In the ever-evolving world of digital marketing, leveraging a robust contact list can be the game-changer for your business. Manychat offers a unique platform where Contacts from various channels converge, creating a powerful tool for personalized and efficient communication that will supercharge your sales.

This guide will navigate you through the nuances of managing Contacts in Manychat, providing pro tips on acquiring, managing, and optimizing these contacts for your business’s success.

What are Contacts in Manychat?

This is the name given to the list of users who have contacted your business and are stored in your account for livechat use, broadcasting, and marketing campaigns.

Keep in mind these are not the same as your social media followers, your Contacts are the people you’ve had a conversation with on your DMs after you have connected Manychat to one of these channels.

Contacts are not limited to just one platform; they encompass a diverse range from Facebook Messenger, Instagram DMs, to WhatsApp. But it doesn’t stop there; email and SMS Contacts can either stand alone or be integrated as additional contact points alongside your social media Contacts.

This multi-channel approach ensures a comprehensive marketing strategy, reaching your audience where they are most active and allowing your business to craft highly personalized campaigns.

Acquiring Contacts like a Pro

The art of acquiring and converting Contacts involves a blend of strategies! Our most successful Manychatters use a mix of the following methods to guarantee a higher rate of contacts on their account, with the advantage that by using Manychat, scaling your lead acquisition has never been easier:

• Organic Strategies: using the free entry points to your chats can help you grow your list to never before seen heights without breaking the bank! Here are some of our favorite:
  • Leverage comments automation to engage with users and add them to your Contact list, this will help anyone who comments on your posts or reels to start a conversation with you
  • Turn on your story mention replies on IG, and message anyone who has mentioned your business on their stories
  • Use the power of Instagram Live automations, so whoever comments on your live video can get an automated sequence of messages about the topic you are discussing
• Meta Ads: Utilize Manychat’s collaboration with Meta to run targeted ads. Our free webinar on using the Meta Ads Manager like a pro is an invaluable resource that can turn you into an expert without breaking the bank! Our favorite type of ad is called CTX, or Click to X! What does the X stand for? Well, any channel you want it to, of course:
  • Click to Messenger or CTM: these types of ads make it so that anyone who click the button on your ad will be taken to a conversation with your business via Facebook Messenger. Our native integration to CTMessenger means you can trigger an automated chat about your promo from the get go!
  • Click to Instagram Direct or CTDM: Just like on FB Messenger, these ads open up a conversation with your Instagram Profile, with the added value that thanks to our automations you can also check who follows you and who doesnt before triggering a message, allowing you to give extra incentives to those new Contacts that dont follow your page yet.
  • Click to Whatsapp or CTWa: this type of ad is special and unique in the fact that you can have it on BOTH Instagram and Facebook, but the difference is that when the lead clicks on the ad button, a Whatsapp conversation will open on their app with your business. If your Contacts chat heavily on whatsapp, this is the type we recommend the most.

• Website Widgets & External Links: Embed Manychat widgets on your site to convert visitors into Contacts seamlessly with easy to embed HTML buttons. You can also have links via our Ref URL trigger all over the place to ensure your contacts can find simple ways to contact you, or even embed a chat bubble on your site that immediately shows a Facebook Messenger modal!

Managing & Filtering

After acquiring contacts in your ManyChat account, effective management, filtering, and segmentation becomes essential. This can be achieved through the use of tags and custom user fields, which are powerful tools for organizing your contacts and tailoring your communication strategies.

• Tags: Tags in ManyChat are labels you can assign to your contacts based on their behaviors, preferences, or any other criteria relevant to your business. For example, you can tag a contact as “Interested in Product X” or “Attended Webinar.” These tags help in segmenting your audience for targeted campaigns. Learn more about using tags effectively on ManyChat’s Blog.
• Custom User Fields: Custom User Fields are akin to personal data slots where you can store specific information about a contact. This can range from basic information like age and location to more complex data like purchase history or customer preferences. Custom User Fields enable you to personalize communication and segment your contacts based on detailed criteria. Discover how to best utilize Custom User Fields in your strategy here.

Retargeting: Mastering DM Lists

All three channels (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp) offer DM or marketing lists that Contacts can opt into. Effective contact management involves setting up rules or automations to encourage new contacts to join these lists. Whether it’s for exclusive discounts or event updates, these lists are vital for future engagement. Facebook Messenger now offers this feature for free, Instagram is in open beta, and WhatsApp operates on a pay-to-play model.

Deleting Contacts: Keeping Your List Valuable

Maintaining a clean and effective Contact list is crucial. We recommend removing Contacts who haven’t opted into any retargeting options after a certain period, a good rule of thumb is 3 months. You can read this article here for more information on how to delete Contacts that have no value to your business.

Another way of effectively reducing the number of contacts is by manually merging them once you have identified two Contacts are the same person! Read this article if you would like to learn more about this feature.

By mastering these aspects of Manychat, you can transform your Contact list into a dynamic and powerful tool for your business, driving engagement, and fostering lasting customer relationships.

Looking for inspiration? Check out these other creator success stories using Manychat:

• How Conquista Tu Mundo with Johnny Abraham leveraged Manychat to drive $15,000 in launch sales in 20 days
• Jenna Kutcher’s 3 Easy Instagram Sales Strategies That Generated $900k – Organically
• Amy Porterfield’s 3 Powerful Instagram Strategies

The contents of this blog were independently prepared and are for informational purposes only. The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ManyChat or any other party. Individual results may vary*

The post Contact Management Guide: Pro – Maximizing Your Manychat Contact List appeared first on Manychat Blog.

Manychat has a native Hotmart integration that you can connect in a few easy steps.

Here, we’ll show you the steps to connect your Hotmart to your Manychat account, so you can start selling and promoting your Hotmart products on Instagram and Facebook right away.

What is Hotmart?

If you’re new to Hotmart, it’s an all-in-one platform for digital creators and entrepreneurs to build and sell digital products, including online courses, memberships, subscriptions, events and eBooks.

As a global tech and education company, Hotmart is a leader in the digital product market offering a complete ecosystem for creators, affiliates, and online course buyers. They have more than 370,000 registered products, 26 million users, sell products in more than 185 countries.

How does Hotmart work?

Here’s how Hotmart works:

• Creators who have expertise in a certain area creates a product (like an online course or an eBook) and sells it on Hotmart.
• Affiliates who have a large online presence help promote and sell this product to their audience in exchange for a commission.
• Buyers purchase the product on Hotmart, via the search page or clicking on a creator or affiliate link.

How does Hotmart help creators?

Hotmart helps creators build their first product, monetize it, and distribute it. There are also detailed analytics, so they can track their progress and make informed decisions about how to promote their products.

What products can you sell on Hotmart?

Hotmart sells various types of digital content, including:

• eBooks in PDF or EPUB formats
• Documents, audiobooks, and music
• Video classes
• Talks and screencasts
• Software
• Images
• Podcasts
• Scripts and any other file formats that can be downloaded.

It is also possible to create subscriptions for membership programs, or any type of product where buyers pay a recurring fee.

How can I benefit from Manychat x Hotmart integration?

Use Manychat x Hotmart integration to follow up on abandoned carts or send updates regarding purchase statuses (either a successful purchase or purchase delivery information). Get most of this integration by freely browsing through your contact list to make sure you have the full information on user data.

How can I integrate Hotmart with Manychat?

Connecting Manychat and Hotmart takes a few easy steps.

First, you’ll need to generate your Hotmart credentials. Here’s a walkthrough video to help you step-by-step in Hotmart:

Next head over to your Manychat account, and follow these steps:

1. Log in to your Manychat account.
2. Navigate to the “Settings” section.
3. Click on “Integrations.”
4. Provide your Hotmart account credentials.
5. Click “Next”

That’s it!

You’re all set to use Manychat with your Hotmart account to start selling and promoting your products!

Ready to integrate Manychat with Hotmart?

Looking for inspiration? Check out these other creator success stories using Manychat:

• How Conquista Tu Mundo with Johnny Abraham leveraged Manychat to drive $15,000 in launch sales in 20 days
• Jenna Kutcher’s 3 Easy Instagram Sales Strategies That Generated $900k – Organically
• Amy Porterfield’s 3 Powerful Instagram Strategies

The contents of this blog were independently prepared and are for informational purposes only. The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ManyChat or any other party. Individual results may vary*

The post How to Integrate Manychat and Hotmart (5 Simple Steps) appeared first on Manychat Blog.

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Manychat is the world’s leading chat marketing platform that enables you to save time and increase conversion using your favorite marketing channels like Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, Telegram, and Email (just to name a few ).

But what if you have an engaged following on a platform like Youtube, TikTok, or LinkedIn? These platforms don’t support chat marketing, but your customers are still there!

That’s where the Instagram Referral Url comes in!

With the Instagram Ref Url, you can use a special url to drive your audience directly into a conversation within your Instagram DMs. Now instead of sending them to a sales page and just crossing your fingers, you can turn your passive followers into active consumers who get to have a personalized conversation with your business.

By sending your traffic to a Ref Url, you can qualify them as leads, add them as contacts to your Manychat account, convert them into pay customers, and gain Instagram followers in the process!

Click this Ref Url below to experience it for yourself!

https://ig.me/m/manychat?ref=instagramreferralurl

Note!

1. At the moment, Ref URL works only for Instagram mobile app. Meta doesn’t support this functionality for the desktop version of Instagram.
2. You need to set up Conversation Starters for new users who have not communicated with your Instagram account before. If a user who hasn’t chatted with your business before clicks your Ref Url, they will have to click on your Conversation Starter to start the flow.

Why should I use a Ref Url?

Referral Urls have so many benefits, especially if your Instagram is vital to your business. You can find a list of benefits below.

• Engage your customers personally using Instagram Chat Marketing
  
• Deliver content and conversion opportunities within your Instagram DMs
  
• Earn the ability to follow up with your customers automatically within Instagram
  
• Access a higher response rate and click through rate than other more popular marketing channels like email.
  
• Drive more followers and engagement from other channels to your Instagram
  
• Gain subscribers for your Instagram DM List.

Adding a trigger

You can follow these instructions to add your own Ref Url to your account.

Open a New Flow and click “New Trigger.” Choose “User clicks a referral link” in the open modal.

Publish changes in the flow’s content and copy Instagram Ref URL. You can find the referral link by clicking the green box in the trigger section.

Customization of the URL address

Customization of the URL allows you to make the link look more attractive and identify your Ref URL link among your other links. To customize your URL, you can fill in the field, then Save changes.

Saving data to a Custom User Field

This option allows you to save data such as names and affiliate IDs in Custom User Fields.

Choose the existing Custom User Field where you want to store the information.

After you copied Ref Url, add data at the end of the link after the ‘–‘ symbols (as a result, you’ll have something like this: https://ig.me/m/AccName?ref=loyalty_program--DATA).

That’s it! Now Instagram users will receive your message every time they click on the link.

Where can I post a Ref Url?

In short, you can post this url anywhere where you can paste a link! You can read a few examples below:

1. Email

You can drive subscribers from your email list into a conversation through Instagram DMs!

2. YouTube

When you create a YouTube video, include your Instagram Ref URL. You can introduce it at the beginning and mention it again at the end of your video. You can also do this by pinning your Instagram Ref URL in a comment on each video. If you’re feeling ambitious, you could even include it in your About page (even though no one really goes there—you have nothing to lose).

Caveat: People will only click through in large numbers if you’re giving away something of value for free, so be sure you have a “hook” to incentivize them. 

3. Ads

This can be one of the most powerful ways to use your Ref URL. Whether you run ads through Google, Facebook, YouTube, Messenger, or other platforms, make sure you include your link. This way, whenever someone clicks on your lead magnet from the ad, they’ll end up in your Instagram flow. 

4. LinkedIn

LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network, with upwards of 650 million users in over 200 countries. You probably even have a profile yourself. If you do, you can nudge your connections into your ManyChat bot in just a few steps. 

5. SMS

If you already have an SMS subscriber list with a third-party service, you can bring them over to Instagram as well. Instagram lets you send longer (and more) messages than SMS does and for a extremely low cost.

Turning SMS subscribers into Instagram contacts is as simple as including your link in a text. As we’ve mentioned before, don’t forget to provide an immediate incentive for them to click over. Flash sales, special discounts, free webinars, and free quotes are one of many ways to create urgency and encourage clicks.

The post Drive Traffic from ANY Channel to your Instagram DMs by using the IG Referral Url appeared first on Manychat Blog.

The Messenger List allows your business to re-engage your customers after 24 hours of last interaction, with prior permission on a daily basis.

If you are familiar with the broadcasting tool with ManyChat, the Messenger List expands on this tool by creating an experience that your customers are in control of. 

First, to send Broadcasts to your Messenger List, you must receive prior permission from the customer to send them a Broadcast by having them subscribe. Also, they have the opportunity to unsubscribe at any time.

This feature will also include One-Time Notifications, which allows you to send one broadcast to your customers after 24 hours. 

With The Messenger List, you can:

• Send time-sensitive marketing campaigns 
• Create drip campaigns
• Follow-up with your customers after the conversation has ended

The Messenger List allows you to broadcast daily (one message per calendar day).

Let’s break down how to set up a Messenger List within ManyChat.

How to create Messenger Lists

There are 3 main steps to successfully send broadcasts to your Messenger Lists:

1. Create the Notification Topic. Messenger Lists are organized by Topic within ManyChat. The Topic is the internal title of the Messenger List messages you will be sending that is not viewable on the customer end. Utilizing the Message Request block to collect subscriptions within the topic from your customers.
2. Tracking active Message Requests within Audience.
3. Sending out the Messenger Lists broadcasts via Broadcasts, Sequences or through Flow Builder.

How to create a Topic and Collect Subscriptions through Flow Builder

The most efficient way to create and use Messenger Lists is through Flow Builder. You can create Topics and collect subscriptions directly within a Flow. To do so:

1. Go to a Flow → Add a Messenger Content node as the first step.
2. Add Messenger List Request Block.
3. For a new Topic, in the Name section, select “+Create”.
4. If you have an existing Topic that you’d like to use, add it in any of the steps .
5. After selecting “+Create”, you may now enter in the new topic’s name and choose the frequency (Daily or One-Time).
6. In the Messenger List block, you can add an Image, and must use a Title, and Button. The Subtitle and Button title are preset by Facebook.
7. Make sure to preview and publish and attach it to your tool of choice. You are also able to add the Messenger List block to an already existing flow.

Messenger List Communication Windows

The Messenger List communication window is based on calendar days and is reset exactly when a new day starts.

For example, if the customer is subscribed to receiving daily Messenger List Broadcasts, and the Page set the time zone to America/New_York, this is a possible schedule of Messenger List Broadcasts sent by the Page:

1. First broadcast sent on Monday @ 5:00 PM EDT
2. Next broadcast sent on Tuesday @ 9:00 AM EDT

How to find subscribed contacts

After collecting subscriptions to your Messenger List, viewing active and all Messenger Lists subscriptions is easily done within the Audience tab of ManyChat.

Here, you can filter and segment by either “Notification Topic available now” or “Opted-in for Notification” and filter down by the specific Notification Topic.

Also, all Messenger List history is broken down on the customer level within their individual contact cards such as:

• The list of all current and archived Topics
• Their current Messenger List status
• and the expiration date

How to send messages

After collecting a subscription for a Messenger List, the clock has now started in sending the broadcast to a customer.

The good news is there are multiple ways to use the Messenger List within ManyChat to  successfully reach a customer using:

• Broadcasts
• Sequences
• Flow Builder – Smart Delays

Let’s go over each of these tools.

Broadcasts

Using the Broadcasting tool to message your customers that subscribed for the Messenger List is one of the safest and simplest ways to implement this feature within your ManyChat account. 

1. Go to Broadcasting → + New Broadcast → Messenger.
2. Select “Send inside 24 hours” and change the selection to “outside 24 hours window”
3. Under Reason, select the Messenger List Topic you’d like to use.
4. Create relevant content to your Messenger List within the Flow. Note: The Messenger List only supports one message block. Please only use content related to what was previously agreed upon. Failure to do so can result in page penalty.
5. After creating your Flow, select “Go Next” and select Non-promotional or Mixed content as Content Type.
6. You can add more targeting, schedule a broadcast, set to send during certain hours, and select the type of broadcast.
7. After customizing, select “Send Now” once ready to send.

Using Sequences to send Drip Campaigns

The Sequences tool allows you to set up multi-message drip campaigns and schedule them to send on a recurring basis.

To use this tool, go to the “Automation” tab, and select “Sequences” from the top selection. 

Here, you can create a new Flow and add a Messenger node. To use the Messenger List Topic, click on “inside 24 hours”, and select “outside 24 hours window”. Under Reason, add the Messenger List Topic. 

After successfully creating your first message, you can adjust the schedule, add another message and set it active from the Sequences tab. 

Using Flow Builder and Smart Delays to re-engage 

Sending Messenger List broadcasts can also be done on the Flow level and sent via the same flow as the opt-in with Smart Delays or sent through Live Chat.

Conclusion

The Messenger List is a great tool to utilize if you are looking to re-engage your customers on Messenger in a safe and effective manner for no extra cost. 

Make sure to follow all the steps to successfully implement this tool and take your contact list from a passive audience to an active one. 

Ready to get started with ManyChat?

The post Re-engage Your customers by sending Broadcasts to Your Messenger List appeared first on Manychat Blog.

San Francisco, CA—May 11, 2022—ManyChat, the world’s leading chat marketing platform for 1.5 million businesses around the world, today announced the launch of WhatsApp Chat Marketing Automation. The new channel offering will allow businesses and brands who use WhatsApp to communicate with customers and automate their marketing and customer support.  

WhatsApp has over 2 billion users worldwide and over 175 million people message a business using WhatsApp per day. With WhatsApp’s user base continuing to grow, specifically in key geographies such as Europe, South America and Asia, it’s critical for businesses to communicate with their consumers in a way that is convenient to them. By using WhatsApp automation, businesses can now easily automate campaigns to drive sales, answer common questions, or quickly escalate customers to live chat agents. 

As an official WhatsApp Business Solution Provider, ManyChat enables WhatsApp messaging using WhatsApp Business API. This technology ensures stable performance across the full spectrum of platform capabilities, including:

• Increased Sales Leads: Businesses now have the ability to turn WhatsApp interactions with potential customers into leads and ultimately increase sales. Businesses can funnel paid traffic straight to their WhatsApp bot, and recommend the best matching product/service in a personalized way. 
• Capturing Important Customer Info: Businesses can easily and conveniently capture critical customer contact information like emails and phone numbers directly within the app. With this information, businesses can now create a full customer profile and offer a tailored experience based on past preferences. 
• Stellar Customer Support: Users can save time by creating automated responses to customers’ questions and quickly raise concerns that typically require an admin’s attention. By decreasing the time spent with support agents and shortening response times, customer satisfaction will increase. 
• Unlimited Inbound Conversations: With WhatsApp’s recent platform change, businesses now have access to unlimited customer-initiated conversations without Facebook Business Verification.
• Re-engagement After 24 Hours: The ability to re-engage customers after 24 hours helps to capture more leads, achieve unprecedented open and conversion rates, and send more promotional broadcasts.

“After a successful beta program, we are thrilled to officially launch WhatsApp Automation,” said ManyChat CEO Mike Yan. “Helping businesses create meaningful relationships with customers is at the core of our mission and over the last three months, we’ve seen a 70% increase in the amount of customers who are interested in utilizing WhatsApp automation, a strong indicator for the usage we expect to see now that the product is live.”

For more information, visit ManyChat’s WhatsApp product page.

About ManyChat

ManyChat is the world’s leading Chat Marketing platform, helping nearly 1.5 million businesses in 156 countries engage and support billions of their customers in real-time and at scale through conversations on Messenger, WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram, SMS, Email. ManyChat was founded in 2015 and is based in San Francisco with venture funding from Bessemer Venture Partners. Learn more at www.manychat.com or follow the company on Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, or Twitter.

The post ManyChat Launches WhatsApp Chat Marketing Automation appeared first on Manychat Blog.

Whether you are running an Instagram storefront, eCommerce store, retailer, or selling any type of goods, increasing sales and monetizing your account are two of the most important goals for your Instagram account and business. You’ve most likely utilized Instagram Shops, sending traffic to your website via Instagram ads, links in bios, or other Instagram-related tools to increase sales.

Now with Instagram DM Automation for ManyChat, we’ve added a brand new way to supercharge your Instagram DMs that’ll help you increase sales and create a frictionless buying experience for your leads and customers with the Buy Button.

With this tool, you can show customers your products/offerings and give them the ability to instantly purchase directly within the conversation without having to go to a website. 

Integrate with a payment gateway in a few easy steps with either Stripe or Paypal and watch the sales come in. 

Let’s walk through how the Buy Button works and how to get it set up. 

From Starting the Conversation to Closing the Sale

Getting your customers to the Buy Button in the conversation can start from any Instagram DM entry point like Keywords, IG Lives, Posts, Stories, and more.

After the customer starts a conversation with your account, you can present the Buy Button at the perfect moment in the conversation.

As seen here, your customer direct messages your Instagram, and a set of Conversation Starters appears with an option to browse products. After browsing your products, the Buy Button will be shown immediately under each product listing leading to a simple order form that links to your Stripe or PayPal account.

Here are ways you can use the Buy Button:

• Perfect for businesses that sell directly through Instagram without a website
• Selling tickets to an event
• Flash sales
• Merchandise for your business/brand

And much more!

How to Set Up the Buy Button

The first step in setting up your Buy Button is to connect either your Stripe or PayPal account to your ManyChat account. To do so, follow the following steps:

1. Go to the Settings of your ManyChat account
2. In the middle menu, scroll down to Extensions>Payments
3. Once on this page, connect either your Stripe or PayPal account by following the prompts

4. After connected, you will see either your Stripe or PayPal information successfully listed
5. You can also change your currency, set up to get notifications when a customer, and set up the system to automatically email your customer after a successful transaction

Note: Only one payment integration can be used and country restrictions do apply.

Once you have either Stripe or Paypal set up correctly, it’s time to set up the Buy Button within a Flow. 

Follow these steps to add the Buy Button to your flow:

1. We will head to Automation and create a new flow 
2. You must either create a Card or Image Gallery to create a Buy Button
3. In the Card or Gallery, add in an image, title and price, and a description about your product
4. Now to add the Buy Button, select “+Add Button” and select the Buy Button option
5. After creating your Buy Button, you will fill in the Price, Item Name, add any additional fields you’d like to collect (email, phone number, shipping address), and you can pre-fill their email address if collected previously
6. Also you can add in a Condition if you’d like to only show the buy button if the item isn’t sold out and you can set up a confirmation IG/Email/SMS message to be sent after a successful purchase.
7. After a successful purchase, you will see that transaction listed under Settings>Payments

Ready to start monetizing your Instagram DMs with ManyChat?

The post Feature Announcement: Instagram Buy Button appeared first on Manychat Blog.

In this article, we’ll explore the benefits of using audio in your Automations and walk you through how to add it. 

Benefits of using audio in your Automations 

Including audio as part of your automated flows helps you and your customers. First, audio is a vital accessibility option for users with visual impairments; it’s also a feature that other users may enjoy and can help give your bot some personality.

Furthermore, while you can personalize your flows via text, images, and video, adding audio clips can humanize the experience on an additional level—consider the difference between reading a text message versus hearing someone on the phone. 

Sound also helps your brand become more memorable. Ever find yourself with a song stuck in your head? Various research has shown that sound is directly connected to our emotions; hearing an audio clip in a flow may create more affinity for your company. 

Despite its benefits, audio is often underutilized in automated flows. So, let’s look at ways you could use and implement it. 

Ideas for using audio in your Automation 

In what ways could you use audio in your flows? Here are some examples: 

• Your clients may find it beneficial to hear your voice if you’re a business coach or a consultant. 
• Promoting a podcast, radio show, or music? Give users an audio clip so they can get a taste. 
• Offer a personal invitation to a webinar, networking event, or conference. 
• Share a theme song or a sound that’s exclusive to your brand, such as Rice Krispies cereal’s “snap, crackle, and pop” onomatopoeia. 
• Provide customer testimonials and stories for another layer of social proof. 

Now that you’ve got some ideas, here’s how to insert audio clips into your Automation. 

How to add audio into your Automation 

Once you’ve registered for a ManyChat account: 

1. Record your audio clip. You can use any recording software, but make sure your audio file is smaller than 23 megabytes. (The larger the file, the longer the load time.) 
2. Access your ManyChat dashboard and go into the flow where you want to add the audio. 
3. Click audio from the content type tab to place the audio into your flow.
4. Once you click publish, your audio will be live in your flow, and it will appear as a simple audio player within the message. 

Using ManyChat, you can create and maintain personal relationships with potential and current customers from all angles, using audio, video, images, and of course, text. Plus, it’s all automated.

Ready to get started with ManyChat?

The post How to Use Audio in Your Automated Conversations appeared first on Manychat Blog.

If you’re like most other Chat Marketers, it’s time to start driving traffic to your bot. 

Whether you’re new to ManyChat or need a Growth Tool refresher, here’s the master list of every Growth Tool explained, so you can start boosting conversions and making more sales for your business. 

But before we get started, let’s look at how to set up a Growth Tool in your account. So you can get people talking to your bot right away.

How to set up a Growth Tool

First, click the Flows tab in your dashboard and create a new flow. Name the flow. Click Create.

Once in Flow Builder, you’ll notice the Starting Step block. Click Add Trigger to open up a menu of different trigger options. 

Your Growth Tool options are under the following sections: Overlay Widgets, Embeddable Widgets, Other Widgets, and Facebook Triggers. Select which Growth Tool you want to create.

In this example, we’ll choose the SMS Modal widget to convert website visitors into SMS subscribers.

Once you choose a widget, add the creative inside Flow Builder. Notice in the example below, you can customize copy, images, timing, and more.

When you finish creating a widget, add text to your follow-up message after someone clicks through. Then click Publish and turn the widget on.

After you turn on the Growth Tool, you’re ready to start chatting with customers, building your list, and making more sales.

Instagram Automation

Instagram Automation by ManyChat empowers businesses, marketers, and influencers to improve their Instagram marketing efforts through automated Instagram conversations. It also allows marketing and customer service teams to engage in real-time conversations with customers at any time. 

Instagram Automation by ManyChat also gives you:

• Automated, personalized conversations built fast in Flow Builder,  a flowchart-based interface.
• Responses and conversations to Keywords based on messages and queries IG users send you.
• Automatic replies, messages, and reactions to post comments, also known as the Comments Growth Tool.
• Replies and business automation for all IG account Story Mentions.
• Scalable Instagram Messaging Ads.
• Customizable buttons for new customers or followers that help Start Conversations.
• Ability to capture and store customer-given data, like emails and phone numbers.
• Live Chat portal where you can chat in real-time with Instagram users and access to ManyChat’s CRM for more informed conversations.

Why use Instagram Automation

Adding automation to your Instagram Messages creates an entirely new layer of engagement to your Instagram account and marketing activities. Marketers can use native Instagram features like Stories to create automated conversations with customers, ensuring the IG account gets engagement beyond just a Story Reaction. 

ManyChat users use Instagram Automation for a number of reasons:

• ​​Generate sales by replying to product questions like, “Will this fit a size 0?” before sending customers to a buying destination.
• Save time and automate answers to frequently asked questions like, “Do you offer free shipping?”
• Generate qualified leads by automating the lead qualification and follow-up process.
• Increase audience engagement by automating other kinds of Instagram activities such as automatically responding to all post comments and Story mentions.
• Scale Instagram Ads that start conversations with customers, like Story Ads that ask customers to “DM me this word.”

Resources:

• How Frazer Brookes Saw a 40% Lift in Story Engagement Using Instagram Automation
• Key Instagram Automation Features for 2021

Messenger Ref URL

The Messenger Ref URL caters to any Chat Marketer building an audience. It’s a simple URL you can add anywhere: your social profiles, marketing emails, a presentation, or a guest post on an industry publication. You can drop add the link any place you want to bring in traffic from.

Kelly Noble Mirabella, Founder of Baby Got Bot, uses a Messenger Ref URL to drive traffic from many different sources to improve her marketing campaigns:

“Ref URLs are the most versatile Growth Tool we have available to us. It allows marketers to share a link anywhere they choose as a way for users to come into a given Messenger bot flow. This opens the door to more opportunities as it is one of the few Growth Tools that can be used anywhere including, emails, Facebook groups and profiles, social networks outside of Facebook, blogs, buttons, and even behind QR Codes.”

Why use the Messenger Ref URL

For each spot you use a Ref URL, you can create a different sequence with tailored messaging. For example, if a subscriber clicks into your bot from an email, start with a simple “Hey :Full Name:! Thanks for subscribing to Messenger for future updates. I’m even happier to see you here than I was when you joined my email list!” 

There’s no doubt this type of personalization can help improve conversion rates and reduce the path to purchase. Over 87% of marketers who personalize the customer experience see a lift in success metrics. 

The Ref URL is effective because you can put it anywhere. Most marketers will use it to have one-to-one conversations with customers from their diverse range of marketing channels. You can use the Ref URL to tie together your marketing system — from paid to email to YouTube and more — and grow your Messenger contact list so you can drive more sales for your business. 

Resources: 

• 6 Easy Ways to Get Your First ManyChat Subscribers with a Ref URL
• [Video] How to Set Up the Messenger Ref URL 
• Messenger Ref URL Support Article

Facebook Comments

The Comment Growth Tool is a popular tool for Chat Marketers. It’s easy to set up and effective to get subscribers from paid and organic posts. All you have to do is attach the Growth Tool to a Facebook post or ad, and when someone comments a keyword on the post, they get a message from your ManyChat bot. 

If they respond to your message, they’ll be added to your Messenger subscriber list. You can enter them into an automated bot flow for lead nurturing, or follow-up in live chat if they have a more immediate need. 

Why use the Facebook comments Growth Tool

With organic Facebook reach on the steady decline, you want to maximize each post you publish on the platform. Whether it’s for customer support or selling a program, the Facebook Comments Growth Tool 

“It’s impossible to keep track on everyone commenting on your ads or organic posts. The Facebook Comments Growth Tool helps us track comments no matter where people contact us from and helps pull them straight into your inbox.”

— Trilce Jiron, ManyChat Expert, Founder of TBS Marketing

Some common ways ManyChat users leverage the Facebook Comments Growth Tool:

• Run viral giveaway contests
• Collect subscribers from Facebook Lives
• Get lead magnet downloads
• Automate sales inquiry follow-ups
• Create an extra customer service channel

Resources:

• 8 Actionable Things You Can Do With ManyChat’s Facebook Comment Growth Tool
• Facebook Comments Growth Tool Support Article
• [Video] How to Use ManyChat’s Facebook Comments Growth Tool

Customer Chat

The ManyChat customer chat Growth Tool lets you have real-time conversations with your website visitors. The chat bubble floats at the bottom-right corner of a user’s screen, and shows a message to encourage the person to interact with the widget. 

Why use Customer chat

When a user clicks through to the chat, you can direct them to a specific flow or enter a Live Chat to help answer questions and solve problems. You can manage all your conversations in the Live Chat tab in your ManyChat dashboard. 

ManyChat users use Customer Chat for a number of reasons:

• Improve customer service by bringing any website conversation into Messenger.
• Offer instant and automated answers based on keywords or pre-built sequences.
• Subscribe visitors to a Messenger, email, or SMS newsletter.
• Deliver lead magnets or provide useful content to browsers.
• Surface new products and offer recommendations for curious shoppers.

Resources:

• How to Set Up Customer Chat
• [Video] How to Use ManyChat Live Chat

JSON Ads

If your business wants to start more conversations with customers, you want to use JSON ads.

With JSON ads, you can drive paid traffic to your Messenger bot for lead nurturing or making direct sales. For marketers trying to increase brand awareness or build an audience, JSON ads can help speed up the process versus traditional lead generation processes.

Why use JSON ads

Facebook ads are great for attracting new customers and communicating with your existing audience. ManyChat’s JSON Growth Tool allows you to send an opt-in message to every user who clicks on your ad. 

The JSON feature lets you send people a single message after they click on your ad. When they interact with the message, it tells Facebook they want to receive messages from you in the future, or they opt-in to your Messenger list. You can get creative with this message and add text, image, call-to-actions, and more so you can design an engaging Messenger experience for your audience. 

Current and potential customers are highly active on Messenger. Using JSON ads, you can reach people who would be most responsive to your messages, and tailor ads to specific groups of people to boost conversions. This marriage of conversation and converse is an important touchpoint with a strong return on ad spend. 

Resources:

• [Video] JSON Ads with Ads Manager and ManyChat
• Facebook JSON Ads Support Article

SMS Modal

The SMS modal widget helps you convert website visitors into subscribers and customers for your text message marketing campaigns. If you want to use SMS modal, you have to activate your SMS channel first in ManyChat. Learn how to set it up in this support article.

Why use the SMS modal

Are you targeting your visitors to build your SMS subscriber list? 

If not, you’re missing out on an opportunity. The SMS modal helps you get a site visitors attention and quickly subscribe them to your list. That’s why this Growth Tool is so effective for growing subscribers, especially for eCommerce stores. ManyChat customers using SMS marketing experience upwards of 30% revenue growth from building SMS subscriber lists.  

Resources:

• How to Set Up SMS Modal
• How to Use ManyChat SMS

QR Code

ManyChat’s QR code Growth Tool is an effective way to get more subscribers into your Chat Marketing sequences. Wherever you use them, printed or otherwise, a QR code directs a subscriber directly into a specific flow or conversation with your ManyChat bot. 

A QR code makes it easy to capture offline traffic — from print ads, product packages, events — and turn them into Messenger subscribers to boost conversions.

Why use QR codes

QR codes are a popular way of getting businesses in touch with leads: Millions of people scan them every year to start engaging with a company. You can use QR codes to easily hook customers into a conversation and qualify them as leads. 

Some places ManyChat users place QR codes are:

• Product packages to get reviews and feedback
• As an overlay on videos
• At in-person events 
• In your brick-and-mortar store

QR Codes have a great deal  of benefits to support your Chat Marketing strategy — they’re inexpensive to create, easy to track, and set you apart from the competition. 

Resources:

• [Video] Build a QR Code in ManyChat
• QR Code Growth Tool Support
• How to Use QR Codes in Your Messenger Bot

Overlay widgets

Overlay widgets are an easy way to turn website visitors in Messenger subscribers. These widgets can be used on any platform that lets you customize the <head> section. 

Because it’s an overlay on the web page, you don’t have to integrate these tools manually. You build the creative in ManyChat, take a piece of code, and add it to your website. When you make changes to the widget, you can do it inside your ManyChat account. You can choose to have these widgets show up on select pages, or one for your entire site. 

These widgets are most effective when paired with an offer such as:

• Content upgrade, such as a free eBook or mini-course.
• Discounts for a newsletter sign up
• Deals for first time shoppers

ManyChat’s overlay widgets are available in four modes: 

• Bar
• Slide-in
• Facebook modal
• Page takeover

Bar

The opt-in bar floats at the top of a website page of your choice, and you can customize it to fit your business needs.

For example, RewardBee, an online survey platform, uses the opt-in bar to get people to sign up for their Messenger contact list to stay up to date on rewards and surveys.  

While The Spice Way, an eCommerce store selling herbs and spices, offers a 20% discount of a visitors order if they follow the company on Messenger.

Why use the Bar widget

The opt-in bar is a good option if you don’t want to disturb site visitors. You can set the opt-in bar to be a sticky footer or float at the top of your website page. They are one of the most common campaigns proven to boost sign-ups and sales.

You can use the bar for a handful of reasons: welcoming visitors to your site, showcase important information, and grow your Messenger list. ManyChat also let’s you specify when you want the bar to show to visitors. 

When using the bar Growth Tool, keep your call-to-action (CTA) short and to the point. You only have one line to get your message across. Aim to make the opt-in bar as relevant as possible. 

Some popular use cases for the bar are: 

• Highlight one-time sales
• Promote seasonal offers
• Highlight time-sensitive offers

Slide in

The slide-in window comes into view from the edge of your website visitors screen. 

Similar to the opt-in bar, you can use the slide-in to deliver a lead magnet, like the Gotham Club, a top expert-based sex and dating advice resource for guys worldwide.

You can also use the slide-in window to promote a giveaway or offer discounts in your eCommerce store. PokeNerds, an online store for Pokemon Cards, uses the slide-in in combination with other Growth Tools to encourage sign-ups for their giveaway campaigns. 

Why use the slide-in window

The slide-in window is a good alternative to traditional popups. It’s a more polite way to get visitors attention without being too “in your face”. The window can show from the right side of the screen, however, you can change it to enter from the bottom or left-side. 

The slide-in is effective because it sticks to the bottom of the screen. Most visitors will notice it immediately. ManyChat lets you specify when you want the slide-in to pop up, so you can send the right message at the right time, and increase conversions. 

The slide-in gives you a little more room to get creative when it comes to building your opt-in. You can add a headline, body copy, image, and CTA, plus, a variety of options to display the widget to website visitors. 

ManyChat users use the slide-in widget to:

• Deliver relevant content or product recommendations
• Get feedback from customers
• Lower cart abandonment with well-timed coupons and discounts

When creating your slide-in, ask yourself “would I sign-up for this offer?” Choose a headline that highlights your offer and an attention-grabbing photo. You can also add a brief description explaining why someone would want to opt-in to your list.

Facebook Modal

The Facebook modal Growth Tool is a pop-up window that appears in the center of the web visitors screen. It’s a popular tool amongst online retailers because it capture visitors’ attention to boost conversions, capture more leads, and increase your Messenger subscribers.

Swan, a UK-based retailer that sells kitchen and houseware, uses the Facebook modal Growth Tool to promote their VIP program.  

Why use the Facebook modal

The Facebook modal popup lets you deliver a targeted message at the right time to maximize visitor engagement. They are proven to work for Messenger lead capture and increasing sales conversions. 

When you show a Facebook modal, visitors have to make a choice. There are no distractions. All your other content on the page fades into the background. That’s why modal campaigns convert well. 

Page Takeover

Page takeover lets you turn any website page into a high-converting page. As a visitor scrolls on your page, the Growth Tool pops up with an attention-grabbing CTA visitors can’t ignore.

Tididaa, an online marketplace based in Ghana, uses the Page takeover Growth Tool to get people’s attention before they leave the site. 

How to use Page takeover

Timing is everything when it comes to using the Page takeover. Do you want to capture visitors right when they get on your site? Show the Page takeover after they are on your site for a few seconds or immediately. Don’t want customers to leave your site? Set the Page takeover to show when a potential customer goes to leave the webpage. 

Some examples of Page takeover from ManyChat customers are:

• Collect Messenger subscribers for a product launch
• Present relevant offers or coupons 
• Deliver lead magnets such as games or content
• Surface new products and services

ManyChat’s display options let you decide when someone sees your popup or how frequently they see it if they don’t subscribe, so you don’t bug potential shoppers on your site. 

For more on how to set up Overlay Widgets, refer to this support article. 

Embeddable Widgets

Embeddable widgets can be directly added to your website code to add new opt-in methods. 

ManyChats embeddable widgets are available in two modes:

• Button
• Box

Button

If you don’t want to use a pop-up to get opt-ins, you can use a Button Growth Tool. You can place the button anywhere on your website or third-party app to help improve your website conversions.  

Take NutriRise for example. The health product retailer has few different call-to-actions on their homepage. You could watch a video, learn how to earn NutriPoints, or message them on Messenger through the button. 

Why use the Button widget

Are you looking for a more discrete way to drive sales and conversions? 

With ManyChat’s Button widget, you can create low-key ways to talk to customers on your site. From the button on your site, you can send potential customers to a specific Messenger flow to collect contact information, deliver a lead magnet, or have a two-way conversation in Live Chat. You can even send them to a landing page or outside destination if you’d like. 

Box

Think of the Box widget as an extension of the button. If you have a blog on your website, you can embed the Box on your page to encourage conversions for a lead magnet.  

When to use the Box widget

Are you looking for an easy way to boost Messenger subscribers from your blog without extra effort? With ManyChat’s Box widget, you can add an attractive opt-in form to select pages. Whether you want to promote a webinar, eBook, discounts, or coupons, you can maximize lead generation by dropping the Box. If you want to embed a widget and want to code a little as possible, use the Box. 

For more on how to set up Embeddable Widgets, refer to this support article. 

Other Growth Tools

Landing page

If you want to quickly and easily publish a landing page in minutes, the landing page Growth Tool is for you. It’s perfect for Chat Marketers who want to drive leads into a Messenger bot sequence. 

How to use the landing page

Say you want to run a webinar but don’t feel like doing the design, you can create a high-converting landing page in a matter of minutes from your dashboard. The page is mobile-optimized, so you can send the link to anyone, on any device, and encourage potential leads to take action. 

Learn how to create a landing page here.

Checkbox

The Checkbox Growth Tool lets you add a checkbox to forms on your website. When a visitor completes an opt-in form, they can check the box to receive messages from your ManyChat bot. 

If you choose to use the Checkbox option, you’ll be able to edit the button text. Some ManyChat customers use this to customize the widget and show a more targeted message to website visitors. It’s important to note that the Checkbox opt-in doesn’t not automatically subscribe a person to your bot. Once they take an action inside the conversation, they become a subscriber.

Learn how to set up the Checkbox Growth Tool here. 

Start driving traffic to your bot today

Growth Tools are one of your best friends when using ManyChat. They’re straightforward and eye-catching without disrupting the user experience. The best part? You can start growing your subscriber list today with ManyChat Growth Tools. So pick a Growth Tool from this list (we recommend starting with the Messenger Ref URL!), go to your dashboard, and start improving leads.

Want to take full advantage of ManyChat’s Growth Tools? Go Pro today.

The post Every ManyChat Growth Tool Explained appeared first on Manychat Blog.

Businesses can use this feature to control which posts to fire an automation for, which post words/phrases will trigger a response comment, and of course, which message or conversation to send. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at Comments Automation. You’ll learn best practices for how to use it, build it out, and implement it.

What is the Comments Automation feature? 

With Comments Automation, you can automatically send a direct message to a user who leaves a comment on a post. This feature is a great way to enter Instagram users into your ManyChat Flow and CRM. 

How to set up Comments Automation

You can set up Comments Automation in two ways. If you need to set up the Flow, just head to Growth Tools in the dashboard. From Growth Tools, click New Growth Tool, scroll to the bottom, and click Instagram Comments.

If you already have a Flow you want to use, you can set up Comments Automation from the Flow itself. The Instagram Comment then serves as the starting step for the Flow, and you can create a giveaway or another Flow from there. 

Comments Automation best practices 

Follow these pro tips to get the most out of Comments Automation:

Encourage comments

We recommend encouraging users to comment on your post to get them into your Flow. For example, if you’re hosting a giveaway, your caption can say, “To enter the giveaway, tell us your favorite food in the comments!” Anyone who leaves a comment will automatically be entered into your giveaway and Flow. 

Get specific

Don’t forget: you can use a specific Flow for select posts or all of them. For example, you may set up a generic “Thank you” message Flow for all of your Instagram posts, but have a “Congratulations, you’ve been entered in our giveaway!” Flow for a specific giveaway post. 

Choose triggers

You can also choose words or phrases that will (or will not) trigger Comments Automation. For example, you could set the Comments Automation to trigger anytime someone leaves a comment that includes the word “love.” So, if someone comments, “I love your brand!” the Flow would automatically send a direct message to them with a predetermined phrase, such as “Thank you so much!”  

You can also set up a word or a phrase that will not trigger an automatic message. So, even if you set your Flow to be a part of every Instagram post, you can determine words or phrases that you don’t want to automatically respond to. 

We’re so excited to see how you use Comments Automation! Make sure to mention the @manychat Instagram account if you want to share your results. 

Check out our video course to learn more about using Instagram DM Automation, or go to our Facebook community to learn more ways people use this convenient feature.

Ready to automate your DM’s? Get started with Instagram Automation by ManyChat.

The post Feature Best Practice: Comments Automation appeared first on Manychat Blog.