Marketing in Messaging Apps: 7 Tips on How to Maximise Your Reach and Conversion Rates
Remember the last time you used the desktop Facebook app instead of the Messenger to quickly contact your friend? Me neither. Whether you like it or not, many users are not interested in your new articles, promotional videos or long reads when they log into their favourite social media.
They use Facebook, Snapchat, Telegram or WhatsApp as a modern-day replacement for SMS messages and online chats that also have audio and video calls. So, why invest thousands of dollars into a fantastic website design or search engine optimisation when you can contact these customers directly via the channels they already use?
With more than 1.3 billion active users sending 2+ billion messages per month via Facebook Messenger, chances are new brands can get higher conversion rates if they start promoting themselves on this platform as compared to optimising their website SERP ratings. Here are the 7 tips on how to maximise your reach and conversion rates when using marketing in messaging apps.
1. An App Choice is a Targeting Choice
The use of specific messaging apps actually varies depending on the user age and country of residence. For example, most millennials in the US use Facebook Messenger for their communication needs. At the same time, WhatsApp dominates in such markets as Brazil and India while Chinese users almost exclusively chat via WeChat due to the Great Chinese Firewall.
When possible, try to offer multiple options to maximise your reach. Having well-maintained accounts on multiple popular messaging apps also makes your brand appear more credible among younger audiences. You do not limit customer choices but seek to adjust to their preferences to maximise their convenience, which is generally recognised as high customer-centricity.
2. Redirect Ads to Messengers
Purchased ad impressions in various social media are usually shown in the Home tab of recipients’ messenger apps. When these users click on the banner, they are redirected to the destination of your choice. Most companies presently send them to their landing pages or e-stores.
However, this frequently results in high bounce rates since seeing a single ad is insufficient for completing their purchase journeys. We would suggest redirecting your clients to a message conversation instead.
This way, you can welcome them to your brand community and support their interest by answering their questions about your products and services. Additionally, you instantly attempt to engage them in a conversation rather than passively demonstrate some resource and wait for their response.
3. Use Messenger App Payments
Facebook Pay and similar solutions are presently offered by most popular messenger apps in the market. They allow users to make money transfers to their contacts without using third-party websites.
This provides minimal disruption and allows you to achieve good conversions without breaking the immersion in meaningful two-way communication. In combination with the previous instrument, this locks the whole consumer decision-making process within a single app.
This is highly convenient for both customers and marketers since this approach eliminates the need to switch between multiple windows or completely different forms. The public chats discussed in the next section can also allow them to share post-purchase appraisals and discuss their purchases with other followers.
4. Offer Free Sticker Packs
Many social media users are mad about being unique and frequently order custom sticker packs on Etsy or other platforms to stand out from the crowd. Why not offer them a brand-themed set for free?
Make sure to cooperate with a professional designer for creating some cool ideas. The trick here is not to build stickers around your brand but to offer unique and interesting stickers that also feature small references to your brand name or logo. This way, you increase the online visibility of your company in a natural way.
5. Use Public Chats
Originally offered by Viber, the public chat functionality allows marketers to target groups of customers and engage in multi-directional communication. As opposed to direct messages, this format is more suitable for stimulating the creation of user-generated content. Public chats also allow you to create hyperlocal communities where your customers can share opinions and socialise.
The main thing is to maintain your brand presence by responding to any queries to your company and engaging in discussions to provide support and guidance where necessary. In many cases, loyal followers can assist you in these activities by answering questions from peers or offering recommendations.
6. Use Messengers to Organise Contests and Campaigns
Similarly, you can use messengers to organise various public events. Invitations can be sent via personal messages with the main submissions occurring in public chats. Contests and campaigns usually create a lot of discussions and auxiliary activities, which are highly valuable for the development of your online communities.
Online word-of-mouth is one of the most effective ways of e-promotion due to its capability to create viral effects engaging thousands of prospective customers within a short period of time. Ask your participants to publish their content or share information about the contest with your brand hashtags to attract even more followers.
7. Utilise Chatbots
While most marketers use chatbots as a cheaper alternative to 24/7 customer support, this instrument has a much greater potential for marketing in messaging apps. How about a customer asking you for the price and availability of a pair of Air Jordan 1 Low SE in your store and receiving an answer within 5 ms or less?
Chatbots can instantly browse corporate databases and provide a quick response to any client queries, making them a viable alternative to traditional e-stores. This is a highly positive trait for millennials who generally have a good understanding of their needs and are ready to make prompt purchase decisions.
With more messengers adding the above-mentioned functions, the analysed instrument can become one of the key channels of marketing communication in the future. The use of promotion in messaging apps can be especially interesting for smaller brands lacking the marketing resources for traditional promotional methods.
While employing techniques for boosting your online visibility and SERP rankings is beneficial, two-way communication remains a critical capability for modern companies willing to target millennial audiences.
With the expansion of messaging apps’ functionality, you can migrate all customer journey elements into this single environment, which helps to streamline communication and contribute to the success of your business.