Facebook updated its policies for Messenger in March 2020 which changed the rules related to when and why customers and prospects can be contacted. It is important to understand these rules as you consider a Facebook Messenger bot strategy. If you break the rules you run the risk of your company being flagged by Facebook from sending messages.
Messenger marketing agencies and platforms like Manychat have released guides about the update that you should read if you need to understand all the in-depth details of the changes. In the meantime, here’s a summary of key changes related to when and why you can message your subscribers:
The “24-hour window” policy is unchanged meaning you can message subscribers within a 24h window after the last interaction
Sending a +1 message after the 24h window without asking for consent is no longer allowed
Subscription Messages (also known as Broadcasts) that allowed sending News, Productivity or Personal tracker information are now only available to News Publishers that are registered to the Facebook News Page Index
Previously there were 12 use cases that allowed non-promotional messages after the 24h window. There are now 4 use cases: Confirmed Event Update, Post-Purchase Update, Account Update, Human-Agent
An API was introduced in February: One-time notification. Unlike the +1 rule, this option will cover one-time notification use cases that are not covered by the 4 official use cases. Consent from the subscriber will be required prior to sending it.
In addition to the new rules, we wanted to illustrate some real use cases that take them into consideration. We asked Janice Gonzalez, the CEO and Founder of the bot agency wittyfairy, for a list of her favorite Messenger implementations that can help your increase revenue and conversion and why URLgenius links play an important part of optimizing the customer experience.
Use Case 1: Continue the relationship with a Messenger subscriber 24h after the last interaction, when the message we want to send doesn’t fall in one of the 4 Messenger tags.
Write a text explaining why you need to collect the phone number (it acts as consent from the subscriber)
Collect the phone number from the subscriber
Make sure that when the phone number is collected, the action “SMS Opt-in” is triggered
You won’t be able to send an SMS via Manychat if the SMS Opt-in is not triggered
Set up the Flow scenario that you want to send outside the 24h window
Set up a REF URL for the Flow that you want to send outside the 24th window
The link redirecting to the bot is now generated, but that’s not enough. If we send this URL by SMS, the problem is that people who have an Android or another device, and the ones who don’t have Messenger installed won’t be able to access the bot or may be sent to a Messenger login screen. This is where URLgenius links play a key role in your bot strategy by letting you update the link with additional deep linking capabilities.
Copy & paste the REF URL into the URLgenius homepage to generate a custom deep link that opens the Messenger app for iOS and Android from the same link:
Note that you can customize the end of the link to match the name of your bot or the naming convention of your campaign links:
That’s it! Your URLgenius link is one that you send by SMS. A cool feature of the URLgenius platform is that you can use your domain for your URLgenius links.
If your subscribers are located in a country where SMS delivery is covered by Manychat, plan a Sequence or a Broadcast for SMS within Manychat:
If the subscribers are not located in a country where Manychat does not cover SMS delivery:
Create an account on Twilio
Create an account on Integromat
Create a new scenario on Integromat
Plan a Sequence or a Broadcast within Manychat, starting with an action triggering Integromat
Watch this video of the consumer experience:
Scan this QR code to test a live demo:
Use Case challenge 2: Create a cross-platform strategy to build a database of emails away from the Facebook environment and redirect those subscribers to Messenger when needing to re-interact after 24h.
Write a text explaining why you need to collect the email which acts as consent from the subscriber
Collect the email from the subscriber
Make sure that when the email is collected, the action “Email Opt-in” is triggered
You won’t be able to send an Email via Manychat if the Email Opt-in is not triggered
Set up the Flow scenario that you want to send outside the 24h window
Set up a REF URL for the Flow that you want to send outside the 24th window
This is where URL genius is important for adding deep linking capabilities to the regular messenger link
Copy & paste the REF URL to URLGenius to generate a custom deep link opening the Messenger app
Click on “Compose Deeplink”
That’s it! Download the QR Code and include it in your Email. You can always login to URLgenius and get the link or the QR code again when you need it
Now plan a Sequence or a Broadcast for Email within Manychat
Scan this QR code to try the customer experience:
Use Case 3: Develop a cross-platform social media strategy that redirects a Messenger audience to a social app where relevant content is posted on a regular basis (this is a Pinterest example)
Write a text explaining why the Messenger subscriber should join the Pinterest community
Propose to click on a button to follow a board on Pinterest
Make sure to use a URLgenius deep link to your Pinterest profile which will ensure the Pinterest app will open from Messenger otherwise they may be sent to the Pinterest website where login is required
Set up the Flow scenario that you want to send outside the 24h window.
Set up a REF URL for the Flow that you want to send outside the 24th window
Once again, here is where URLgenius plays an important part in the use case by letting you create an app deep link that opens the Messenger app on iOS and Android
Copy & paste the REF URL to URLgenius to generate a custom deep link opening Messenger
Click on “Compose Deeplink” and that’s it! You can login back into URLgenius anytime to get your deep link
Use the URLgenius link for Messenger on Pinterest pins to send your audience back into to the Messenger app
Check out this video of the user experience
Scan this QR code to experience a live demo:
Use Case 4: Sponsored Messages
If you want to send a message to a subscriber beyond 24h after the last interaction by sending Sponsored Message
Paid messages is an easy way to send a message to a specified list of subscribers via Facebook Messenger channel
Note that Paid Messages in Manychat is an adaptation of Facebook Sponsored Messages functionality that meets the needs of Chat Marketers who re-engage their customers in Messenger
URLgenius works the same way in this use case
Make sure to use URLgenius deep links to open the Messenger app from sponsor messages
Map out the full timeline of your bot including specific scenarios and opportunities to retarget subscribers
For example, if a subscriber leaves Messenger after showing interest in the product, but before giving an email or a phone number, this is an opportunity to retarget the subscriber
In Facebook go to your Business Manager, and select Audiences
Create and name a new custom audience for each identified retargeting opportunity along with your scenario
In Manychat Add an Action “Facebook Custom Audience” in your Flows for every retargeting opportunity that you identified along with your scenario
In Facebook you need to select a campaign objective (Reach, Brand Awareness, Lead Generations, etc.)
Name Campaign, Ad Set and Ad
Select the saved audience
Link the campaign to your Facebook page
Schedule for 2 weeks and progressively spend the budget
Edit placements that fit the actual Ad format: A picture with descriptive text and CTA
Set a budget of $10-20 per day, for 7 days, then increase
It is better to A/B test creatives, placement, and targeting before spending the full budget
Increase the budget to $100-200 per day when 1:10 ratio (CPA / Budget)
A video will have more impact, lighten text description and fit IG Stories and Audience Network
Last but not least: you can still send messages directly in Messenger!
Direct messages fall into one of the 4 following cases categories
Confirmed Event Update: Send the user reminders or updates for an event they have registered for (e.g., RSVP’ed, purchased tickets). This tag may be used for upcoming events and events in progress
Post-Purchase Update: Notify the user of an update on a recent purchase
Account Update: Notify the user of a non-recurring change to their application or account
Human-Agent: Allows human agents to respond to user inquiries. Messages can be sent within 7 days after a user message
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