FB Messenger Integration Update
We are excited to introduce some big updates to our Facebook Messenger integration which you can use to improve engagement and usage of bots built on Hu:toma.
Web deployments are here
Here we’ve made it easy for you to interact with website visitors via two web widgets, whilst establishing a personal channel for re-engagement. Clients can add these widgets to their websites which will give users a quick and direct connection to the personalized chatbot on Messenger.
The “Message Us” widget prompts your website visitors to start a conversation with your bot in Messenger by linking them to your Bot’s “Get Started” page. With this, it is about user engagement. You present the option but it is the user who chooses to engage. If they are ready to start, they will let the bot know. And If they’ve already spoken with it then they’ll resume where they left off.
The “Send to Messenger” widget is a similar feature but triggers an authentication webhook for website visitors to identify themselves. Kind of like a 2-step verification, the authentication webhook helps to obtain the user’s consent — giving you access to a personal communication channel with them into the future. For our clients, that means you can capture and identify users and subscribe them to receive push notifications from you.
Greet your customers with Custom “Get Started” pages
The “Get Started” page is your way of welcoming new, first-time users to interact with your chatbot on Messenger. We know “Get Started” pages have high drop-off rates and one way to reduce that is by explaining what your service does right here before they start chatting to it.
Make it visual and personalize it to the style of your service. Place the content on there that you want them to see first and be aware of.
The message the “Get Started” button sends can also be customised, so you could try out a new welcome message or onboarding sequence. Or dive right into the conversation by triggering a certain Intent.
Rich Content
Sometimes text isn’t enough, a combination of content helps to improve the human-like nature of the bot, increase engagement and retain users. By adding rich media content such as photos, gifs, videos, audio and stickers, you give the user more to interact with and that can add to their overall experience.
There is such a thing as too much rich content. Keep away from annoying the user by deciding when and where the additional content fits best. And use it sparingly.
Some ways you can use rich content:
- As an ice-breaker: be it a user’s first-time or their return visit, a GIF or meme can help jumpstart the interaction
- Evoke a memory or feeling: here you really want to push the human-like element of the bot. Add a song or short videoclip that can trigger a memory response from their reactions with the bot.
- Give the user a break: It is hard to keep the attention of anyone nowadays for longer than a few seconds. Breaking up long text threads with images or stickers can be useful in keeping the user engaged.
Have you tried out Giphy Bot yet? Take a look at what’s possible.
Perhaps, users can’t explain themselves the way they want to or don’t know what they’re looking for. Help them out by giving them options and/or ideas through in-Messenger buttons with leading propositions or suggestions. You help your users navigate to what they want and it keeps them in the driver’s seat by letting them choose.
Quick Replies
We now support quick replies as standard for all intents with less than 12 entities. This makes the conversation designer’s job a little easier and allows the conversation to be funnelled down certain common paths. Once a user selects a path, the other responses disappear. A common example could be asking a user for their location.
Templates
Messenger has a bunch of templates which allow you to structure links, images, or videos to create a more engaging experience for the user. Let the user shuffle through a few options or find out more about a service offered without having to switch to another window.
Let your users know you’re there
Conversations should feel natural. When a user speaks with a friend through Messenger each can know when their message was received and when the other is writing a response through the ‘Typing indicators”. Well now Hu:toma sends these indicators by default too so you can let your users know your bot is there and ready to help.
We’ll be following this up with a step by step guide on how to use all of these features very soon!
