If you’re a business using social media, chances are you have a Facebook page, and you are using it to regularly communicate with your customers. Did you know though that according to stats, two-thirds of consumers prefer using messaging apps, like Facebook’s Messenger to emailing or even calling customer services? Given that Facebook has over 2 billion active users a month, having a presence is ideal, but you don’t want to cause yourself problems by making mistakes with how you use the private messaging part of the site.
Facebook Messenger is a direct, private line right to a person, unlike an automated email account, customers know that if they message you on Facebook someone is likely to see it. It’s a great way to offer quick response but you never get a second chance to make a first impression, so make sure you’re following these tips to create the perfect response to your customers.
- Set up an automatic greeting
You’re not going to be able to spend your day sitting on Facebook on the off chance that you might get sent a message. Don’t let someone’s message be greeted with silence until you next login, instead set up an instant reply to acknowledge the message and let them know you’ll be back soon and that their message is being passed to the right person. You can also include other contact information if they want a more immediate response. - Don’t make your responses too wordy
No one has time to read a massive wall of text on social media. Keep your automatic response as concise as possible and go into more detail when the conversation actually starts. Even then, try to keep things as simple and to the point as you can so as not to overwhelm the customer. - Don’t leave it too long to respond
Once you receive a message, make sure your response is an instant as it can be. As soon as you open a message, the sender can see it has been viewed, so don’t open messages until you are ready to respond but make sure you do so within a few hours. Businesses that respond in under fifteen minutes, Facebook rewards you with a badge which is useful in gaining customer trust and loyalty. - Make sure your responses actually answer the message
It can be very easy to just to trot out a brand message, but when responding to customers on Facebook messenger, that isn’t going to work. Using Facebook makes you more human, so make sure your reply is in context and actually answers the question. If you’re not able to do so over Facebook, make sure to tell the customers you’ve passed on their details to the right department or provide them with the correct contact details for the person they need to speak to. - Be careful with your tone
While Facebook gives you the chance to be a little more human and natural when replying to customers, make sure to check your tone – things can be easily misinterpreted when written down on social media – even the edgiest of brands tone it down in private messages. Being sarcastic in a private message could lead the customer to assume you aren’t taking their issue seriously, which is never a good sign. - Read your reply before pressing send
It might be a good idea turning off the function that automatically posts the message when you press enter. Make sure to read the message through before sending it, nothing damages a brand more than error-filled responses full of spelling and grammar errors. - Make sure a human is actually checking your inbox
We know we said to set up an automatic response, but you don’t want to rely too heavily on automation. You can set up quick replies allowing customers to pick product preferences which are useful to get them to the right person but make sure that there is always a real person answering questions and responding. - Always say goodbye
Once the conversation has ended or your particular interaction is coming to an end, make sure to say goodbye, don’t just let it fall silent, you don’t want your customers to feel neglected.
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