How to use Facebook Messenger for your business

In the final quarter of 2021, Facebook recorded over 2.9 billion monthly active users — meaning roughly 36% of the world’s population uses Facebook – a huge potential audience that makes Facebook a great platform for sales.

In this article, we focus on Facebook Messenger for Business, which is currently used by 46% of the United States population. We cover why you should use Facebook Messenger for business, how to set it up and how to use it to access the 2.9 billion active users on Facebook. We also share some tips for growing your sales with the tool.

What is Facebook Messenger?

Facebook Messenger (sometimes just called “Messenger”) is a chat tool within the Facebook platform. Everyone with a personal or business account has access to Facebook Messenger and it’s currently free.

Facebook first released Messenger as “Facebook Chat” in April of 2008, revamped it in 2010 and released it onto Android and iOS devices in 2011.

Between 2011 and now, Facebook made many small changes to Messenger, including revamping the design and adding new features. The most recognizable of these changes was announced in October 2020 when Facebook declared that it would integrate Facebook Messenger and Instagram Messenger.

Messenger is available on Facebook and through separate iOS, Android, Windows and macOS apps. Messenger carries these features:

• Real-time messaging

• Video and photo sharing

• Group chats (you can also customize the group name, member nicknames and member requests)

• Recorded voice messages

• Emojis, gifs and stickers

• Video and audio calling (you can do this one-on-one or in a group)

This versatility (as well as the inevitable links with parent app Facebook, make Messenger a very popular tool. US users spend an average of 24 mins daily on mobile messaging apps and, the biggest Facebook Messenger user base is people aged 25 to 34.

Facebook (and Facebook Messenger) are also very popular with brands. Facebook works with 10 million advertisers and 93% of marketers use Facebook. These global marketers are using the platform more and more, as 47% plan to increase their Facebook advertising efforts.

What are the benefits of using Facebook Messenger for business?

Facebook Messenger business has more to offer than just instant chats with customers. Using it in your business can help you to:

1. Generate quality leads

Lead quality can be a big problem in sales.

Research on nearly 400 salespeople found that the majority (71.4%) of respondents only considered 50% of leads to be a good fit for their brand and offering. That means salespeople could be wasting half of their time talking to leads who won’t convert.

Though Facebook Messenger might not be the first thing you think of for Facebook lead generation, the platform has an internal tool for lead nurturing.

You can use it by setting up a Lead Generation campaign in Ads Manager. Once you set it up, the tool generates an automated chat template that leads click via Facebook ads. Then, when someone clicks the link, the tool starts a Messenger chat and asks the lead questions to determine how qualified they are.

As the tool shows you the best people to prioritize, you can use it to determine which leads to spend your valuable time with.

2. Provide good customer service

Older customer service methods like talking to customers in-store, calling customers and emailing customers work great for some businesses, but they're also slow.

Facebook Messenger is instant, so you can engage with customers wherever and whenever. You can also personalize the chat with emojis, share links easily and copy and paste information quickly.

Volaris, a low-cost airline from Mexico, is proof of Messenger’s capabilities. Volaris switched 50% of its customer service queries from phone calls to Facebook chats. As Facebook Messenger connected with the brand’s Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, agents could answer multiple chats quickly and easily.

After six months, Volaris reduced handline time for customer queries by 29%, decreased the cost of customer care by 83%, and increased the number of interactions each agent could handle by five.

3. Build trust in your brand and products

Consumers are rightfully skeptical of many ecommerce stores, especially those without physical retail outlets. Having a robust social media presence can make customers feel more secure and confident, as they can see your interactions with customers, reviews and your brand’s history.

Facebook Messenger can also help you answer customer questions and nurture leads one-on-one. Leads want to message you — 50% of them believe they get better advice and care from doing so, and 49% believe they get more truthful responses.

4. 24/7 support with Facebook Messenger bots for businesses

Finally, Facebook Messenger business can help you provide customer service all day, every day. Facebook Messenger chatbots use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to answer basic questions from customers. You can optimize your bot to answer common questions about your products, warranty, return policies and brand policies.

How to set up Facebook Messenger for business

Now that you know the benefits of Facebook Messenger, you’re ready to integrate it into your customer service repertoire.

To set up Facebook Messenger for business, go to Facebook.com. If you already have a business page, log in using your username and password.

If you don’t have a Facebook, follow these steps:

1. Go to www.facebook.com/pages/create. Choose “page”.

2. Fill out the “Page Information” section, including your desired page name, category and a short description of your brand (this description will be public). You may also add a profile photo and a cover photo at this stage or return to it later.

3. Create a professional username. Your username will fit into your Facebook page URL (for example, “facebook.com/nike”).

Next, it’s time to enable Facebook Messenger. Go to “Page Settings” and click “General”. Tick the box that reads, “Allow people to contact my Page privately by showing the Message button”. Click “Save Changes” to confirm.

Messenger will work as a standard chat tool, but there are several settings you can configure in Page Settings:

• Greetings. This feature sends people a welcome message when they visit your page. Turn it on by clicking “Messaging” then check “On” in “Show a greeting”.

• Return key function. This setting enables you to send a message by clicking the “Enter” key. Turn it on by selecting “On” in “Messaging Settings”.

• Automated Responses. This feature turns on a chatbot you can customize to answer questions. Turn it on by clicking “Messaging”, then selecting “Set up” next to “Set Up Automated Responses”. Follow the prompts.

• Personalized senders. This feature shows the customer the name of the agent speaking to them. Go to “Messaging”, then select “on” next to “Show who’s sending messages on behalf of your page” to enable it.

• Your WhatsApp connection. If you would like to integrate WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, you can do so by clicking “WhatsApp” and following the prompts.

Tips on how to get more sales with Facebook Messenger business

Facebook Messenger is a powerful tool when you use it right. To help you maximize your returns with it, here are five tips to increase sales:

1. Use a chatbot for sales leads

Leads are often at their most motivated when they reach out and make contact. Unfortunately, this means that if your customer service agents don’t answer quickly, you could lose the lead.

That’s where chatbots come in. Chatbots send instant responses that answer basic FAQ-style questions, link leads to resources within your sales funnel and pass the lead to a customer service agent at their request.

Chatbots can also qualify leads for you by asking questions. This helps you sort people into unqualified leads, Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs) and Sales Qualified Leads (SQLs). MQLs are people in your target audience who become SQLs once they enter your sales funnel.

2. Promote your business on Facebook

Promoting your business through Facebook will increase your sales by attracting more leads to your page. There are two ways to promote your business:

• Organic posts. These are overtly promotional and educational posts you publish as regular Facebook posts. Organic posts are free.

• Facebook ads. Facebook ads appear in people’s Facebook feeds as they scroll (even if they don’t follow you). You can customize the budget, format and the desired audience for your ad. Ads can be image-based or video-based.

3. Watch your inbox carefully

A study by SuperOffice and Jeff Toister asked 3,200 consumers how quickly they expect a response. They found that 46% of consumers expect companies to respond in four hours or less and 12% expect a response in 15 minutes.

If you fail to meet customers’ expectations, you may disappoint them, potentially costing you lost sales from them and anyone they shared their negative experience with.

If you use Pipedrive, you're able to monitor your Facebook Messenger inbox via the Pipedrive integration. Check out our support article Pipedrive Integration: Facebook Messenger for more details.

4. Follow up with leads

When someone messages your brand with a question about your offering or company, it’s a strong sign they're interested. Don’t let their interest drop and follow up so you can keep them engaged in your sales funnel.

You can send them a follow-up message through Facebook Messenger. Or, ask for their email and phone details in the chat and follow up with them through those channels. Sometimes, leads forget to check their messages and a follow-up message through another medium might remind them of your conversation.

Here are some ideas for re-captivating a lead’s attention:

• Send then an exclusive discount code or coupon

• Follow-up with more information (for example, “I remembered we talked about [subject] so I thought you would be interested in [product]”)

• Ask them a question

5. Integrate with your CRM tool for better visibility

It can be tricky to keep track of progress with your leads, especially if you’re using multiple tools. Integrating Facebook Messenger with your CRM platform is a great way to keep all your sales and marketing data in one place.

The Pipedrive-Facebook messenger integration provides a number of features that make it easier to monitor and follow up with your potential customers.

They include:

• Add contacts, leads or deals from messenger conversations in seconds

• Automatically store your conversation history in a related contact, lead or deal

• Get shared access to all conversations within the team for better context

• Organize all conversations and assign them to the right team members

By having better visibility of what’s going on with your leads, you’re less likely to miss out on closing a deal because you didn’t follow up in time.

What are some other popular messenger apps?

Here are other popular messaging apps you may want to consider using. This includes:

• Discord. Discord is part instant messaging app and part VoIP platform. Users can privately message or post in Discord groups.

• Viber. Owned by Rakuten, Viber is a VoIP platform and chat program similar to Facebook Messenger.

• LINE. LINE is a messenger app popular in Thailand, Taiwan and Japan.

• Microsoft Teams. Owned by Microsoft, Microsoft Teams is a workspace chat tool best for friendship groups and work teams.

You don’t have to choose a single messenger app for your business, and many brands don’t. Instead, build profiles on platforms your customers like and use so you can connect with them on their terms.

Final thoughts

Facebook Messenger is often relegated to the role of Facebook’s internal instant message courier. But it’s more than that. Using Facebook Messenger in your business will help you nurture quality leads, answer customer questions, provide excellent customer service and build trust in your brand.

Getting started with Facebook Messenger is easy and just requires a bit of tweaking on your account. Once your Facebook Messenger is up and running, remember these tips:

• Engage leads quickly with a chatbot

• Grow your audience through free posts and paid ads

• Monitor your inbox carefully

• Follow up with leads

And, if you’re looking for a CRM that can help you sell 28% more, try Pipedrive. Pipedrive enables you to automate sales, track and manage leads and gather insights into your sales.

Over 100,000 companies in 170+ countries love Pipedrive. If you’d like to join them, click here to start a 14-day free trial.