collecting user emails or phones and right off the bat was able to build my first chatbot.”, *says Kumar.</p>
<h2>How it works</h2>
<p>A customer DMs the company’s Instagram page after seeing a promocode in their bio. Then they send a direct message with a specific keyword to the company’s Instagram. For their first campaign ILTHY used a promocode 'TRYME'.**A customer then enters their name, email and phone number and instantly gets a unique 10% off gift card.</p>
<p>On ILTHY’s side, they had to make sure they could set up a system to check if a person sending their data is not already in their Shopify customer list. Here’s how it happens. The bot receives the customer name, email and number then “asks” Shopify using API if such customer is already in its database. Only if the answer is no, the customer gets a unique 10% gift card.</p>
<h2>Results</h2>
<figure><div><img src="/cms/static/blog/61126775e9d2e754aeaf0276_01.jpg" loading="lazy" alt="Results with a chatbot" height="816" width="4160" blurDataURL="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAQAAAABCAIAAAB2XpiaAAAACXBIWXMAABYlAAAWJQFJUiTwAAAAFUlEQVR4nGNoa+2Njk6prKyfP38JACVDBgbMT/9kAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC" placeholder="blur"></div></figure>
<p>For their first monthly campaign ILTHY was able to <strong>increase the conversion rate</strong> <strong>by 22%,</strong> generating <strong>$2,303 in total sales</strong>. 197 customers engaged with their bot resulting in <strong>43 completed orders</strong> with an average order value of $53.</p>
<p>Their second Memorial Day campaign was even more impressive. In just <strong>15 hours</strong>, they were able to generate <strong>$1,075 in sales</strong> after 60 people engaged with the bot.</p>
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
<p>Launching an Instagram campaign might look like a daunting task, but with the clear plan and the right tools it has never been easier. Staying ahead of competition is a top priority in a modern business environment. ILTHY saw value in utilizing chatbots which in turn increased their sales and expanded their customer base.</p>
<p>If you liked this, read about how a customer service automation <a href="https://chatfuel.com/blog/posts/hellofresh-reduces-support-wait-times-with-chatfuel-messenger-bot">slashed HelloFresh response time</a> by 76%. Or see how you can increase sales by improving customer journey with a bot.</p>
<p>Looking for even more advice and inspiration? Join our <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/chatfuel/">Facebook community</a>.</p>

The art and apparel company ILTHY increases revenue by using Instagram Automation.

Fashion Brand Boosts Conversion by 22% with Instagram Chatbot

Bojana Vojnović

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><div><iframe allowfullscreen frameborder="0" scrolling="no" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rJNxfbkCDOQ"></iframe></div></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><div><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"></div></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><div><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"></div><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><div><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"></div><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>
<p><em>“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</em><a href="https://chatfuel.com/"><em>experts in the industry</em></a><em>to help you learn, and to ultimately start experimenting with these features.”</em></p>
<blockquote>
<p><em>“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.”</em> –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><div><iframe allowfullscreen frameborder="0" scrolling="no" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3OjJL3ZsdYk"></iframe></div></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>
<p><em>“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.”</em></p>
<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/posts/chatbot-for-customer-service">customer service,</a> business transactions, and shopping.” 👇</p>
<figure><div><iframe allowfullscreen frameborder="0" scrolling="no" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jxH9NbYYdnE"></iframe></div></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/posts/use-instagram-ads-to-bring-users-to-your-dms-or-your-messenger-bot?clid=_jXrNVtAnPWGOU2sq-odX&abt=">set up ads to bring Instagram users to your DMs</a> or Facebook bot.</p>
<p>To <a href="https://chatfuel.com/blog/posts/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

Angela Skowronek

<p>When you buy a new car, you decide which add-ons you want it to have. From an upgraded engine to a state-of-the-art navigation system, the add-ons you choose make your car more powerful and useful. When it comes to chatbots, the same idea applies.</p>
<p>You can <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xr8kmZ-oG_8&t=72s">build a basic chatbot in five minutes</a>. But to make it more powerful, you’ll want to incorporate some add-ons. While many no-code add-ons are available for your Chatfuel bot (like artificial intelligence and <a href="https://chatfuel.com/blog/posts/a-marketing-automation-love-story-chatfuel-zapier?clid=_jXrNVtAnPWGOU2sq-odX&abt=&utm_landing=blog-posts%2Fjson-api-examples">Zapier integrations</a>), there are developer solutions too. The JSON API for your (or your customer’s) chatbot is easily the most popular of these.</p>
<h2><strong>What is the JSON API?</strong></h2>
<p>JSON stands for Javascript Object Notation. It’s one of the most commonly used formats for data transfer for fetching real-time data from one source, bringing it back, and displaying it in another.</p>
<p>Data in the JSON format is passed from place to place via a fetching tool called an API. So the JSON API lets you fetch dynamic data from another server for use in your bot.</p>
<p>Imagine an API, like a phone line, a way for two separate entities to communicate directly. Your bot picks up the phone, calls whatever server it needs data from, and asks for it. The server answers and gives the bot the data they need in JSON format.</p>
<p>In Chatfuel, the API for JSON takes the form of a plugin. Here’s a simple breakdown of how the free JSON API plugin works in a bot flow:</p>
<ol>
<li>A user is chatting with your bot.</li>
<li>The user gets to the point in the flow where you’ve placed the JSON API plugin.</li>
<li>This plugin triggers your bot to use the API to ‘call’ the external server you specified when you set up the plugin. So it can receive the data it needs (in JSON format).</li>
<li>The bot brings that JSON-formatted data back to Chatfuel.</li>
<li>Chatfuel renders the data for the Messenger interface so the user can see or use it for some practical application in the flow.</li>
</ol>
<p>Though it sounds time-consuming, all five steps happen more or less instantly. Note that coding knowledge is required to use the JSON API.</p>
<h2><strong>Why use the JSON API in your bot?</strong></h2>
<p>Simply put: because it allows you to build better bots. Let’s say, for instance, that you have a Facebook chatbot that tells users the current price of 100 different stocks. This functionality is only possible to set up with the JSON API. You’d have to create 100 different blocks in your bot, one for each stock.</p>
<p>Next, you’d have to look up and manually enter each price. Plus, you’d have to manually change the price in your bot when any stock changes, even by a dollar. Since stock prices fluctuate constantly, your chatbot would be outdated.</p>
<p>But with the JSON API, your bot could fetch information from a server that has up-to-date stock prices at all times. That way, any time a user asks your bot for the price of a particular stock, they’ll be getting fresh data on the spot.</p>
<p><strong>With JSON API, your Messenger bots:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Save your time.</strong> It allows them to do even more on autopilot and with less manual work from you.</li>
<li>**Are more helpful to users.**They can provide more relevant information to users than a chatbot that only deals with static data.</li>
<li>**Provide a more personalized experience.**An everyday use for the JSON API is to fetch the current day or time in a certain time zone (like the user’s). That means it’s possible to personalize any user’s chatbot experience making it extra relevant and memorable.</li>
</ul>
<p>To put JSON in even more concrete terms, let’s look at its key use cases for Facebook Messenger and Instagram.</p>
<h2><strong>Top use cases for the JSON API</strong></h2>
<p>So you’re building a chatbot for your or your customer’s business. If you want to equip it to do any of the following tasks, use the JSON API. Let’s break it down by use cases for eCommerce, sales and marketing, advertising, and others.</p>
<h3><strong>eCommerce</strong></h3>
<p>Once you integrate your eCommerce store with your Chatfuel bot, you can do things like:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Display your store’s real-time inventory</strong>. Using a <a href="https://chatfuel.com/blog/posts/whisky-brand-triples-conversion-rates-with-gift-recommendation-chatbot?clid=_jXrNVtAnPWGOU2sq-odX&abt=&utm_landing=blog-posts%2Fjson-api-examples">product-recommendation chatbot</a> for your eCommerce store? Imagine the user’s frustration if they went to your site to buy the suggested item and found it was out of stock. A prime JSON API example would be to use the API plugin to link directly to your inventory database. That way, the bot will only show available items.</li>
<li>‍<strong>Show up-to-date product images.</strong> If you have a large inventory of products, manually uploading all the different photos for each to your bot would be seriously time-consuming. But, as another JSON API example, you could link your Facebook bot to your photo database. That way, whenever a user asks to view a specific product, the chatbot will show the latest photos from the database. This use case works great for displaying user-generated content that’s constantly changing and being updated, too.</li>
<li>‍<strong>Enforce a limited-time offer</strong>. Imagine you’re running a short-term sale for your store. The JSON API can track the time, so your bot will stop offering the promotion once it has expired. You won’t have to manually delete those blocks in the bot when time is up, but customers won’t be able to redeem offers when they’re no longer valid.</li>
</ul>
<h3><strong>Sales and marketing</strong></h3>
<ul>
<li><strong>Add bot user information to your CRM or EMS</strong>. Messenger chatbots make <a href="https://chatfuel.com/blog/posts/marketing-agency-uses-messenger-bots-to-deliver-high-quality-leads-for-clients?utm_landing=blog-posts%2Fjson-api-examples">excellent tools for lead generation</a>. So another answer to the question ‘what is JSON used for? ’ would be: sending that lead information directly to your third-party database. If you’re gathering email addresses, you can use the JSON API to send them right to your email marketing solution. If you’re gathering complete lead information for future follow-up, you can use the JSON API to send those details right to your CRM.</li>
<li><strong>Display new content from your site in your bot.</strong> Add JSON API to your chatbot to display the most recent posts from your blog or make the latest news articles available for them to browse. So that your bot can instantly fetch new content from your website and display it to users. Set up a WordPress JSON API if your content is hosted there, for example.</li>
<li><strong>Let users schedule appointments</strong>. You can use the JSON API to fetch information about your availability. Users can only book times that fall within your parameters. For example, you can set your available hours and days, make a mandatory buffer so appointments can’t be scheduled at short notice, and more. Then, of course, you can also use the API to link to your calendar so the user can actually schedule the appointment.</li>
</ul>
<h3><strong>Advertising</strong></h3>
<ul>
<li>
<p><strong>Use JSON API to connect your chatbot with your ads.</strong> That way, you get even better results: generate more leads, collect and export their data, encourage them to purchase, and more. The reason is simple — your chatbot instantly communicates with people who click on your ads and shows interest in your brand and products.</p>
<p>In Chatfuel, you can connect your chatbot to your Instagram or Facebook ads in a few clicks. Check out the video below.</p>
</li>
</ul>
<figure><div><iframe allowfullscreen frameborder="0" scrolling="no" src="//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?src=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.loom.com%2Fembed%2F30fdab52f92a4790b79d9e4ca933fde1&display_name=Loom&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.loom.com%2Fshare%2F30fdab52f92a4790b79d9e4ca933fde1&image=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.loom.com%2Fsessions%2Fthumbnails%2F30fdab52f92a4790b79d9e4ca933fde1-1666779977180.gif&key=c4e54deccf4d4ec997a64902e9a30300&type=text%2Fhtml&schema=loom" title="How to connect ads to Chatfuel via Click-to-message (Copy and paste code) JSON"></iframe></div></figure>
<h3>‍<strong>Other use cases</strong></h3>
<ul>
<li><strong>Share score updates for live sporting events</strong>. The Golden State Warriors, a Chatfuel customer, did this for their fan chatbot. As a prime JSON API example, their bot fetches real-time scores for games in progress. That means users can view the most up-to-date news about the game at any time via the Facebook Messenger chatbot.</li>
<li><strong>Display up-to-date stats for coronavirus infections</strong>. Messenger bots have been used for this purpose since the COVID-19 pandemic began. They can connect to real-time information sources using the JSON API to display current infection rates for different cities or countries.</li>
<li><strong>Offer current weather information</strong>. Weather, API, JSON: three words on this topic that commonly go together. Suppose you want your Facebook bot to give up-to-date information about current weather and the latest forecasts. In that case, you can use a free weather API for JSON. Use the plugin in Chatfuel to link your bot to a weather database, so it can always return the most recent information to users.</li>
</ul>
<h2><strong>How to set up the JSON API in your chatbot</strong></h2>
<p>The instructions for setting up the JSON API in your Messenger chatbot vary widely based on what you’ll be using it for. Remember, this is a developer plugin that requires coding knowledge. We recommend visiting our <a href="https://docs.chatfuel.com/en/articles/735122-json-api?utm_landing=blog-posts%2Fjson-api-examples">Help Center</a> or watching the webinar below to get started.</p>
<figure><div><iframe allowfullscreen frameborder="0" scrolling="no" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5_zuJPPY7PA" title="JSON API: Integrating Third-Party Apps with Chatfuel"></iframe></div></figure>
<h2><strong>Use the JSON API to take your chatbot to the next level</strong></h2>
<p>Marketing automation takes on a new meaning when the JSON API is involved. This Chatfuel plugin gives developers the power to connect chatbots to outside data sources, making for a more valuable and automated experience for your business and customers.</p>
<p>It’s time to start building a bot for your business. <a href="https://chatfuel.com/?utm_landing=blog-posts%2Fjson-api-examples">Sign up</a> for your free Chatfuel account to get started with the first 50 conversations on us.</p>

Wondering how to use the JSON API in your chatbot? Look no further for instructions and JSON API examples.

Use the JSON API to build incredibly powerful chatbots

<p>Can your chatbot juggle? 🤹‍♀️ If you built it with Chatfuel, it can! Your bot can juggle an almost infinite number of tasks for you, completely on autopilot. It can schedule events, organize lead information, create email contacts, and more, all on its own. All you, the builder, have to do is get your Chatfuel bot set up with Zapier automation software—a quick process that doesn’t require a single line of code.</p>
<p>If you’re not familiar with Zapier, think of it kind of like a translator. It makes it so that different software apps can speak to each other so they can work together, like Chatfuel and Mailchimp, Chatfuel and Calendly, or Chatfuel and any of thousands of other apps and services. You can set it up so that a certain action in Chatfuel triggers a certain action in App X (or vice versa). The integration of two apps is called a Zap.</p>
<p>Just think of the possibilities! Give up the tedious, manual tasks and let marketing automation handle the rest. Trust your no-code chatbot to automatically juggle however many tasks you need to <a href="https://blog.chatfuel.com/why-business-needs-a-messenger-chatbot/?clid=jErdxdolrJUe37kWukEog">take your business to the next level</a>.</p>
<p>To get you started, we’ll give a bit more context about Zaps to give you a better understanding of how the two free marketing automation platforms Chatfuel and Zapier can work together. Then we’ll share a list of our most popular Zap templates (they’re free and easy to use!) for you to take advantage of. Finally, we’ll explain how to create your own custom Zap, in case you prefer to do it that way.</p>
<h2>Understanding Chatfuel Zaps</h2>
<p>Before we dig into our Zap templates, it might be helpful for you to understand a bit more about how Chatfuel Zaps work. Basically, there are two ways Zapier can help your chatbot communicate with third-party services:</p>
<p>by <strong>importing</strong> data from them. You can set up a Zap to retrieve data from one of those services so your Messenger bot can use it. For example, your bot could send reengage messages, update attributes, or manage subscription settings based on how a user behaves in another app.</p>
<p>by <strong>exporting</strong> data to them. You can set up a Zap that sends data from your chatbot to a third-party service. It tells the app or service to take an action (like adding an email contact or booking an appointment) based on how a user behaves in your bot.</p>
<figure><div><img src="/cms/static/blog/60afa6a88bd1bb5849deac33_Screen-Shot-2020-09-01-at-4.48.46-PM-1.png" alt="chatfuel zapier" height="924" width="1844" blurDataURL="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAQAAAACCAIAAADwyuo0AAAACXBIWXMAABYlAAAWJQFJUiTwAAAAJUlEQVR4nAEaAOX/APTz8WdyfJCRkf39+QDKysmWmJsACyREUmfV5g4lnvDrEAAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==" placeholder="blur"></div></figure>
<p>Before we move on, here’s one more bit of lingo you should know that’ll help you in the setup process. In the marketing automation platform Zapier, you’ll have trigger apps and action apps. An event in the <strong>trigger app</strong> causes an event to occur in the <strong>action app</strong>. So let’s say you’re exporting data from Chatfuel to Airtable, for example. Chatfuel is the trigger app (where the process begins), and Airtable is the action app (where the resulting action happens).</p>
<h2>Free Zap templates for you to use</h2>
<p>Now you’re ready to pick a Zap and get started! We’ve built plenty of no-code templates for Zapier integrations already. They’re free for you to use. You just need a Zapier account, a Chatfuel account, and an account with the third-party service you want to integrate. Then you’re ready to get started with your automated marketing solution. 🙌</p>
<p>Below, you’ll find a description of what each Zap template does and a link to it. Click the link to open the template in your browser. Zapier will then take you through a few steps to customize it. You’ll need to link your Chatfuel account, select the correct bot, and run a test to make sure everything’s working. Set up one, two, or dozens of Zaps to get your chatbot juggling tedious tasks for you, all on autopilot! Welcome to the power of automation software.</p>
<h3>Zaps for event scheduling 🗓️</h3>
<figure><div><img src="/cms/static/blog/60afa6a88bd1bb0fc4deac2a_Screen-Shot-2020-09-01-at-5.06.35-PM.png" alt="Zaps for event scheduling" height="768" width="1792" blurDataURL="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAQAAAACCAIAAADwyuo0AAAACXBIWXMAABYlAAAWJQFJUiTwAAAAI0lEQVR4nGP49vUTr5SqpYPnl8+fGI4cPhwdn5yQlHb27FkAr+YNu9s2M50AAAAASUVORK5CYII=" placeholder="blur"></div></figure>
<p><strong>Let users schedule, cancel, and get reminders for events.</strong> Whether it’s a call, a webinar, an in-person appointment, or something else, these Zaps let the user schedule it themselves through your chatbot. They can cancel the event too, if they change their mind. Any new or canceled events will reflect on your calendar. You can also set up automatic reminders via chatbot that will appear before the event.</p>
<p>👉 <strong>Use this Zap for Calendly</strong></p>
<p>👉 <a href="https://zapier.com/apps/chatfuel/integrations/google-calendar/134825/schedule-chatfuel-events-in-google-calendar"><strong>Use this Zap for Google Calendar</strong></a></p>
<h3>Zaps for sending email and SMS to bot users 💬</h3>
<figure><div><img src="/cms/static/blog/60afa6a88bd1bb3713deac24_Screen-Shot-2020-09-01-at-4.57.26-PM.png" alt="chatfuel mailchimp" height="856" width="1806" blurDataURL="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAQAAAACCAIAAADwyuo0AAAACXBIWXMAABYlAAAWJQFJUiTwAAAAI0lEQVR4nGP48vkTA7+kgor61y9fGM6ePZebX1RWUXP27DkAqtMN0vKDLZUAAAAASUVORK5CYII=" placeholder="blur"></div></figure>
<p><strong>Send SMS messages to chatbot us</strong>ers. You’re already growing a loyal user base for your Facebook chatbot in Chatfuel, so why stop there? <a href="https://youtu.be/fnjvvHS5LK4">This integration uses Twilio</a> to send an automated SMS or MMS message to a Chatfuel user who shared <a href="https://youtu.be/50iBVq6y6LY">their phone number</a>. For example: Ask a user for their phone number in Chatfuel, then text a coupon code to their phone.</p>
<p>👉 <a href="https://zapier.com/apps/chatfuel/integrations/twilio/87480/send-sms-messages-to-chatfuel-subscribers-exported-to-zapier"><strong>Use this Twilio Zap</strong></a></p>
<p><strong>Add chatbot users as email subscribers.</strong> Ready for an easier way to get your customers into your chatbot user list? Just set up this marketing automation tool, and when a customer gets to an Export via Zapier trigger in Chatfuel, a new email contact will be generated for them. No more wasted time manually adding subscribers yourself!</p>
<p>👉 <a href="https://zapier.com/apps/chatfuel/integrations/mailchimp/67548/add-mailchimp-subscribers-for-new-chatfuel-export-via-zapier-trigger-events"><strong>Use this Zap for Mailchimp</strong></a></p>
<p>👉 <a href="https://zapier.com/apps/chatfuel/integrations/veeqo/134812/create-veeqo-customers-from-new-chatfuel-contacts"><strong>Use this Zap for Intercom</strong></a></p>
<p><strong>Unsubscribe users from a Mailchimp list based on their actions in your bot.</strong> Automatically unsubscribe the email addresses from a Mailchimp list using this integration. When active, it removes contacts from your mailing list each time the Export via Zapier plugin is triggered in Chatfuel.</p>
<p>👉 <a href="https://zapier.com/apps/chatfuel/integrations/mailchimp/70027/unsubscribe-people-from-mailchimp-when-a-export-via-zapier-plugin-triggers-on-chatfuel"><strong>Use this Mailchimp Zap</strong></a></p>
<p><strong>Add chatbot users as email/SMS subscribers.</strong> Acquire leads from your Facebook bot flow and send them to your email/SMS client, so you can add them to your email or SMS marketing campaigns.</p>
<p>👉 <a href="https://zapier.com/apps/chatfuel/integrations/convertkit/127381/add-subscribers-to-convertkit-sequences-for-newly-updated-subscriber-attributes-in-chatfuel"><strong>Use this Zap for ConvertKit</strong></a></p>
<p>👉 <a href="https://zapier.com/apps/activecampaign/integrations/chatfuel/127202/create-activecampaign-contacts-for-newly-updated-subscriber-attributes-in-chatfuel"><strong>Use this Zap for ActiveCampaign</strong></a></p>
<p>👉 <a href="https://zapier.com/apps/chatfuel/integrations/klaviyo/123901/add-klaviyo-subscribers-for-newly-updated-chatfuel-subscriber-attributes"><strong>Use this Zap for Klaviyo</strong></a></p>
<h3>Zaps for lead generation, handling, and follow-up 🙋🏽‍♀️</h3>
<figure><div><img src="/cms/static/blog/60afa6a88bd1bb395cdeac2b_Screen-Shot-2020-09-01-at-5.09.03-PM.png" alt="chatfuel salesforce" height="836" width="1790" blurDataURL="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAQAAAACCAIAAADwyuo0AAAACXBIWXMAABYlAAAWJQFJUiTwAAAAI0lEQVR4nGP49vUTk6i8hav365cvGM6ePVtWUVPX2HL27DkAsjoOVMUpsHMAAAAASUVORK5CYII=" placeholder="blur"></div></figure>
<p><strong>Create records in your CRM from leads you acquired via chatbot.</strong> Use your <a href="https://youtu.be/TjxhyddugaA">Messenger bot for lead generation</a>. Then use this Zap to automatically send lead information to your CRM for easy follow-up later.</p>
<p>👉 <a href="https://zapier.com/apps/chatfuel/integrations/salesforce/127395/create-records-in-salesforce-from-new-leads-in-chatfuel"><strong>Use this Zap for SalesForce</strong></a></p>
<p>👉 <a href="https://zapier.com/apps/chatfuel/integrations/closeio/127389/create-new-opportunities-in-close-from-new-chatfuel-subscriber-attributes"><strong>Use this Zap for Close</strong></a></p>
<p><strong>Sen</strong>d phone numbers of qualified leads to your RingCentral calling list. Set up <a href="https://youtu.be/oAxDdHVHIdQ">a lead generation flow</a> in your Chatfuel bot that applies user attributes to those who make it through the process. Then, use this marketing automation tool to send only these qualified leads to your RingCentral calling list.</p>
<p>👉 <a href="https://zapier.com/apps/chatfuel/integrations/ringcentral/127406/generate-ringout-call-in-ringcentral-when-new-leads-are-generated-in-chatfuel"><strong>Use this RingCentral Zap</strong></a></p>
<p><strong>Get Slack notifications for new leads.</strong> If your team primarily uses Slack to communicate, they likely won’t check and respond to user messages in Messenger as quickly. Use this Zap to integrate the two messaging platforms so your team can get Slack alerts whenever a new lead is qualified in your chatbot.</p>
<p>👉 <a href="https://zapier.com/apps/chatfuel/integrations/slack/87500/send-slack-message-for-new-chatfuel-leads"><strong>Use this Slack Zap</strong></a></p>
<p><strong>Get email notifications for new leads.</strong> Sometimes you’re right in the middle of another task when a new lead comes through your Facebook chatbot. To make sure you don’t forget about it, use this Gmail Zap. It’ll export new bot messages out of Chatfuel as Gmail emails, so you’ll have a reminder to follow up waiting in your inbox.</p>
<p>👉 <a href="https://zapier.com/apps/chatfuel/integrations/gmail/156969/send-gmail-emails-for-new-exports-of-chatfuel-messages"><strong>Use this Gmail Zap</strong></a></p>
<h3>Zaps for data handling 📊</h3>
<figure><div><img src="/cms/static/blog/60afa6a88bd1bbb69edeac2d_Screen-Shot-2020-09-01-at-5.10.30-PM.png" alt="chatfuel airtable" height="838" width="1786" blurDataURL="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAQAAAACCAIAAADwyuo0AAAACXBIWXMAABYlAAAWJQFJUiTwAAAAI0lEQVR4nGN4/fKFoLy6d0Dgi+fPGc6ePVtWUVNeWX/27FkAs68OXRKZGRIAAAAASUVORK5CYII=" placeholder="blur"></div></figure>
<p><strong>Send data from your bot to an organized table.</strong> Sometimes you need to push info from your chatbot interactions to a database tool for organizing. If your Facebook Messenger chatbot is gathering a lot of data from users (like in a survey, for example), try this Zap to help organize it. This Zap will create new records in Airtable when you have new triggers of the Export via Zapier plugin in Chatfuel. No more copying and pasting important information manually!</p>
<p>👉 <a href="https://zapier.com/apps/airtable/integrations/chatfuel/161845/create-airtable-records-for-new-exports-via-zapier-plugin-in-chatfuel"><strong>Use this Airtable Zap</strong></a></p>
<p><em>You can view all Chatfuel-Zapier integrations on our page.</em></p>
<figure><div><img src="/cms/static/blog/60afa6a88bd1bb5849deac33_Screen-Shot-2020-09-01-at-4.48.46-PM-1.png" alt="chatfuel zapier" height="924" width="1844" blurDataURL="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAQAAAACCAIAAADwyuo0AAAACXBIWXMAABYlAAAWJQFJUiTwAAAAJUlEQVR4nAEaAOX/APTz8WdyfJCRkf39+QDKysmWmJsACyREUmfV5g4lnvDrEAAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==" placeholder="blur"></div></figure>
<h2>Creating your own Zap</h2>
<p>If you prefer to create your own custom Zap instead of using one of our templates, get started with the basic instructions below. Your first step is to decide if you want to create an import or export integration. If you want a Zap that exports data from Chatfuel and triggers an action in a third-party app, follow the Export Zap instructions. For the reverse, follow the Import Zap instructions.</p>
<h3>Setting up an Export Zap</h3>
<p>Use an Export Zap if you want to trigger an action in a third-party app when one of your users takes a certain action within the Messenger bot. This video tutorial demonstrates the basic process. ⬇️</p>
<figure><div><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kpZ96ix5g3s?feature=oembed&enablejsapi=1&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.chatfuel.com" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div></figure>
<p>The exact instructions will vary depending on which app you’re integrating with Chatfuel via Zapier. But the basic guidelines are as follows:</p>
<ol>
<li>In the <em>Automation</em>--><em>Blocks</em> tab, <strong>Add the Export via Zapier</strong> plugin from the <em>Add Element</em> menu to your Chatfuel bot. Insert it at the bottom of a block, after whatever user action it’s based on will have taken place (like at the end of a lead-gathering flow, for example).</li>
</ol>
<figure><div><img src="/cms/static/blog/60afa6a88bd1bb777edeac2c_image.png" alt="" height="131" width="614" blurDataURL="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAQAAAABCAIAAAB2XpiaAAAACXBIWXMAAAsSAAALEgHS3X78AAAAFklEQVR4nGNgEFX99unTi5cvnz19DgAsPgiBfaaYGAAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==" placeholder="blur"></div></figure>
<p>2. In another window, create or log into your <a href="http://zapier.com/">Zapier account</a>.</p>
<p>3. Click the <strong>Make a Zap</strong> button.</p>
<figure><div><img src="/cms/static/blog/60afa6a88bd1bb1a46deac1d_image-1.png" alt="" height="157" width="290" blurDataURL="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAQAAAACCAIAAADwyuo0AAAACXBIWXMAAAsSAAALEgHS3X78AAAAI0lEQVR4nGN4//Llm8uXv3758uv3bwY2FhZ+Xl4WFhYpKSkA2qMLsk3JZSEAAAAASUVORK5CYII=" placeholder="blur"></div></figure>
<p>4. Type Chatfuel into the search box. It will be your trigger app. You’ll be prompted to log in to your Chatfuel account and select the Facebook chatbot you want to use.</p>
<p>5. Choose a trigger event—the action the user will take in your bot that will trigger an event in the third-party app. (You’ll need to select the Export via Zapier plugin you added in step one.)</p>
<p>6. Next, choose a third-party app as your action app. Log into your account with that third-party service when prompted. Agree to its use of test data if needed.</p>
<p>7. Choose an action event—what will happen in the third-party app after the user takes the specified action in Chatfuel.</p>
<p>8. Activate the Zap, and test it to make sure it’s working properly.</p>
<h3>Setting up an Import Zap</h3>
<p>The same basic instructions above apply to setting up an Import Zap. The main difference is that you’ll choose the third-party service as your trigger app, and Chatfuel as your action app. You’ll also want to add the Import via Zapier plugin to Chatfuel, rather than the Export via Zapier plugin. You can learn more in the video tutorial below. ⬇️</p>
<figure><div><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kGZzop6MHKQ?feature=oembed&enablejsapi=1&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.chatfuel.com" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div></figure>
<p>And if something’s not working quite right with one of your Zapier plugins, consider these tips:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Activate your Zaps.</strong> Previewing them in test mode won’t show user attribute values. To get the full experience of how your Zap will work, make sure to properly activate it.</li>
<li><strong>Expect some latency.</strong> Depending on your Zapier plan, data transfer might not be instantaneous.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Up your game with marketing automation</h2>
<p>If you’re ready to scale your business, marketing automation tools should become your new best friends. One of the key functions of Chatfuel is to help you grow on autopilot, so incorporating Zapier will only supercharge this process.</p>
<p>If you’re ready to get started with chatbot marketing and automation, <a href="https://dashboard.chatfuel.com"><strong>sign up for a free Chatfuel account</strong></a> today. Get familiar with the platform and validate your concept, then <a href="https://chatfuel.com/pricing">upgrade to Pro</a> to reach more users and enjoy extra perks (like priority support and no user limits). Happy automating! 🤖</p>

The secret to taking your business to the next level: marketing automation. Here's how to do it with Chatfuel + Zapier automation software.