How to set up the Messenger on Facebook for your business, in just two easy steps
For Facebook, Meta’s Messenger will be one of the biggest topics of the next years. Meta regularly updates the platform and continues to introduce new features. For MessengerPeople customers, the use of Meta’s Messenger as a newsletter, service and chatbot tool is already unlocked and completely FREE. We explain how you can set up Messenger on Facebook for your business in two simple steps.
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1. Why the Messenger from Meta (formerly Facebook Messenger) is so important for businesses
There are numerous reasons why Meta’s Messenger is becoming more and more exciting as a communication tool for companies. First and foremost, the Messenger service is extremely popular!
- The Messenger on Facebook is used by over 900 million users per month worldwide .
- Over one billion messages are sent between people and businesses through the Messenger every month.
- Meta’s Messenger is the second most popular iOS app of all times , after the Facebook app (App Annie).
- It has been downloaded over a billion times via Android.
- On average, more than five million GIFs are sent via Messenger every day.
- More than half (53 percent) of Facebook users prefer companies they can chat with.
This makes it clear that companies can reach a lot of people through the platform. In addition, Meta’s Messenger also offers many communication options. These range from text messages to photos and videos to stickers, to GIFs and audio files. In addition, there are also options for voice and video calls and group chats. The newsletter function on Facebook is also very interesting for media companies.
🔎 Check it out: How you can use Facebook’s Messenger to grow your business !
Also very exciting: Users prefer to store online with a company if it offers a shopping option via Messenger.
Companies can also set up different types of chatbots , which are extremely helpful for everything from promotion to customer conversations to lead generation. By way of background, around 400,000 users from over 200 countries chat with a Messenger bot on Facebook every day.
🤖 Easier than you think: How to set up a chatbot for your company… in just 7 steps !
2. How you can set up the Messenger on Facebook, in just two easy steps
Setting up the Messenger on Facebook for your business is very straight-forward. It requires only two easy steps, no programming knowledge needed!
Step 1) Go to Settings on Facebook
You’ll need to be an admin to turn messaging on or off for your page. If you’re an admin:
- Click Settings at the top of your Page.
- Go to General , and click Messages .
- Click to check or uncheck the box next to Allow people to contact my Page privately by showing the Message button .
- Click Save Changes .
- Now copy your Facebook username (directly below the name of your Facebook page without the @)
Now you’re ready for the next step: setting up your Facebook Messenger for your business with the MessengerPeople customer interface.
With that, you can also move on to the next step to set up for Messenger via the MessengerPeople customer interface.
Step 2.) Set up the Messenger on Facebook in the MessengerPeople customer interface
- Make sure that you own the administrative rights on that MessengerPeople account.
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Activate the Messenger on Facebook:
- Click into the MessengerPeople user interface, and navigate all the way down, on the left menu, until you get to “ Settings” .
- Now, select “Channel”, and a drop down menu will open where you can choose “Messenger” .
- Insert here the username of your Facebook business page (without the @ symbol/character).
- Set the option at “Widget Button“ to “Yes“ (Facebook Messenger is now visible as a button in your Widget)
- Click on “ Save“ .
- After the saving process click on “ Connect“ .
- Now your Facebook Messenger channel for your business is activated in your widget.
The following steps are now:
- Log in with the Facebook credentials of the page you want to connect.
- Now click on “Log In”.
- It is mandatory to activate the “NewsBot” for a successful connection.
- Then, select the Facebook page you want to connect to the channel and click “Okay” and “Connect”.
Your Facebook page is now successfully connected, and users can contact you on Facebook via Messenger!
3. How you can make it easier for users to start a conversation with your chatbot
With the following two extensions you are able to arrange your Facebook Messenger’s “Welcome Screen” in the MessengerPeople interface even more individual and offer an easier chat entry to your users.
Welcome text
In the welcome text field, you have the option to create an individual greeting for new users. Here you can also write an introduction to the chat or explain how to use the chat. Users will that as soon as they open up your chatbot on their smartphone, even before they type anything.
How to Create a Greeting Text:
- In the MessengerPeople user interface, click on “Settings “ .
- Now click on “Widget“ , and then on the tab “Unified Channels“ .
- Make sure, that you have an activated connection to your Facebook account.
- Write an individual welcome message into the “Greeting Text Box“ .
- Now click on “Save“ .
⇒ Keep in mind that “MIA feature” users can set up a separte welcome text. Don’t hestitate to contact our support . We’re happy to explain how it works if you have questions!
“Get Started” Button
With the “Get Started“ button you are making the subscription to your channel or the chat start with a bot easier for your users. This is helpful for customers who don’t know what to write in the beginning of the conversation with a bot. Users can activate a chat with a simple click on the button, and thus subscribe to a newsletter for example. This feature will also help you increase the number of bot conversations in general.
How to Activate the “Get Started“ Button
- Click in the MessengerPeople user interface on “Settings“ in the menu on the left side.
- Now click on “ Widget“ and then on the tab “ Unified Channels“ .
- Make sure that you have an activated connection to your Facebook account.
- Set the option at „Get Started Button“ to “Yes“ .
- Now, click on “Save“ .
Please note that your welcome screen, which has been individualized with these extensions, only appears at the first time the user starts the interaction with your Facebook Messenger channel.
You can combine both features, just like you can combine other settings and features in your MessengerPeople account. Make sure though that the features you combine make sense in conjunction.
If you are going to integrate only the “ Get Started“ Button in your welcome screen you might as well let the users confirm immediately afterwards that they really want the messages to be sent (confirmation message in your general settings under activation details).
If you combine the button with a corresponding greeting text, you will be able to omit the confirmation request. In case you don’t want neither a button nor a greeting text, you should always get a confirmation. That way you make sure users do not start the chatbot accidentally.
How do my users subscribe to my Facebook Messenger for business channel?
- Users click on the button “Facebook Messenger“ within your widget. A plug-in will open.
- Now, click on the button “Start Facebook-Messenger“ . The Messenger will open a direct chat window with the customers.
- Afterwards, they are able to sign up for your newsletter (only for news sites that are registered in the NPI News Page Index), or start a conversation with a simple start message.
Alternatively, users can sign up directly from the Facebook page by sending any message in Messenger to your company page. So Facebook is offering more and more ways for interested people to connect with you directly.
😎 Curious how to take your business to the next level? Read our communication playbook to learn how to reach more customers with messenger marketing!