Lead Generation with Facebook Chatbots - A Sensible Choice?

Automated Messenger bots for lead generation are becoming increasingly popular. These benefit from very high click and conversion rates.

Classic lead generation works through interaction with the target group. The goal is to convert your prospects into leads. This is often supported by free added value. It is normal for the potential customer to come into contact with the product or service several times before purchasing it. It is therefore important to design your customer journey as well as possible and to build trust with your prospects.Facebook intervenes in the customer journey with the launch of the "Automatic Chat" and accompanies your prospects on their way to becoming your new customer. In this article we show you different possibilities and compare the tool with the interactive forms of smashleads™.

The process from the first contact to the submission of contact data is called lead generation in online marketing and can be optimized through the use of interactive content and elements. What does this look like in detail? Here is an example customer journey:

1. user scrolls through his Facebook feed and becomes aware of a product via an advertisement, which he does not immediately understand

2. by clicking, the user is automatically contacted by a chatbot in Facebook Messenger

3. the user gets to know the product/service better in a dialog and goes through the questionnaire

4. by showing interest, the user provides further customer data, which is passed on to the sales team in real time through CRM integration - the lead is generated

5. the sales team takes over - the chatbot can still be used in the CRM to increase the conversion rate after lead generation (for example by appointment reminders)

How do you bring visitors into Messenger?

In order to enter into a dialog, the potential customer must first enter the messenger. There are several ways to do this.

Click to Messenger

The "Click to Messenger" function is one of the most effective ad types. It redirects potential customers to Messenger to get information about the product through interactive communication. We'll show you how to create such an ad below.

Button integration on the page

Another option is to place a "Click to Messenger" button directly on the company page. Well visible, this has a high click-through rate.

Comment Watch

Through the Comment Watch function, users who comment on a post can be automatically contacted. Through which an inclusion in the sales tunnel can take place. Your site can respond to the comments with a personal message and be included in the chat.

How do you get prospects into your funnel with smashleads™?

smashleads™ combines psychology with technical innovation and makes it possible to create interactive inquiry forms, calculators or appointment schedulers. If a prospect comes into contact with the lead generator, they interact with high probability automatically. In doing so, smashleads™ serves the 3 typical buying steps. A need is created in your prospect. This need is satisfied through interaction and communication and then your prospect receives direct feedback in the form of an output.

Additionally, with smashleads™ you can create a true user experience. This is made possible by the many personalizations and customizations in the design.

Website integration

Integrate interactive inquiry forms, online calculators or online appointment calendars easily on your website. When a potential customer comes to your site, curiosity and psychology will make them interact with the intelligent inquiry form on their own.

Landingpage

Build your own landing pages with smashleads in minutes and integrate smashleads™ centrally on them. By bringing traffic to your landing page, you can automatically optimize your conversion.

Social Media Content

Create interactive content that is optimized for social media and mobile. For example, show your interactive campaigns in your company Instagram story to reach even more people.

Does lead generation via Facebook chatbots work?

The chatbot has a clear course of action. The process can be divided into the following 4 phases:

• Prospect qualification
• Lead generation and export to CRM
• Re-Targeting
• Convert leads to buyers

Qualification of the leads

The prerequisite for lead generation is interaction in Messenger. If a user is in communication with you, the chatbot has the following important tasks: On the one hand, it must further increase interest in your product or service, and on the other hand, it must provide information about the product or services. However, the most important thing is to further qualify the lead so that it can be easily converted into a customer later on. To qualify the leads, the chatbot uses a simple funnel. This asks the user questions, which can be answered via predefined fields. This ensures secure data delivery.

Collecting contact details

Once the user has passed through the funnel and has been further qualified, the most important part of the sales process begins. The lead generation. For companies, the email address and the name are of crucial importance. The previously defined Quick Reply buttons make it child's play to enter this data and thus ensure a better conversion. Make sure to link your chatbot to your CRM system to optimize sales in the best possible way.

Re-targeting of non-converted leads

Facebook offers the possibility to re-target free of charge. This means that you can track all prospects from your sales funnel who have not yet converted to a lead within the Facebook guidelines. Often it can be small things that cause a prospect to drop out shortly before entering their data. If this is brought into your funnel again, a large percentage will enter their data. This can increase the conversion by 2% on average, which is a very high value.

CRM interface

Once the lead is generated, the next step is to convert it into a buyer. Here, Facebook can only partially help with chat automation. Some interfaces are already available, whereas it can be more difficult with more specific CRM systems.

Lead generation with smashleads™

Lead generation using smashleads™ is AI-supported. The conversion is optimized in real time and is permanently maximized. When a prospect enters your sales funnel, smashleads™ automatically adapts to each of your prospects and optimizes the interactive content in real time.Smashleads™ also provides you with numerous lead management and optimization options in your dashboard. Direct prospects into your funnel and convert them into leads through automated optimization. In doing so, smashleads™ offers you far more lead generation options than the Facebook chatbot.

How to create your automated chatbot

Step 1: Create campaign

Set up the Ad Manager and create a campaign. Now enter "Message" as the campaign target. The selection of the campaign target is a prerequisite for the "Click to Messenger" function.

Step 2: Create ad group

By defining the campaign target "Message", we have the possibility to make further specific settings under the item Ad Group. Here you now have the option to choose between the ad types "Call to Messenger" or "Sponsored conversation". The "Click to Messenger" ad type automatically brings the user into the Messenger dialog with you, whereas the "Sponsored Conversation" ad type sends a message into an existing conversation. Select "Click to Messenger" here, as this will bring new prospects directly into your funnel.

Your ad can be displayed on the following channels and platforms:

• Instagram Feed
• Facebook Feed
• Facebook Marketplace
• Messenger Inbox

If you don't have any valid data at the beginning, we recommend you to set an automatic one. You can then optimize this during the course of the campaign. Experience shows that you will have the best conversion if you display your ad in the Messenger inbox.

Step 3: Creation of the advertisement

Lead generation using the chatbot works in two stages. The first stage is to get people into the funnel via an ad and import them directly into the messenger via a "Click to Messenger". The second stage is to convert this prospect into a lead, so in this step, determine which page you want your users to interact and communicate with in the chat. Then we come to the configuration of the chatbot.

You will now have the option to select the "Generate Leads" target under the "Create New" tab in the new "Messenger Setup" window. Then click on the "Create chat" button to get started right away.

Step 4: Create chat

In the newly opened window you have the following options:

• Determine the greeting
• Formulate questions, which will be asked to the interested parties
• Thank you message
• Reminders to finish
• Set the data policy and terms of use

Using the Messenger preview, you can see all the changes in real time.

Set questions

Formulate the questions here, which the chatbot will automatically ask during the dialog. You can choose from the following user information:

• City
• Zip code
• Gender
• State
• Vocation
• Country
  

You also have the possibility to ask questions, which are expected to have a short answer. These can be yes or no questions, for example. You can set predefined answer options for these questions, which will be displayed to the interested party. Create as many questions as you like. However, it turns out that 4-8 questions convert best.

Profile

First sets the welcome message for the prospect. The prospect will receive this message immediately after clicking on the ad. You can specify a text or a text and an image. In addition, we recommend that you personalize the message by specifying the name.

Thank you Message

Then set a thank you message. This is used to take the lead to the next level of the sales funnel. Smashleads™ also offers you the feature to create your own outputs, which the prospect receives immediately. This can be, for example, an automatically generated offer or a recommendation. Your prospects receive direct feedback, which allows you to increase your conversion many times over with smashleads.

In addition, Facebook also offers you the possibility to contact people again via a reminder who have dropped out or have not completely answered the questions. Finally, add the data policies of your company.

Test your chat bot

Once you have completed all the steps, you can simply test it via the Messenger preview and see if all the questions work. If you are satisfied with everything, you can start the ad.

Limitations of Facebook Bots

Facebook offers a very simple type of chatbot with the "Automatic Chat" feature. This also means that certain functions are not available compared to third-party providers and you have to expect limitations.

It is not possible to create a logical branching between the answers and subsequent questions. The Facebook chatbot sends all the questions in order and does not allow any leeway. Whereas smashleads™ makes logical branching of questions possible and adapts to each prospect individually in real time. Once the thank you message has been sent, the chatbot has done its job. If the prospect has not yet been converted, sales must continue manually or an external chatbot must be integrated. Lead generation with smashleads™ is designed to be as simple as possible. Leads are automatically uploaded to the cell phone in the app or in its own dashboard. From here, they can be easily edited. In addition, automatic outputs can be created, which convert your leads directly into buyers. In addition, Facebook doesn't offer evaluation options in the form of statistics. So seeing what percentage of your prospects bounce is difficult. Smashleads™ offers you a variety of statistics on your customer behavior. In addition, you have the option to integrate tracking codes to collect more data.

Register here for free at smashleads™.