Facebook, now a grey-haired veteran of the Internet wars, was once the newest kid on the block. Over time, the brilliant minds behind Facebook have added more and more functionality. Facebook chat, implemented as a mobile app called messenger, is one of the more popular added functionalities.
The concept was simple, as are many immensely complex ideas once someone implements them. Facebook would display the names of your friends who are using Facebook at the same time as you and enable you to open chats with individuals and groups.
Now that the Messenger app is so popular, Facebook has begun to monetise it with Messenger Bots.
Who Uses Messenger?
Facebook reports that more than 900 million people are using Messenger.
Since introducing the Messenger app, Facebook has observed that the number of people using the Facebook app for interaction on their new feeds is decreasing. More and more frequently, people simply pass through Facebook to reach Messenger. Messenger is a chat app associated with the Facebook app, designed for mobile users. Since its introduction over seven years ago, the Messenger and Facebook apps have travelled together; separate apps that are an inseparable kind of “conjoined app”.
Welcoming the Bots: Facebook Messenger Advertising
In his most recent announcement, Mark Zuckerberg unveiled a ten-year plan that includes un-bundling Messenger to launch a multitude of new functionalities. This announcement, made at the recent F8 Facebook developers’ conference, included the information that Facebook has already partnered with some businesses.
These insiders have released Messenger Bots enabling people to see and interact with brands via private messages.
Interacting with the Messenger Bots is designed to be quick and easy to eliminate the need for human chats and to accelerate transactions. Additionally, your bot tracks your data. The next time you order, your bot may well reply more quickly as a result of its prior history.
It is possible that once you interact with World Wide Widgets, the bot will want to inform you of all widget sales, offer you discounts for ordering right now and explain the latest advances in widget technology.
Certainly, the path we see for Messenger Bots is one of advertising. However, we have also seen that in circumstances such as this where the user can easily op out of the advertising, that businesses tend to make the interactions as pleasant and indeed humorous as possible to keep the user engaged.
The Long Game
The Messenger Bots are coming, whether or not we like it. However, Facebook promises we will be able to block bots. If the bots turn out to be a great success, we could be ushering in a new era of sales.