Chat Funnels
Chat funnels: It’s all going down in the DMs!
Simple. Personalised. High open rates
Here’s a fun fact: there are more people using mobile messaging apps than there are social media users.
Yep, more people use apps such as Facebook Messenger, Instagram DMs, WhatsApp – you get the picture – than the actual social media platforms. Isn’t that just mind-boggling?
Which begs the question that if you have a social media strategy, surely you should have a chat funnel strategy?
After all – it’s all going down in the DMs!
But what exactly is a chat funnel, I hear you ask?
Well, put simply, it’s using automated conversations to market to the people who message your brand online, namely the Facebook and (since 2021) Instagram platforms. But we’re not talking robotic Q&As or hard sales tactics. We’re not talking about ‘those’ sorts of bots either.
Chat funnels are all about using conversation to engage, entertain AND get results. Meta has also ramped up its commitment to message marketing, saying at its F8 conference in 2021 that: “Our vision is for messaging to be the primary way people and businesses communicate.”
That vision is already here. As a brand, how many DMs are you now receiving in Facebook and Instagram, compared to say, a couple of years ago? How many more posts do you see where the brand/person is asking viewers to ‘Comment XX to get YY’, or maybe ‘DM me XX to receive YY’.
We, as consumers, rarely ignore a message in our Facebook or Instagram DMs. This is powerful stuff for your brand!
We’re all busy. Our email inboxes are crowded. Yet message marketing is seeing huge growth. Personalisation of the customer journey is leading to higher click-through rates, increased engagement – and more conversions.
Chat funnels can be used to build email lists, send introductory offers, get customers to participate in quizzes and surveys – and much more! Chat marketing platforms (I use ManyChat) can also integrate with other platforms such as Active Campaign, Google Sheets, Hubspot (and others) meaning that building a messaging strategy can seamlessly complement your existing marketing.
As a conscientious brand, you probably already reply to all the DMs you get on Facebook and Instagram – but it takes time right? How much time do you and your team spend replying to each and every query? How many of your customers get in touch with the same questions, day in day out?
You may have FAQs set up within your Facebook or IG page, along with some instant replies. But even if your customer gets the answer to their question, does it engage them, entertain them and build a good rapport that makes your brand stay front of mind? Is it personalised? Does it move them along the path from enquiry to, say, sign-up or making a purchase?
What if you could automate that process, make it functional AND fun?
Think about how much time this would save for you and your customer service team.
If you could also get them to sign up to your email list, and give their mobile number, think about how this could grow your brand, increase user personalisation AND build customer loyalty.
This is where chat funnels are a game-changer.
A recent client of mine wanted to include chat marketing as part of her strategy to build interest in her Pinterest coaching course.
As she was already running successful Facebook Ads, we used chat marketing organically to not only get sign-ups for her free, pre-launch challenge and masterclass., but also to get them to ‘show up’ to the Facebook group and engage during the event.
A combination of personalised chat strategies and SMS, using their bot called ‘Giffy’, across both Facebook and Instagram achieved these stats:
- 780 new contacts into ManyChat
- 82% increase in group members (from previous challenge)
- 87% of these group members were active
“There is a lot of excitement for Giffy. All targets met and I can’t thank you enough. Having a bot has been a complete game changer for our conversion rate into the group.”
The ‘clincher’ to the success of this strategy was the ‘event reminder’ that all sign-ups received just a few minutes prior to the webinar starting. A personalised message, delivered automatically via Messenger, right into the palm of the recipient, at exactly the right time, including the link to join right there and then.
Frequently Asked Questions
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But why should I outsource this? Could I not do this myself?
You certainly could – but is building out flows and integrating them into your marketing plans really the best way to spend your time? Not only does it take time, you also need to make sure that you remain compliant – because, as with anything utilising the Facebook platform, there are rules!
How much will it cost?
Prices for an Evergreen funnel build start at £2,000+VAT on either FB or IG. This price includes initial set-up, general bot flows, four main funnel flows, plus all tags, custom fields and triggers. Beyond this prices are quoted bespoke to the client’s needs.
What else do I need to know?
Chat funnels are designed to complement your existing marketing, free you from your DMs, and save you time, whilst still building engagement.
They should take people from A to B in a timely, fun manner and work best for brands with an existing strong organic social media strategy.
If chat funnels are not right for your business, I will tell you!
“Melanie helped me to promote a free webinar through Facebook Ads. She created a successful chatbot strategy and managed the implementation. The calibre of sign-ups was outstanding! I had an excellent turnout rate plus my offering was relevant to them. For example, I was invited to pitch for an annual coaching contract by one of the attendees. Melanie is a joy to work with, she gets under the skin of your business very quickly and she delivers results.”
Chat marketing is seeing huge growth.
Let me help your business be a part of the conversation!