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Chat bots on facebook. What to consider when creating a messenger bot for Facebook

Chat bots are now used in many instant messengers and Facebook Messenger- not an exception. For a company page, having a chat bot is not necessarily necessary, but it is convenient. They make the work of staff easier, reduce the time required to respond to messages, and eliminate human factor and unnecessary emotions in correspondence, and since the bot responds instantly, the ranking of your page also increases. Using a chat bot, you can completely eliminate the need for an administrator to respond to messages. But, unfortunately, not in all industries. Sometimes a more individual approach is needed.

When should you create chat bots?

After creating a page on Facebook, it is advisable to immediately have it up and running. You need to think about who will respond to user messages: or a bot. Chat bots should be created when your subscribers have almost the same questions: what time do you work, what is the price of your service, is it possible to arrange delivery, and so on. Thus, the chat bot becomes an indispensable consultant especially for

How to create a chat bot

To create a chat bot you have two options. If you don’t know anything about programming, then it’s better to hire a programmer who will develop a chat bot for you. Such a bot will be of very high quality, it will take into account many options for the development of events, react differently and, perhaps, even learn. But such bots are expensive, and few people want to bother creating them.

The second option is to make a bot yourself using visual platforms. Which we will talk about a little later.

What to consider when creating a messenger bot for Facebook

Before creating a Facebook Messenger Bot, analyze several dozen conversations with subscribers. See what questions they usually ask, how they react, what additional questions they have after your answers. It is imperative to review the entire logical chain. Your Facebook bot should lead the conversation to completion and leave the person satisfied. Also consider the communication style of your subscribers.

It is better for the bot to communicate on the same level with the client, use terms that anyone can understand, and not be too complex. Make it easy for people to interact with your bot. There is no need to create 18 answer options, because that is how it is necessary. Ask clarifying questions.

5 platforms for quickly creating bots

  • free
  • easy to use
  • does not require programming knowledge
  • cross-platform
  • if a person starts communicating with the bot, he immediately becomes a subscriber

What is the monthly audience active users is 1.23 billion. Of this amount, 11.2% are fakes. Socialmediaexaminer experts tell us how to identify fake users and what to do with them.

Why are fake followers dangerous? Facebook?

Back in 2012, Facebook began to actively combat spam and registrations of fake profiles. The “purges” are going well, but fake users continue to appear on the social network.

Whenever spam comments or likes from fake accounts appear on a Facebook page, the administration of the social network removes all updates from news feeds.

In mid-2013 and early 2014, Facebook introduced news feeds to filter out low-quality content and especially spam. Now each user sees in his news feed pages with content that matches his interests.

In order to avoid penalties from Facebook, measures are required, which are described below.

1. Identifying fake accounts

If you are a brand page administrator, then you should know how to distinguish a real follower from a bot. The simplest thing is to look at the location, cover photo, and how often he interacts with your page.

If the user is not real, then his activity is much less than the average real user. Research shows that 43% of fake profiles never update their status. If you go to a “doubtful” profile and see that the user has never updated his status, then he is most likely a spammer.

Any fan page administrator should know the demographics and geographical parameters his target audience. Socialmediaexaminer experts give an example that will be understandable to Russian-speaking users. So, your page is dedicated to a company that sells plumbing fixtures. The company is located in the USA, but for some reason 2,000 users out of a total of 3,500 fans are from India or Bangladesh - which is very suspicious, and the owner of the page should pay attention to this.

Your profile photo can also tell you a lot. Experts at Socialmediaexaminer believe that spammers and scammers want to appear either perfect or invisible using photos, and they have difficulty doing both. A simple tip is to cross-check your profile photos through Google Images. A photo of a suspicious account may appear in search results several times, on many profiles in different social media and under various names. This is also a sign of a fake account.

If profiles that seem dubious to you contain a woman’s photograph, then pay special attention to such accounts. According to a Barracuda Labs study, 97% of fake accounts have a “female face.”

Finally, you can determine the authenticity account through user activity. If the only goal of a page subscriber is to participate in competitions or mindlessly give likes (usually for money), then most likely they are spammers.

2. How to remove bot subscribers?

Removing bots from page subscribers is actually simple. To do this, you need to change your social network account in the settings to a fan page, which can also be used as a personal profile.

Click to view the full list:

If you find a dubious profile in the drop-down list and want to get rid of it, you can delete it with a simple mouse click.

3. How to protect your page from the influx of bots?

The best way to deal with spammers is to prevent them from appearing on your social network page in the first place. To do this, you need to have a good understanding of page settings, in particular setting regional restrictions.

3.1. Use regional settings

Based on own experience, Socialmediaexaminer experts name Bangladesh, India and Indonesia among the most “spammy” countries. These are the ones you can exclude in the regional settings on your brand page. To do this, go to the page settings and find the “Country restrictions” option. The administrator is offered two options:

  • "Only show this Page in these countries"
  • "Hide this Page from users in these countries."

Restricting access to the page from spam accounts by country

We select the second option and enter the names of the countries in which we do not want to display the page. However, this approach may not work if your clients are located in one country, say, the Russian Federation or the United States. Select the setting “only for users in these countries” and indicate the desired region.

3.2. Be careful with competitions and hashtags

If you plan to attract subscribers by offering them gifts, then be careful. Yes, you will indeed increase the number of subscribers and increase their interaction with your page, but this way you can also attract spammers. The same danger lurks with excessive enthusiasm for hashtags, as discussed below.

Socialmediaexaminer experts claim that there are separate sites on which all the information about competitions held on Facebook is posted in the form of direct links. Such resources are created by spammers and for spammers.

Theoretically, any competition can attract spammers

If you are going to launch any competition on Facebook, then you need to know well the audience among whom you plan to draw prizes. You can avoid the influx of spammers by addressing only the audience within a certain region or your potential clients.

Please note that to conduct competitions on Facebook it is better to use applications from third party developers. Socialmediaexaminer advises taking a closer look at AgoraPulse, Woobox, Shortstack. About applications for competitions and Likes.

Many fan page administrators use hashtags without measure. It is worth remembering that spammers search for popular tags every day and greatest attention pay attention to those associated with competitions, gifts, sales and similar events.

When Facebook introduced hashtags, it soon became clear that you should not use such “faceless” tags as #contest or #sale, but come up with individual words. This will reduce the risk of an influx of bots.

3.3. Use sophisticated targeting options

When posting ads on Facebook, try to think through complex options audience targeting. The social network provides maximum opportunities for this, up to a person’s personal preferences.

Facebook Ads Should Target Specific Demographics and Regions

When creating ads, be more specific, for example, indicate not just countries, but specific cities. This will also help you avoid contact with fake users.

Conclusion

After Facebook updated its algorithm for ranking materials in the news feed, many pages both worsened and improved their reach to users. And if you notice that your page is not very popular, be sure to check it for spam comments and bot subscribers.

A real lifesaver for those who are tired of the daily problem called “What to cook for dinner.” This bot solves it in a second. You write the name of the dish or a list of products that you have, and it gives you several recipes. And even if you don’t have the energy or time for this, you can simply type Recipe of the day (or even rotd), subscribe to the newsletter and receive a recipe per day or per week.

The interface of this bot is English, but Dinner Ideas works great with Russian-language products and dishes. And the coolest thing about it is what the developers don’t talk about: you can type a completely crazy request into the bot and see how it gets out. And he does it! This bot is the best, and here's why:

Hi Poncho

A cute bot with a cat on its avatar that will tell you about the weather outside your window. If you need a forecast in the “here and now” mode, just type the name settlement. You can also see the hourly forecast and the forecast for several days ahead, or you can set your own current location, set up alerts and receive current weather reports at a convenient time.

TechCrunch

If you, like us, closely follow the news of the world of technology and technology, then you also read TechCrunch. Now you can do this directly in Facebook messenger. TechCrunch not only talks about modern trends digital environment, but also actively uses new products for his own and our benefit. The bot turned out to be a very convenient format for reading the resource, and TechCrunch was one of the first to understand this.

Tell the bot what you want to read about, and it will select relevant articles for you. You can subscribe to materials on a topic of interest, or to articles by a particular author, or to certain sections, and receive a current selection from the bot once a day.

You can even ask the bot various questions, and rest assured, it will give a very competent answer. In a word, a cool bot from a cool resource.

HP Print Bot

This bot is not inclined to talk: it prefers action. Give it the photo you want to print, and it will send it to your Wi-Fi-connected printer. If the printer is not connected, the bot will help with that too. A very simple thing, but absolutely indispensable for those who periodically need to print something from their phone.

Hello Jarvis

A convenient reminder bot: at your request, it will send you a message about an event that you are afraid to miss. Just tell him what and when to remind you, and continue with your business. In some ways, this is much more convenient than standard phone reminders, and certainly easier to create events on the calendar.

Alterra

Skyscanner

Another indispensable tool for travelers - search bot from popular service Skyscanner. You may have already used the website, now you can do the same on Facebook Messenger. For the bot to select air tickets for you, indicate the city you are flying to, the departure city and the flight dates.

Just keep in mind that this is a very consistent bot. First he will ask where you are flying, then from where, then he will ask about the departure date and, finally, the return date. If you decide to tell him all this in one line, he will not understand you. And it’s still faster than searching for tickets on a separate website.

WTFIT

Most the right bot in our crazy world, which is filled with incomprehensible. When no one can answer the question “What is this?”, WTFIT comes to the rescue. Take a photo of something that cannot be identified, upload the picture to the bot and in a few seconds find out what it was. If you have some absolutely amazing unknown stuff in front of you, nominate it for WTF of the Day and let other users admire your find.

Joke.ai

This bot has only one function: to make you laugh. You ask him to joke, and he jokes. True, to understand his humor, you need to have a good command of English language, but you can not only laugh, but also improve your language skills. A very simple bot without any settings, notifications, etc., but it’s not boring with it.

Trivia Blast

The list wouldn't be complete without a toy bot on it. Trivia Blast invites you to take part in a quick quiz on a topic of your choice. This could be cinema, music, sports, literature and so on. There are seven questions in each topic, and for each correct answer you are awarded one point. At the end, you can see the champions in this topic and, if you wish, fight them one on one. You can play and make new acquaintances!

If you have a favorite Facebook Messenger bot, tell us about it in the comments.

Promotion of a product on the social network Facebook is a complex and systematic process. To do this, you can either hire an administrator or use special programs, who will manage the page, post in groups or manage sections of the site and perform the work of a social manager.

The last two functions are performed by a chatbot - it can communicate with users and help optimize brand promotion. This method completely legal, the group will not be blocked for installing a chatbot. But you first need to download it, and then configure it correctly.

What is a chatbot for and how to install it

A Facebook chatbot should be downloaded by those who own a large platform, which is characterized by:

  • Maintain a large volume of contacts with clients for whom it is not profitable to hire operators.
  • Reply to many messages received by e-mail, social network and instant messenger.
  • The presence of a special niche product that is more convenient for users to purchase by sending a request in the messenger.

In addition, the robot helps relieve managers of the burden of carrying out simple routine operations (checking product availability, calculating receipts, etc.).

On FB they use the following varieties programs:

  • Bots for Facebook that should invite visitors to the group.
  • Chatbot for liking and reposting publications.
  • Facebook bot for adding friends, answering user questions and paying for goods and services.

Messenger robots contact the target audience so that the group receives as many likes as possible from users, and send a specific post to the groups. But it needs to be optimized in such a way that people don’t realize that a bot is messaging them. The program corresponds with users using prepared phrases. In some cases, it uses full-fledged interactive templates, loading them from other web resources.

It is necessary that the application uses a variety of phrases suitable for each question. To do this, the bot must use certain templates to issue text responses. To determine the target audience, the bot downloads a pre-prepared file that collects data about all potential clients and interested parties.

There are two ways to create a chatbot:

  • download a ready-made bot for Facebook;
  • make your own unique, with functionality that meets all the needs of the company;
  • use a ready-made service.

Development from scratch will require deep knowledge of programming, so it is better to entrust this task to programmers. If you don’t have the desire or financial capabilities, you can make a chatbot yourself.

For example, installing it using the following sites:

To use Facebook bots you need to create them and public page company, and give the application access to the API.

Most of the resources listed allow you to connect a chatbot for free. Their installation is carried out in accordance with step-by-step instructions and takes up to 15 minutes. Many are able to integrate not only with FB, but also with other services.

Important! More advanced bots can be created in the service Personify.ai.

The robot requires optimization.

This can be done based on the following data:

  • many dialogues between administrators and group managers with subscribers;
  • user behavior on the site, based on all traffic over the past 3-4 months.

You will need to analyze typical and clarifying questions, communication style, etc. The task is to identify the logical chain between user requests and their actions. The robot must work in such a way that after calling it, the conversation is completed and the client is satisfied. He must communicate on the same level with the target audience.

You can configure the bot using 3 options:

Firstly, these are buttons for sending a message. When it arrives to the user, he must react and select one of the action options in the message itself (usually there are no more than three).

Pressing a button can:

  • Send a reply to the robot.
  • Redirect the user to a specific URL.
  • Direct the user to a dialogue with the manager (if consultation with a live employee is required).

Secondly, you can optimize the bot elements by creating a title, subtitles, main text, pictures and other parts of the product card, messages, etc. Typically, no more than 10 elements are used, which the user scrolls, looking for what they need.

Thirdly, the chatbot can be equipped as a store bot, which, when you click the “Purchase” button, will display a receipt on the screen indicating the terms of purchase and characteristics of the product, as well as the ability to make a payment.

All these features are configured in markup language (Structured Text).

So, chatbot - useful tool for promotion on the social network Facebook and simplifying contact with the audience. The program can reduce the load on the first line and help process most issues. If necessary, the bot will redirect the user to an online employee who will already know what the client is interested in.

The active creation and implementation of instant messengers has led to the development of the use of bots. Most messengers and social networks got such a device artificial intelligence. With its help, you can not only communicate with friends or clients, but also make purchases, make calculations, and always stay up to date with the latest events in the world. We will look at what Facebook bots are and how they can be created.

What is a bot and why is it needed?

Messenger bots are programs that were created to simulate human communication with one interlocutor or an entire group. With their help, messenger users, in particular “residents” of Facebook, can receive news notifications on topics that interest them, monitor the weather, order food and even make online purchases. Essentially, this is a new packaging for automated messages within a chat.

For businesses, bots can serve as an assistant and an additional marketing channel. Despite the fact that their functionality is limited to one or several assigned tasks, with the help of a bot you can direct the client to the support service, solve typical problems and suggest solutions to other issues. That is, we get an interactive “Frequently Asked Questions” section.

Advantages and disadvantages of this method of communicating with clients

The main advantage of chatbots is the speed of information processing and reaction to it. They are quick with data and numbers. Using this tool, you get the opportunity to contact the user or solve the problem they have set in seconds.

But the main drawback remains the programs' inability to recognize and reproduce human emotions. This leads to the fact that people prefer to communicate with a live person rather than with an automated bot.

Such programs respond only to actions and markers prescribed in advance. Even with a slight deviation from the specified algorithms, the bot will not be able to solve the issues that currently concern a person. Therefore, when creating a chatbot, it is necessary to predict as much as possible the possible reactions of your customers or subscribers and determine the appropriate reactions of the bot to them. As a last resort, add a script to the program that will direct the person to the support service, where he can communicate with consultants.

Instructions for creating a bot on Facebook

Facebook messenger bots work in the context of private messages on behalf of a public page and send notifications to everyone individual subscriber. Let's figure out how to create Facebook bot. First you need to get special application, providing access to the API, and also register a public page. Regarding the latter: this procedure is simple and even familiar ordinary users social networks. So we won’t dwell too much on discussing this problem.

First of all, we register in a developer account at developers.facebook.com/apps. Then select “New Application”. Decide on the platform or skip this step and move on to further configuration.

You must fill out the form that opens.

Upon completion of this stage, select the “Messenger” tab from the menu on the left. Click on “Start”. Select the page for which we are creating a bot. Save the token separately as we will need it later.

After this, we move on to setting up a webhook to be able to process incoming messages. We upload this script to the target server where the bot will be located:

Add random text to the $verify_token variable and send the script to the server. Let's say it's located at: testdomain.com/fbbot.

We return to the “Messenger” tab in the Facebook application settings section. Find the “Webhooks” block and click on “Setup Webhooks”.

In the field where the return URL is required, we write the above-mentioned link to the bot - testdomain.com/fbbot. It is also important to provide the required SSL certificate. It should be official, and not created independently.

In the line “Verify token” we write the text that we used to fill the $verify_token variable.

  • message deliveries – to receive notifications that the message we need has been delivered;
  • messaging optins – return response after receiving a message through a special button on the site;
  • messages – receiving messages from users sent to the bot;
  • messaging postbacks – clicks on links via buttons added in previous notifications from the bot.

Now we need to link the application and the page. To do this, write the following script in the console:

curl -ik -X POST "https://graph.facebook.com/v2.6/me/subscribed_apps?access_token=-token-"

We replace the token with the one we saved at the very beginning, corresponding to the landing page.

Services for creating bots

ChattyPeople

Here is a platform that will allow you to quickly, easily and without coding create a bot for Facebook with integrated Facebook commerce. With ChattyPeople, you can create a simple bot that answers customer questions, or integrate it with Shopify to monetize your FB pages.

Chatfuel

Don't know how to program? In Chatfuel, you can create a bot for Telegram and Facebook even without this knowledge. Just take one of the templates and customize it to suit your own needs. More than 360 thousand bots have already been created on this platform, serving more than 17 million users.

FlowXO

FlowXO is focused on business. Here they create chatbots for Slack, Telegram, Messenger. The platform allows you to create no more than 5 chatbots per 500 interactions. If you need more, you will have to pay.

Options for bot messages in Facebook messenger and buttons

The message can be in the form of plain text or be structured and contain the following components: buttons, elements, invoices for payment.

Buttons are added to the body of the message, which suggests receiving a response from the user. The maximum allowed number of such buttons in one message is three. They can serve two purposes: either automatically send a return message to the bot, or redirect the person to a specific address.

Elements or generic exist to be able to add product cards or similar objects with a similar structure to the message text. Typical for them is the presence of a title (subtitle), description, picture and button. However, you can add up to ten elements in one message. To view them all, you will need to scroll horizontally. Also make sure that the total number of buttons in the message does not exceed three.

Regarding invoices, everything is clear from the name itself. Thanks to Facebook innovations, we can make a whole store out of a regular messenger. This component of the message can include information about the product itself, its price, discounts and special offers, as well as addresses and delivery. Just make sure that the account number is unique.

When is it appropriate to use bots?

With the help of bots, you can provide users with information in a place where they spend a lot of time chatting with friends. They can be in the same application, performing different operations. With the help of a bot you become closer to your customers. You will provide the person with the opportunity to:

  • do shopping;
  • make donations;
  • pay bills and perform other financial transactions.

This is much more convenient, since previously they had to juggle applications and websites for these purposes.

Great examples of bots in messenger

To further understand how Facebook bots work, let's look at some examples and use cases.

Dinner Ideas

An excellent solution for housewives who regularly struggle with finding new culinary ideas. With the help of a bot, this issue will be resolved within a few seconds. You can indicate the name of the dish whose recipe you would like to know. You can also write a list of the products you have, and the program will select what can be prepared from them. Or simply use the Recipe of the Day feature, subscribe to the newsletter and receive daily recipes.

Despite the English-language interface, the bot does an excellent job of searching for recipes in Russian. It can also handle even unusual requests like these:

Hi Poncho

This catbot will keep you updated on the weather conditions in your area. It can report current weather changes or provide you with a forecast for the future. Just set up your current geolocation and you will receive timely weather data at the time you need.

HP Print Bot

This bot will help you quickly solve the problem of printing photos using a Wi-Fi printer. Just indicate the photos that need to be sent for printing and he will do it. If the program does not find connected printers, it will help resolve this issue. If you periodically need to print something from your smartphone, such a bot will be very useful.

Hello Jarvis

This is a reminder bot. According to your instructions, he will send notifications about an important event for you. So tell him what to remind him about and get notified. This method of time planning is more convenient and faster compared to the usual reminders and calendar events.

WTFIT

Has there ever been a situation in your life when you were faced with a completely unknown subject? With WTFIT there will be no such things left for you anymore. Just take a photo of the object and send the picture to the bot. In a few seconds he will tell you what kind of “unknown animal” is in front of you. You can also share your findings with friends.

Joke.ai

Although the program has no feelings, it can still lift your spirits. Request a joke and the bot will give you something fresh. Or not really. To figure out whether it's funny, you need to understand English. Even if you don't laugh, you will improve your knowledge at least a little.

Trivia Blast

Now let's play a little! This is possible thanks to existing toy bots. For example, Trivia Blast gives you the opportunity to take part in a quiz on any interesting topic. For correct answers you will be rewarded with points. The more of them you have, the closer you are to the champion title.

As you can see, there are many ideas for using bots in instant messengers. Use existing ideas or invent your own. In any case, you will see that proper use of bots will allow you to get closer to your audience.