Sunday 27 June 2021

The Evolution of Customer Service: Conversational Automation is Your Key to Success | by Ambit | Jun, 2021


Ambit

The ways customers interact with businesses have drastically changed in previous years.

From the early days of face-to-face interactions, phone calls and contact centres, the customer service experience has evolved exponentially.

Shifts in consumer behaviour and advancements in technology are both catalysts for change.

The traditional methods of customer service are expensive to maintain and no longer meet the demands of modern consumers.

Leading businesses are now implementing more automated and cost effective solutions to provide superior customer service experiences. Only the organisations that are willing to adapt to changes in business-consumer dynamics will meet customer expectations and thrive.

We look at the way customer service has evolved and what businesses must do to succeed.

Augment Humans with Digital Employees: Using AI to improve CX, reduce costs, and maximise revenue. Click here to download the report.

From waiting in queues in physical stores, only for them to shut as they approached the front-desk; to spending hours on hold, repeatedly hearing some rendition of “your call is important to us, please hold”; or speaking to countless customer service reps in the hope that one of them would be sufficiently trained to solve their query.

It wasn’t quality, it wasn’t enjoyable, it was anything but ‘service’.

If you needed assistance, often the only way of contacting a business was to visit a physical store. Businesses were only open on set days for a limited time. If you couldn’t make it to the store during that window, your enquiry went unresolved. It was one-dimensional and change was needed.

“You are in a priority queue”

Call centres would often place callers in an imaginary ‘priority queue’. The long wait times didn’t make customers feel like much of a priority though.

Then call centres emerged — the first evolution in remote-based customer service. Customers could simply pick up the phone and dial in. The trouble — everyone started doing it. Customers could spend half their day on hold, often hanging up without their issue solved. Sound familiar? So much for the priority queue.

1. How Conversational AI can Automate Customer Service

2. Automated vs Live Chats: What will the Future of Customer Service Look Like?

3. Chatbots As Medical Assistants In COVID-19 Pandemic

4. Chatbot Vs. Intelligent Virtual Assistant — What’s the difference & Why Care?

Soon enough, along came email, courtesy of the internet boom. Customers had more choice than ever before. Rather than wait for someone to answer their call, customers messaged the business directly at a time that suited them. Progress! The downside — similarly with call centres, businesses continued to respond to customers when it suited them. The more channels that relied on a human response, the longer customer wait and resolution times grew.

Customers weren’t the only ones fighting this battle. With more enquiries coming through multiple channels, businesses struggled to manage exploding volumes and only manual processes to lean on. Their solution — they’d hire customer service rep after customer service rep, filling contact centres to the brim.

Customer service occurred when it was convenient for the business — and many organisations still adopt this philosophy today.

They still have all the control. They respond when time suits them, regardless of how important or urgent the enquiry is to the consumer. These businesses are still facing the same challenges as before — enquiry volumes are through the roof, and resolution times remain dangerously high. This leads to a high cost-to-serve, dissatisfied customers, and customer loyalty that’s burnt beyond repair.

To meet these ever-growing expectations, businesses are investing in automated customer service to handle customer queries 24/7 and reduce their cost to serve.

The importance of immediate customer service through an ‘always on’ model is highlighted by increasing demand for self-service. 70% of customers expect a company’s website to include a self-service application. Customers’ enquiries don’t only occur between Monday to Friday, nor do they only occur between 9am to 5pm. Finding a solution shouldn’t be restrained by a business’s traditional operating hours.

No longer is a fast turnaround a value-add for business, it’s a customer expectation. If customers fail to get a response in the first few minutes they are likely to move onto a competitor. This poses business risk for both customer acquisition and retention.

Some businesses have pivoted to knowledge bases and FAQ pages in an attempt to provide self-service options and deflect customer enquiries from their contact centres.

The challenge with this — the way customers consume information has also changed.

Just like they’ve moved on from waiting in queues or on-hold, customers no longer want to search through paragraphs of text to find answers. Attention spans are short and consumers demand more engaging experiences.

The introduction of messaging and conversational automation via Digital Employees (also known as AI chatbots) mean there are more cost effective and scalable ways for businesses to engage and serve their customers to the standards they demand.

Digital Employees handle customer interactions quickly and far more efficiently than traditional means. By automating conversations at scale they streamline customer service processes, easily solving high volume repetitive enquiries that take up so much of a human reps time.

The reduced workload on customer service agents enables them to focus on upselling and handling more complex issues, adding more value to your business and improving operational efficiency. Not to mention delivering a superior customer experience.

Digital engagement continues to rise and businesses must scale their customer service operations. Adding more agents is an expensive and short-term option. Using automation to deflect enquiries controls cost as the business scales, providing an engaging experience that is at the forefront of modern consumer behaviour.

Studies show that real-time interactions via conversational automation improve customer engagement rates by 50% and increase sales by 67%. The popularity of e-commerce has made everything available online to customers, leading to many businesses adopting Digital Employee chatbots as a new sales channel in combination with a customer service offering.

By sensing customer intent and offering personalised product recommendations, Digital Employees provide automated, guided selling experiences that bring in additional revenue with unrivaled ROI.

It’s important to note that the current approach to customer service via automated channels, is not replacing human interaction. It’s augmenting humans with Digital Employees to create superior integrated experiences for both customers and businesses.

While Digital Employees provide the first line of support, if they are unable to provide a solution, they can prompt a human agent to step in. A seamless handover, in real-time, with the exact context of the conversation is shared, allowing human reps to continue exactly where the Digital Employee left off. This provides an interactive, friendly, and highly responsive experience, far beyond the traditional bouncing around between agents in contact centres.

The modern approach to customer service through conversational automation and its benefits are easy to see:

  • Faster responses
  • Reduced wait and resolution times
  • Cheaper cost-to-serve
  • Improved customer satisfaction and loyalty
  • Automation for scale
  • Human when it counts

This all leads to more efficient business processes, greater customer experiences and a resulting increase in revenue for the business.

A millimetre today is a metre tomorrow. The longer the delay, the further away you’ll be from where your customers want you to be.

Consumers instinctively gravitate to brands that exceed their needs and expectations. Frustrations with businesses that neglect these will catapult technologically savvy brands forward even further.

Much of this technology is over it’s hype and innovation stages. It has become more reliable thanks to advancements in AI and machine learning; just as messaging has become a normalised and mainstream form of communication — thanks to Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, WeChat and various others. Just take a look at the numbers — more than 75% of people prefer texting over making phone calls. Companies that delay or fail to push forward customer service automation with always on, real-time conversations will struggle with growth.

Digital Employees also capture a wealth of customer and trend data. These insights are a treasure trove to marketing and sales teams. Smart businesses use this data to see what topics are trending and where friction points occur to understand and connect with their customers more intimately. All this data and information fuels the creation of customised marketing efforts to provide highly relevant, and more personalised customer experiences.

The progression of consumer behaviour, combined with advancements in technology paves a clear road ahead for even higher expectations in the future. Prioritising to stay ahead of the curve in customer service will make all the difference for the future of your business.

If you’re looking at where to from here, make sure you engage an expert. We’re happy to share how we help leading brands automate customer service at scale to reduce costs, increase sales and boost profitability. Start a conversation with us here.



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https://fatsfixedassettracking.com/the-evolution-of-customer-service-conversational-automation-is-your-key-to-success-by-ambit-jun-2021/2524/

The Complete Guide for Business


Facebook Messenger is one of the most important messaging apps brands use to connect with customers worldwide. Every month, businesses exchange more than 20 billion messages with people on Messenger.

Messaging is now a preferred way to talk to a business when it comes to customer service. Some 64% of people across age groups say they’d rather message a business than call or email.

But text messaging apps aren’t just support tools. Many businesses have used Facebook Messenger marketing to drive results across the customer journey—from building awareness to securing sales.

In this guide, we cover how to use Facebook Messenger for all your business needs. Plus, we include tips and best practices for your next Facebook Messenger marketing campaign.

Bonus: Download a free guide that teaches you how to turn Facebook traffic into sales in four simple steps using Hootsuite.

What is Facebook Messenger?

Facebook Messenger is Facebook’s dedicated messaging app and platform. Over 1.3 billion users around the world (and 181 million in the United States alone) use Messenger to stay connected with friends and family — and businesses.

The platform supports text messaging, voice and video calls (including group video calls). Users can personalize their experience with a selection of chat themes, stickers and custom reactions featuring avatars. As of June 2021, Facebook is testing an in-app payment system, Facebook Pay, that will allow users to request and send money through Messenger.

Messenger is also a popular customer service channel for brands that have a presence on Facebook. Businesses can use it to answer questions from customers or as an advertising channel.

Facebook Messenger is free to use for anyone with a Facebook account and an internet connection.

Benefits of using Facebook Messenger for business

Thinking about using Facebook Messenger for business? Here are some of the top benefits.

1. Provide quality customer service

Digital natives expect your business to be online and available. In a global survey run by Facebook, more than 70% of people said they expect to be able to message businesses for customer service. Additionally, more than 59% expect to message businesses to make purchases.

Here’s how people use Facebook Messenger, according to a Facebook research poll:

  • More than 81% of respondents message businesses to ask about products or services
  • Some 75% of respondents message businesses for support
  • More than 74% of respondents message business to make a purchase

4-step consumer journey diagram, with step 4 as "I've got a question about my purchase"

2. Build trust in your brand

It’s simple. If your company is open to dialogue, your company is easier to trust.

And that trust can be earned on reputation alone. In a poll by Facebook, the majority of people who message businesses say that the option helps them feel more confident about a brand. Just knowing messaging is available is enough for some customers.

Imagine you’re about to make a big purchase. If you have to choose between a company with support and another without, which would you pick? Which one would you return to? Unsurprisingly, once people start messaging businesses, it often becomes their top way to contact businesses.

3. Generate high quality leads

When someone reaches out to you on Facebook Messenger, it creates an opportunity for your business to follow-up. Each message exchanged is a chance to learn valuable information about a customer that can help build a long-term relationship.

Once your business has responded to an initial message, there are several reasons why you might want to re-contact this customer in the future. And now that the channel is open, you can.

Follow-up to make a special offer, anticipate a need, introduce a new product or service that might be relevant, etc.

4. Increase intent to purchase

The option to message your business earns customer trust. And trust makes it easier for customers to shop. In a Facebook poll, 65% of people said they’re more likely to shop with a business they can reach via chat.

Other times, people are one question away from making a purchase. By using Facebook Messenger to simplify the question-and-answer exchange, your brand can help customers make shopping decisions. And get them further down the funnel. Which is a win-win.

5. Take sensitive topics private

Facebook Messenger is a good channel for conversations that are better kept private.

Maybe a customer has a question that they are shy to ask publicly. For example, Stayfree Africa uses Facebook Messenger as a safe space for customers to talk about their periods. Or, maybe a customer had a negative experience that you would rather resolve privately.

Taking the time to talk with customers one-on-one shows them that you value their business and care about their needs.

How to set up Facebook Messenger for business

Every Facebook page includes access to Messenger. If you don’t have a business page yet, learn how to create one here.

1. Make sure Messenger is enabled

Facebook Messenger should already be enabled when you create a business page. But here’s how to double-check:

  1. Go to your page’s General Settings.
  2. Next to Messages, make sure “People can contact my Page privately” is checked on.

Option to enable Messenger in General Settings

2. Create a Facebook Messenger username and link

You Facebook Messenger link is basically m.me/ in front of your page’s username. To find it, go to the Messaging tab under General Settings. Add this link to your social bios, website, email, or anywhere else you’d like.

If you’d like to change your username, here’s how to do it.

3. Add a Send Message button to your Page

Next, you’ll want to add a button to your page with a “Send Message” call to action.

How to add a Send Message button to your Facebook Page:

  1. Click + Add a Button under your page’s cover photo. If your page already has a button, you can click Edit Button to make changes.
  2. Select Contact You then hit Next.
  3. Under Step 2, select Messenger, then click Finish.

"Add a button" button on a Facebook Page

4. Write a greeting

A Facebook Messenger greeting is a customizable message someone receives when they open a message thread. It appears before they send their first message.

How to write a greeting on Facebook Messenger:

  1. Go to your page’s General Settings and select Messaging.
  2. Scroll down and turn Show a Messenger Greeting on.
  3. To edit the greeting, click Change.
  4. Select Add Personalization. This way your greeting includes elements such as your customer’s name, your Facebook page link, your website, or your business phone number.
  5. When you are done, click Save.

Facebook Messenger greeting that says: "Hi! Thanks for getting in touch..."

5. Set up Instant Reply

You can use Instant Reply to create an automatic first response for new messages. This message can be used to share the timeframe someone can expect a response in. Or, you can simply thank someone for getting in touch.

How to set up Instant Reply on Facebook Messenger:

  1. Go to your page’s General Settings and select Messaging.
  2. Scroll down and select Set up automated responses.
  3. Click on Instant Reply.
  4. Press edit to customize your message.
  5. Make sure Messenger is checked off under Platform. You can also select Instagram to use an Instant Reply there, too.

Note: Instant Replies are not factored into your page’s response time.

Facebook Messenger "Instant reply" turned on

6. Create responses for frequently asked questions

These responses can be created to help you answer common questions easily.

How to create responses for frequently asked questions on Facebook Messenger:

  1. Select Inbox at the top of your page.
  2. In the left menu sidebar, select Automated responses.
  3. Click Frequently asked questions.
  4. Select Edit.
  5. Add a question and then fill out your response.
  6. Optional: Select Add Image to include your logo or image of your choice. You can also add a call-to-action button such as “Learn More” or “Shop Now.”
  7. Select Add Personalization to add details such as your customer’s name, the admin’s name, a link to your Facebook page or website, or your phone number.
  8. Save your reply.

Editing Frequently Asked Questions and responses for Facebook Messenger

7. Schedule automatic Away Messages

If your business is closed or social media manager will be away, you can create Away Messages. Think of these as out of office emails, but for Facebook Messenger. Use these messages to let customers know when you’ll return or reopen.

How to create Away Messages on Facebook Messenger:

  1. Go to your page’s General Settings and select Messaging.
  2. Scroll down and select Set up automated responses.
  3. Select Away Messages.
  4. To edit the message, select Edit. Write the message you would like your customers to receive.
  5. Set the schedule you will be away for and hit Save.

Creating away message for Facebook Messenger

Facebook Messenger management tools

Once you set up Facebook Messenger from your brand, you’re going to start to see messages coming in.

Keeping track of this additional channel for communication and customer service can feel like a lot of extra work — but you can streamline and automate it with the right tools.

Depending on your larger marketing and customer service strategies, you might want to consider a social media management tool or a multi-channel customer service solution.

Hootsuite

Hootsuite is a comprehensive social media management platform that can be used to handle your brand’s presence across multiple platforms. That includes — you guessed it — Facebook Messenger.

In the Hootsuite Inbox, you can manage incoming Messenger messages alongside messages and comments from Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. Conversations can be assigned to team members as tasks, making it easier for teams to handle high volumes of inquiries.

Learn how to use the Hootsuite Inbox:

Sparkcentral by Hootsuite

Sparkcentral is a customer service dashboard that can be used to manage conversations happening across social media channels as well as email and SMS — all in a single dashboard.

It integrates with:

  • Facebook Messenger
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • WhatsApp
  • Telegram
  • Viber
  • Line
  • SMS
  • Email
  • Live chat

Sparkcentral makes it easy to handle even high volumed of messages with dedicated social customer support features:

  • Recognizing keywords and topics in incoming messages, and assigning them to the right person or team
  • Assessing the sentiment of incoming messages and prioritizing them accordingly
  • Integrations with Messenger chatbots, for the perfect mix of human touch and speedy response times
  • Retrieving CRM data to provide agents with additional context (e.g. a customer’s purchase history)

Sparkcentral customer service dashboard

Tips and best practices for marketing with Facebook Messenger

1. Personalize as much as possible

A little personalization can go a long way in showing customers you value them. Little things, like using someone’s name, can make a big difference.

In a Facebook survey conducted across eight global markets, 91% of consumers say they’re more likely to shop with brands who recognize, remember them, and share relevant info and offers.

The first time someone reaches out on Facebook Messenger, take a look at their Context Card. It includes basic information like their location and their local time. This can come in handy when someone is asking about opening hours or location information. Use the details you have on hand to provide the best answers possible.

Following a conversation, save relevant notes. This can include apparel sizes, order preferences, or other details that may be useful to have on hand for future chats. The next time someone reaches out, review the Context Card, notes, and previous conversation. This may take extra time, but if you have it, it can make all the difference.

If you’re taking the automatic response approach, make sure to add personalization where available.

Context card for a person on Facebook Messenger

2. Earn a Very Responsive badge

Business that reply to messages in a timely manner are awarded with a Very Responsive badge for their page. To earn a badge, businesses must have a response time of less than 15 minutes, and a 90% response rate.

Very responsive badge

3. Be strategic with the 24-hour messaging window

Facebook limits how often a business can reach out to Facebook Messenger users. Businesses can only contact someone after receiving a message from them first.

Once you’ve received a message, you have 24 hours to reply. After that, Facebook used to let businesses send one message. But as of March 4th, 2020, that option will be gone. Beyond that, the only remaining option is to send a Sponsored Message. These ads can only be sent to existing conversations.

Within the first 24-hour window, businesses can send unlimited messages, including promotional content. That does not mean you should spam someone. In fact, in Facebook and Debrett’s survey 37% say it’s bad etiquette to over-reply to a message.

Make sure to close the conversation—or the deal—before the 24 hour time limit elapses. For example, if someone seems uncertain about a purchase, a last-minute promo code might be enough to sway them.

4. Use the Send Message button

Businesses can’t start new conversations with customers on Facebook Messenger, but they can encourage them.

One way to do this is to add a Send Message call-to-action button to your Facebook posts. The process is a little more complicated, but ultimately worthwhile.

How to add a Send Message button to Facebook posts:

  1. From your business page, select Create Post.
  2. Click Get Messages.
  3. Add copy and upload a relevant image. You need an image for these posts.
  4. Click Publish.

Get Messages button

Need some help coming up with an image? Here are 25 resources for free stock photos.

5. Try Facebook Messenger Ads

Another way to prompt Facebook Messenger conversations is with ads. Here are some of the different placements and formats available:

Click-to Messenger Ads

These ads are essentially sponsored posts with call-to-action buttons. They can appear across Facebook’s family of apps. When someone clicks, it opens a chat with your account.

Facebook click-to-messenger ad

Messenger Ad Placement

These ads are placed in the Messenger inbox between conversations. When clicked, they see a full ad with a customizable call-to-action button like Shop Now.

Facebook Messenger ad

Messenger Stories Ads

These ads appear in the Messenger inbox between Stories and click to full-screen story experiences on mobile. They are currently only available to buy with Instagram stories ads.

Facebook Messenger Stories ad

Sponsored Messages

Sponsored Messages land in the inboxes of people you’ve chatted with before. These are a good way to re-engage with customers after the 24-hour window has elapsed with special offers or promotions.

Facebook sponsored message

Here’s how to create successful Facebook Messenger ads.

6. Create a Facebook Messenger Bot

There are a few reasons why it may make sense for you to create a Facebook Messenger Bot. If you’re low on time, a bot can field customer inquiries for you.

Some brands have given their bot a persona. WestJet created an automated assistant named Juliet to handle messages. By adding a “name and face” to the bot, they earned a 24% lift in positive sentiment.

Bots can also be used for Facebook Messenger marketing experiences. For the holidays, Lego created Ralph the Gift Bot to help customers make shopping decisions. Click-to Messenger ads were used to promote Ralph in targeted regions. When clicked on, Ralph asked questions about who you were buying for and made suggestions.

Lego products could be purchased directly from the thread, and if people liked the experience, they could share the bot with friends and family. Ralph earned a 3.4 times higher return ad spend compared with ads that linked to the Lego website.

Read our complete guide for using Facebook Messenger bots for business.

Now that you’re familiar with Facebook Messenger marketing best practices, check out 8 ways brands are using Messenger Apps to reach their audience.

Use Hootsuite Inbox to engage with your customers and respond to messages from all your social channels in one place. You’ll get full context around each message, so you can respond efficiently and focus on strengthening your relationships with customers.

Get Started

Manage every customer inquiry on a single platform with Sparkcentral. Never miss a message, improve customer satisfaction, and save time. See it in action.





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https://fatsfixedassettracking.com/the-complete-guide-for-business/2522/

Saturday 26 June 2021

This Week In Web Design – June 25, 2021


It’s the last Friday of June, and Fridays around here mean it’s time for our weekly roundup of all the web design and development related articles we’ve found that were published in the past seven days. This week we have a variety of tutorials, tips, tricks, and discussions to help you grow your skills as a web designer and developer. Let’s have a look!

20 Best New Fonts, June 2021 | Webdesigner Depot

Welcome to a new series of articles, in which we round up the best new fonts released from some of the top designers on the Web. In this inaugural edition, the collection includes fonts released or expanded over the last few months. Many of the fonts have free weights available. If you use any of […]

Read More

Design Trend: Abstract Art Compositions

When you don’t know what to use to illustrate a design, the answer might be abstract art. It’s a growing design trend that – when done well – uses interesting shapes, colors, and combinations to create something that means almost nothing but is visually interesting. There’s no wo…

Read More

7 Best Browsers for Developers in 2021 | Webdesigner Depot

With the widespread acceptance of web standards, and the resulting deprecation of browser prefixes, there has been a noticeable change in the browser market. Where once browser manufacturers would try to lure users in with promises of feature support, now the focus is on privacy, speed, and developer tools. When it comes to web development, […]

Read More

WebP Images: A Primer

We take you on a tour of what WebP is all about. We also perform some tests to see if the format really does live up to the hype.

Read More

Soft UI: Making Sense of the Latest Design Trend | Webdesigner Depot

A new design trend has emerged in the last year: Soft UI or Neumorphism is everywhere. Even Apple is in on the trend; the company introduced a host of changes in both its mobile and desktop operating systems that use the style. The elements of Soft UI introduced by Apple reflect various aspects of the […]

Read More



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https://fatsfixedassettracking.com/this-week-in-web-design-june-25-2021/2520/

38 Fun Corporate Team-Building Activities & Outing Ideas Everyone Will Enjoy


Are you starting to notice some droopy shoulders around the office? It sounds like it’s time to plan a team outing.


Team outings are a great way to facilitate bonding with your team members, reduce employee stress, and give them the chance to get to know one another outside of the office.

And, you know, they’re entertaining.

But how do you find ideas for a great team outing? Maybe you start with a Google search for “team outing ideas” and stumble upon an article that suggests “field trips” and “professional development activities.” It sounds like a starting point, but where’s the real excitement?

Download Now: Free Company Culture Code Template 

Next time you plan an outing for your team, cut the trust-falls and get one of these ideas on the calendar instead. We have something for everyone — from perfect activities for remote teams to large or small in-house groups to events that enhance teamwork and events that all team members can enjoy outdoors.

Why should you do team-building activities for work?

Team building activities can be embarrassing for coworkers, and some don’t even add anything that relates to the workplace. For example, while ‘trust falls’ seems like an excellent idea, forcing it doesn’t improve trust among coworkers, and what is worse, it can result in injuries when pairings are not even.

However, not all team-building activities are detrimental to your workers, as you would see from the ideas we highlight in this post.

One of the most significant advantages of the right team-building activities is that it boosts morale among your workforce. Team members get to work together on exciting and challenging activities and can display their skills and talents.

Team-building activities and games that boost morale can break down barriers among employees and create an environment that is nice to work in, which is vital to a successful and well-functioning business.

The ultimate goal of team-building activities is to get your team members to bond and build trust with each other. People with different backgrounds, needs, ambitions, and personalities make up teams.

By engaging in the right team-building activities, you can bring these different people together to build a bonded, trusting team.

When your team bonds, it results in several benefits for the company. Some of these benefits include:

1. Improved Communication Skills

Communication between staff and departments is essential to a company’s success. Team-building exercises put people in a relaxed environment and encourage them to communicate while completing tasks.

2. Improved Productivity

Better communication skills will have a domino effect on productivity levels. When your employees work together and communicate, there is less work duplication and less friction between workers.

3. Identifies Leaders

Another benefit from team-building exercises is that managers can discover leaders within the workforce while engaging in team-building activities.

Regardless of the type of event that you want to enjoy, here are eight essential things to consider:

1. Define your goals.

You must determine clear areas of focus that you want to enhance during team-building events. Only after selecting the activity’s goals can you successfully choose the activities and challenges that would best fit the occasion.

2. Set a budget.

A budget needs to be determined after you have decided on your priorities. With a realistic budget, you can ensure that the price of the event doesn’t run out of control.

3. Set up a planning team.

As you begin planning, you will discover how difficult it can be for one person to organize a team-building event. There are so many things you need to prepare for, and the best way to deal with these things is to delegate responsibilities.

4. Invite and involve the right people.

Sometimes, it is easy to determine who to invite. Some other times, it can be challenging choosing who to invite. To help you, ask yourself (or the planning team these questions):

  • Is it a compulsory event?
  • What is the maximum number of people that the budget and venue can accommodate?
  • Will remote employees be invited?
  • Can anyone attend the event?

Answering these questions can make it easier for you to invite the right people.

5. Select the right activities.

After determining the goals of the team-building event, you should have a clear idea of activities that will align with these goals.

It is best to choose activities that are interactive, engaging and that build collaboration among employees.

6. Choose a great time.

The best time for a team-building event depends on the schedule and personal lives of those you plan to invite. Ensure that invitees are free before you commit to a day and time. You also need to take the weather and season into account when choosing a date – especially if organizing an outdoor activity.

7. Choose a good location.

The location is one of the factors that can make or mar your event. You need to avoid places that’ll not accommodate enough people or that aren’t suitable for the activities you’ve planned.

8. Market the event internally.

Marketing the event internally will likely build excitement among employees. Developing and distributing an “Event Day Agenda” that highlights all the activities employees will enjoy will increase expectations for the day and get folks excited.

Remote Team Building Activities

1. Virtual Break Room

The simple chats that happen on the office floor are sorely missed. Since most members of your team still work remotely, a virtual break room is an excellent team-building activity.

You can create this via Zoom or some other platform where staff can log in and join over their lunch or break – allowing them to catch up with coworkers as they would in a physical office.

You can also keep water cooler moments alive by encouraging workers to share interesting photos or videos.

2. Virtual Escape Room

Since the pandemic made physical escape rooms impossible to visit, a Virtual Escape Room brings the mystery to your workers right in their homes!

Depending on the Escape Room you choose, team members have to pass through different rooms, solve the puzzles they encounter, solve a murder, and so much more!. It is just as fun as it sounds, and what is more, it builds collaboration and communication among staff.

3. Beer Making

In this team-building exercise, team members become brewers for a day right from their homes. The process does not require prior knowledge as Beer Making Experience walks participants through each step of the journey. Kits are also delivered to interested staff.

4. Virtual Scavenger Hunt

You can quickly organize this team-building activity over a Zoom call. On the call, challenge team members to collect different items from around their homes.

The first person to show all the required items wins the hunt!

host a virtual scavenger hunt for a corporate team-building activitySource: Scavify

5. Set Competitive Challenges

A little friendly competition never hurts any team – on the contrary, it can strengthen the bonds of unity.

Setting up challenges for your teams can give them a goal to work towards. One popular challenge is the fitness challenge. It provides healthy competition between teams and improves their health.

6. Icebreaker Quizzes

These quizzes are an exciting and safe way to do team-building weekly. You can choose an online ice-breaker quiz like Quizbreaker, which sends out a new round of quizzes weekly to the team. It can work wonders to bringing remote teams closer as they learn more about each other while having loads of fun.

7. Visit Paris Virtually

One challenge many HR departments face is onboarding new hires. Virtually visiting new places with tools like Woyago is a unique and exciting ice-breaker. The virtual tour offered by Woyago has real-life Parisian guiding participants while throwing challenges along the way.

visit paris virtually for a corporate team-building activitySource: Woyago

Large Group Team Building Activities

8. Scavenger Hunt

Find a beautiful day, break everyone out into groups, and have a scavenger hunt around the city. You can organize one yourself or use a creative service like The Go Game (which lists companies like Netflix, Facebook, and HBO among clients) or Stray Boots.

Your team members will feel nice and rejuvenated after some fresh air and fun challenges. Be sure to take plenty of silly pictures — you can even have a slideshow when everyone regroups at the end.

Alternatively, you might try a “Random Acts of Kindness” hunt. For instance, Outback Team Building & Training offers this team building activity, which requires teams to split up into groups, download Outback’s app, and complete a series of challenges to benefit strangers in the community.

host a scavenger hunt for a corporate team-building activity

Image credit: The Go Game

9. What’s My Name?

You might have seen this game played before. It goes by different names, and the more people who play, the better it is.

What’s My Name is an activity where each player is assigned the name of a person — dead or alive — and displays that name on their back, head, or part of their body such that only the other players can read the name. You can write these names on index cards or Post-it notes.

Once team members have been assigned a name, the players mingle with one another, treating their coworkers the way they’d treat the person listed on that coworker’s card. They can also ask questions about their own hidden identity until they correctly guess who they are.

What’s My Name has no complicated rules or potential for competitiveness. It’s simply an empathy-builder — a critical ingredient of good company culture — allowing team members to find out what it would be like to be treated the way someone very different from them might be treated every day.

10. Cook-Off

Here’s a culinary team-building activity that could end in dessert or disaster — in a fun way. Creating new dishes together requires creativity and will require everyone to put their team and leadership skills into action.

Divide your team into smaller teams, pick a food category, and challenge each team to whip up something delicious. The category could be anything from ice cream, to salsa, to pizza.

One fun twist you could add? Pick a single ingredient that all teams must use, like maple syrup or Oreos. Or, have each team get creative thinking caps on with the shape of its food — you can make pizzas into almost any shape.

11. Sneak a Peek

What do you get when you add a test of memory to a game of Pictionary? Sneak a Peek. In this game, team members break off into groups of at least four and take turns recreating objects from memory.

Using LEGOs, clay, building blocks, or a similar set of construction items, one game leader will craft an object or structure for every group to recreate. A member of each group then has 10 seconds to “sneak a peek” at the structure (which is hidden), return to their groups, and describe what they saw to the rest of the group so they can recreate it.

Each group has its LEGOs, clay, or building blocks. If it isn’t complete after a minute of recreating the structure, another member of each group sneaks a 10-second peek at the game leader’s object and comes back to instruct the group further.

This rotation continues until a group is confident they have recreated the item. The object of the game? Be the first group to recreate it.

Not only does this game help team members practice project management, but it shows you how to accomplish tasks using input from a variety of sources. It’s also just a fun way to see how good your coworkers are at retaining information.

12. Board Game Tournament

Here’s one way to spark your team members’ competitive sides without having to leave the office. Organize a team-wide board game tournament.

Especially if your team is pretty big, it might be easiest to pick a single game, then have one team member sign up for specific time slots when they’re free to leave their desks and spend some time playing the game.

Some great games with reasonable play times include Boggle, Jenga, or even games using good ol’ playing cards. Don’t forget to incentivize with prizes for first, second, and third place.

13. Office Trivia

Who says trivia night only takes place at the bar? Office trivia is the perfect way to bring a large group of colleagues together and challenge the brain in areas that don’t necessarily apply to their daily jobs. Break the company into teams of four or more and offer small prizes for the teams who score the most points.

Want to write your own trivia questions? For reference, trivia questions are generally sorted into categories — four or five trivia questions per category — with optional bonus questions at the end of the game.

While you can give each question a point value, you can also assign each team a certain amount of points per category that they can bet, instead. Each team can then bet as many or as few points as they want per question until they’ve used all their points for that category.

Not prepared to create your own trivia questions? Hire a trivia organization to host a trivia night at your office. There are tons of national trivia companies who’d be happy to host an event right on site — District Trivia, The Trivia Factory, and the Big Quiz Thing are just a few of them.

14. 4-Question Mingle

This activity has each team member moving around and meeting each person individually. It is excellent for teams that have spent some time apart or groups that have just been formed. Armed with four questions, each person gets to know coworkers better.

Small-Group Team Building Events

15. Improv Workshop

Comedy and improv events are fun, interactive experiences that’ll have your employees roaring with laughter while teaching them useful communication and soft skills, like focus and trust.

Depending on your budget, you could do anything from simply playing improv games with your employees to bringing in professionals to run competitive, fast-paced activities.

16. Two Truths and One Lie

This is a classic house party fun activity, but it’s also an excellent ice-breaker when integrating coworkers who don’t yet know one another.

Two Truths and a Lie is simple: Start by organizing the entire group into a circle and give each person the floor to introduce themselves. In addition to providing their name, however, every team member also says three things about themselves —only two of which are true. It’s up to the rest of the group to guess which statement is the lie.

17. Karaoke Night

What better way to get your employees to break out of their shells than to have them get up and sing some karaoke? You can even have a contest for the best group karaoke performance.

Bonus points if there are feather boas and cowboy hats involved. This activity works best for a more extroverted group, so if your team isn’t into strutting their stuff on stage, consider an idea on this list that caters more to those personalities.

go to karaoke for a corporate team-building activity

Source: derekgavey

18. The “Suddenly” Story

If you’ve ever told stories around a campfire, you might have narrated a variation of The “Suddenly” Story. This activity is the choose-your-own-adventure book of team-building.

However, putting activities. You’re not just telling a story — you’re piecing a story together using the (often hilarious) imaginations of your coworkers.

To tell The “Suddenly” Story, gather your team in a circle, and offer the opening three sentences to a story about anything. At the end of the three sentences, say “Suddenly …” and pass the story onto the person next to you.

It’s their job to take your three sentences and build on the story with another three sentences, followed by “Suddenly …” Each mention of “Suddenly” allows the story to take a turn. What that turn looks like is up to the next person in the circle.

The “Suddenly” Story helps people find ways of building on existing content while also being creative when all ears are on them. Try it the next time you want to get your department together for a break, and you’re sure to get everyone laughing.

19. Go-Kart Racing

There’s nothing like a bit of competition to bond a group together. An adrenaline-pumping activity like kart racing is a great way to get employees to interact with one another in a totally new and fun way. Just make sure everyone pays attention during the safety lecture.

20. Concentration (Marketing Edition)

Here’s a professional spin on the 1960s game show. The original game show, called Concentration, put 30 numbered tiles up on a board, each tile with an identical tile somewhere else on the board. What made them similar? They had matching prizes on the back.

Over time, as contestants opened up more tiles, they had the opportunity to select tiles they knew would match up and win the prize written on the back.

Businesses — especially marketing departments — can have a field day putting logos, slogans, and company names on the back of their own tiles and having players match up every piece of the brand.

As your business grows, you can even put the names of your products, employees, and job titles on the backs of your tiles to see how well your coworkers know the company they work for.

21. Sales Exercise

This activity is perfect for your marketing team but can still be enjoyed by all types of teams and encourages creative thinking. In this building exercise, each group is given an item, from the mundane to the strange. The teams each have five minutes to come up with a creative advert. The team with the most creative advert wins each round.

Teamwork Team Building Activities

22. Professional Development Workshop

Want to encourage team bonding while providing each team member with an opportunity to learn and further their career?

Offer a shared learning experience either at your office or at an off-site workshop or conference. The activity could be specifically related to your employees’ jobs, or it could be something broader, like a negotiation or leadership skills workshop.

23. Jigsaw Puzzle Race

Jigsaw puzzles can be a tedious thing to put together alone. Maybe you have one set up at home and make progress on it for a couple of hours every weekend.

However, putting your numerous brilliant colleagues on the case makes a jigsaw puzzle an enjoyable problem-solving activity. Break the company into teams for a multi-puzzle race, and suddenly you have a test of teamwork that electrifies the entire office.

Grab several copies of the same puzzle and turn your weekend activity into a contest to see which team can complete the puzzle first. Offer prizes just like you would in a game of office trivia.

Just be sure each team has the same number of people and choose your puzzle size wisely. A 1000-piece puzzle, for example, might be a bit time-consuming for a team of just five or six people.

24. Room Escape Games

Here’s a great bonding activity that requires leadership skills, teamwork, logic, and patience. Room escape games — Escape the Room, Puzzle Break, AdventureRooms, etc. — have become a wildly popular team-building exercise for groups around the globe.

Here’s how it works: A group of people gets “locked” in a room for one hour. During that time limit, they have to find hidden objects, solve puzzles, and figure out clues to locate the key that will set them free. And it’s not easy: Only 20% of players actually make it out before the hour is up.

If you’re not sure how to convert your office space into an escape room, you can always hire a service to do it for you. Companies like Outback Team Building & Training host events that turn your office into a team-building escape challenge. And, this can invoke some great, positive memories into a space where your team works every day.

25. The Egg Drop Challenge

Chances are, you played this in school or summer camp. The Egg Drop Challenge is a beloved tradition that challenges teams of kids to create small structures around an uncooked egg to protect the egg from a high fall onto hard ground.

Each group is given specific items to build the structure that protects the egg, but nothing more. So, why not offer the same challenge to your coworkers?

Straws, newspaper, tape, and cardboard are just some everyday items provided during the Egg Drop Challenge — as you can see in the sample egg fortress below. However, consider making it even more challenging for your coworkers and allow them to use simply anything available in the office.

The height of the fall is up to you. But ensure to set an altitude that’s consistent with the materials each team has to work with.

egg drop challenge for a corporate team-building activity

Source: Buggy and Buddy

26. Laser Tag

Another great way to get your adrenaline pumping? A good old game of laser tag. Not only is it great fun, it’s also an opportunity for employees to exercise their strategy and logic skills, as well as teamwork skills. Bonus: Determine teams ahead of time and have people dress up.

27. Catch Phrase

In this classic party game, players team up and take turns describing words and phrases to their teammates without saying the word or phrase itself. Phrases can include celebrities, expressions, or just simple things found around the house.

If my phrase is “needle in a haystack,” for example, a clue I might give to my teammates could be “a pointy object buried inside farm equipment.”

Catch Phrase is the perfect way to get your employees together and teach them how to communicate with one another. (Don’t worry, everyone will be having so much fun, they won’t realize that’s what you’re doing.)

This game is often played with a basket of phrases on slips of paper, but it became so popular, Hasbro made an electronic version.

28. Game of Possibilities

To play this game, give an object to anyone in each group. Then ask each person to demonstrate in front of their group — without talking — what the object is used for. The rest of the team has to guess what object the person is demonstrating. Demonstrations must be creative and original. It can be played in small groups and only requires random objects.

Outings and Events Team Building Activities

29. Volunteer

Giving time to support a good cause isn’t just good for the soul; it’s also an excellent way for your team members to bond. Place-based volunteering ideas include volunteering at a local soup kitchen, helping build a Habitat for Humanity house, or delivering gifts to children’s hospitals during the holidays.

Skill-based volunteering is a terrific way to stretch your employees’ expertise: It’s when your team volunteers its time and uses its professional skills — anything from marketing to app development to writing — to help a nonprofit.

Try VolunteerMatch.org for either type of volunteering opportunity and Catchafire.org for skill-based volunteering opportunities.

30. Mystery Dinner

Mystery dinners are one of the most beloved traditions here at HubSpot. On a single night, you send a group of folks from different teams within your company to dinner somewhere in your city (or at someone’s house).

The dinner is hosted by one of your company’s leaders and paid for by the company. These dinners allow random groups of people from the same company to spend an evening chock full of good food and conversation together.

What makes them a mystery dinner? The only thing participants should know about the dinner ahead of time is the date and time. Send each group an email with the name of the restaurant they’re going to and who they’ll be going with, so they can arrange transportation together.

Optional: Give every dinner host the name of a restaurant or bar to invite everyone to congregate once the dinners are over.

host a mystery dinner for a corporate team-building activity

31. Kayaking/Canoeing

Nothing says “let’s work together,” quite like trying not to end up in the water. Want to take advantage of the outdoors? Grab a paddle and head down to the closest river for a great spring or summer outing.

Many public rivers and ponds have boat houses where you can rent kayaks and canoes — and you can encourage folks to rent multi-person ones and pair up with people they don’t usually work with.

go kayaking or canoeing for a corporate team-building activity

32. Trampoline Park

Hey, who says trampolines are just for kids? Take your team to a trampoline park for some jumping fun and a chance to work off the day’s stress. Many cities have local places with trampoline activities — if you’re in the Boston area, check out Skyzone for trampoline dodgeball and basketball games.

33. Something Touristy

Embrace your city! Pick a hot tourist destination and go as a team. You can even do a Segway tour. (Fanny packs: optional.) It’ll be nice to laugh at how silly it feels to be a tourist in your own city, and you might even learn something new.

34. Painting Class

If you’re looking for a slightly more relaxing activity, take a group painting class. Paint Nite hosts painting classes by local artists at various bars throughout major cities for painting on canvases, wine glasses (like in the picture below), and so on. It’s a great way to let your team members unwind, catch up over some drinks, and express their creativity.

go to a painting class for a corporate team-building activity

35. Cooking Class

In the mood for something a little more culinary? Change up the usual outing to a bar or your local restaurant, and try a cooking class. Through a service such as Kitchensurfing, you can hire a professional chef to cook a fancy meal for you in your home or office kitchen.

Between the multiple courses prepared before your eyes, your team will have plenty of time to strike up a conversation and enjoy the delicious aromas.

go to a cooking class for a corporate team-building activity

36. Explore a New Place

Few things are more fun than getting out of the city and exploring for a day. So, why not do it with your team?

For bigger events — maybe every quarter, when you have more budget to use for outings — charter a bus and take your team to a new place. You can all take a historical tour of the new place, grab lunch at a restaurant serving the town’s finest, or take in a local attraction together.

explore a new place for a corporate team-building activity

37. Sports Game

Round up the team and head out to a sports game. What a fantastic way to rev up team spirit while combining both competition and camaraderie.

38. Go Camping

Get away from the hustle and bustle of work and city life by heading out to a camping site in your area.

Bond with your coworkers over camp stories, marshmallows, and campfires. Walk into the woods as coworkers and come out as friends!

Bring Fun To The Workplace!

These are just some fun team-building activities that you can use to get the best out of your team. Be sure to use any of the activities listed above to build a firm foundation of trust and purpose between your employees.

Now you’re ready to show your team a great time while increasing their happiness and creating a great company culture. And hey, you might just be the “cool boss” now. How cool would that be?

Editor’s note: This post was originally published in August 2018 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

company culture template

company culture


from
https://fatsfixedassettracking.com/38-fun-corporate-team-building-activities-outing-ideas-everyone-will-enjoy/2518/

Why You Should Invest in Real-time Consumer Communications | by Arya P Dinesh | May, 2021


Arya P Dinesh

Real-time communications have become one of the cornerstones of digital customer experience. Whether it is a pizza delivery or an amazon order, customers expect real-time updates on the status of their orders at all times. It is no longer a “competitive edge” or a “unique feature”, rather the basic minimum requirement to succeed in a demand-driven environment.

While this trend is currently limited to hyper local delivery services, industry giants including Amazon, is expected to take it to the next level in the years to come. Increasing popularity of online shopping, powered by Shopify and similar platforms, will further accelerate this shift in customer service. Though the trend may only be gathering momentum now, it was established way back in 2017 that “Gen Z is more than twice as likely to drop a brand for poor features or responsiveness on social media, according to the survey.”

COVID-19 may just have pushed us 10 years ahead in this direction. Challenges posed by the pandemic, especially in terms of supply chain management and mobility restrictions, have presented brands with an opportunity to create and maintain communication channels with customers like never before. The need for trust, transparency and real-time customer service is at an all time high and those who act first will come out on top.

However, employing a call center for 24*7 customers is neither practical or profitable, especially for small- and medium- enterprises. This is where live chat bots come in. By leveraging natural language processing, chat bots can answer simple queries within seconds, enhancing customer relations and adding value to the brand experience.

Here are five reasons why you should have one:

  1. Over 60 percent of millennials use chatbots.
  2. Given the choice, customers prefer chats or texts over calls.
  3. Chatbots provide quick response for urgent queries.
  4. They make online reservations and orders easier.
  5. Chatbots can provide deep insight into consumer behaviors and patterns.

1. How Conversational AI can Automate Customer Service

2. Automated vs Live Chats: What will the Future of Customer Service Look Like?

3. Chatbots As Medical Assistants In COVID-19 Pandemic

4. Chatbot Vs. Intelligent Virtual Assistant — What’s the difference & Why Care?

No matter what stage of growth you’re at, driving customer centricity across all aspects of business is critical for consumer-facing businesses. A live chat support system can help you improve and optimize your customer experience through actionable insights and data.



from
https://fatsfixedassettracking.com/why-you-should-invest-in-real-time-consumer-communications-by-arya-p-dinesh-may-2021/2516/

How to Use Instagram Quick Replies & Other DM Automation Tools


Instagram direct messages (DMs) have been one of the top 10 most used forms of communication between brands and consumers over the past decade. Recognizing the power of the DM, Instagram has recently shifted more attention to improving the usefulness of direct messages. with new tools, such as Instagram Quick Replies, now known as Saved Replies. 

Nobody wants to answer the same question over and over, which is why Instagram Quick Replies are useful.

Using Quick Replies (Saved Replies) not only saves you time, but allows you to be consistent when responding to customers.

However, Instagram Quick Replies are extremely limited, which is why Instagram has partnered up with companies like MobileMonkey to build DM automation tools that fulfill far more needs for business. 

Today we’re going to cover both how to use Instagram Quick Replies, as well as how to use more advanced Instagram automated DM tools, such as InstaChamp.

Here’s our agenda:

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What Are Instagram Quick Replies (Saved Replies)

Instagram quick replies are responses that you set up in advance to answer frequently asked questions (FAQs) you receive via Instagram Direct Message. 

Once you’ve set up a quick reply, you can automatically insert it into a DM to quickly respond to a question.

Quick Replies work great for common questions such as your hours of operation, commonly asked questions, directions, rates you offer for different services, or even contact information.

However, Quick Replies are available only to Instagram business profiles. Personal profiles and Creator profiles don’t have this functionality.

How to Use Quick Replies on Instagram

Let’s get into how to use Quick Replies to save time.

First of all, you’ll need an Instagram business account to use Quick Replies. Yes, that’s annoying and there are better options you’ll find in this article, but for now, if you want to use Quick Replies, switch to a business account.

Once you have an Instagram business account, here’s where you’ll find the option to create Instagram Saved Replies:

how to use quick replies on Instagram

Use Quick Replies to save time by quickly responding to frequently asked questions. With Quick Replies, you can select an answer you’ve previously written instead of retyping the answer again.

First, identify your most frequently asked questions (FAQs)

If you are looking for some ideas, here are some examples you can start with:

  • For products, what colors or sizes do your products come in?
  • For services, what are all the services you offer?
  • How much do your products or services cost? What are your payment options?
  • What are your shipping options? What is your return policy?
  • If you have a physical store, what are your business hours?
Instagram Quick Replies: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

You can even draft the answers to these questions so you can easily integrate them into your Quick Replies.

Now you’re ready to create your Quick Replies (Saved Replies)

Time to start writing your Instagram Saved Replies! Here’s how to do it:

#1. Go to Settings > Business > Saved Replies 

Go to ‘Settings’ the same way you already have to create your Frequently Asked Questions..

Then, Scroll down and select ‘Business’ then select ‘Saved Replies’.

#2. Create a Saved Reply Message (Quick Reply Message)

Tap on the plus (+) sign in the top right corner to create a saved reply message.

#3. Add Shortcuts

Once you’ve written your message, type a shortcut in the box above. 

For instance, you can add the shortcut ‘hours’ for the response, ‘Our business hours are 9 am – 5 pm on weekdays and 10 am – 6 pm on weekends.’

When sending a message, whenever you type the shortcut word, a saved reply icon will appear in the message box. 

Tap on the icon, and the message will appear for you to send

🔥 Hot Tip: You can create multiple saved replies for each of your most frequently asked questions.

Add the shortcut that you can enter for the response. 

#4. How to Save Responses as Quick Replies

If you have previously answered a frequently asked question, you can also save your response as a Quick Reply. 

Open the message thread where you’ve previously answered a frequently asked question. Then, tap and hold the message you want to save. 

You can edit the response and shortcut before saving it.

#5. Sending Quick Replies

Once you add a response to your Quick Replies, you can just add it the next time you get a frequently asked question. 

Tap the Quick Reply (three-dot chat bubble) icon on the bottom of your screen and choose from one of the responses you’ve integrated, or type the shortcut for the Quick Reply you want to use.

New & Better Alternative to Instagram Quick Replies

In 2021, Facebook partnered with MobileMonkey to bring even more features and functionality to Instagram DM automation. 

The result: InstaChamp

Realizing that Quick Replies wasn’t enough for most businesses on Instagram, Facebook/Instagram called in the pros. 🦾 

In fact, InstaChamp has multiple Instagram quick reply tools for Creators, Influencers, and businesses to take advantage of. 

Let’s start with an example of a fully automated Instagram auto-reply from InstaChamp.

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InstaChamp Page Welcomer (Instagram Greeting Message)

The first of three Instagram Quick Replies I’m going to share with you are essentially auto-replies to any incoming DM (direct message).

Take what’s commonly referred to as a welcome message or greeting message, for example. A welcome message is an automated response to someone who sends you a DM for the very first time.

Instagram Saved Replies: auto-reply to Direct Messages

Ever read a “choose your own adventure” book?

If you take a closer look at the bottom of the chat conversation above, you’ll notice multiple options for the user to choose from, which come in the form of buttons. 

InstaChamp allows you to use multiple buttons at once, which allow for multiple user journeys one could take. Naturally, depending on which button is selected, a different follow-up message is triggered.

Buttons are quick and easy for the user to navigate their way to the information they’re most interested in.

At the end of each path a prospect or customer chooses, you can add a CTA, such as a link to your most relevant landing page.

Instagram Quick Replies: InstaChamp

With InstaChamp DM Replies, it’s incredibly easy to nurture people down your funnel, capture email addresses, phone numbers, and other important contact information.

Test it out for yourself on the MobileMonkey Instagram page by clicking the Message button, then say ”Hello”.

InstaChamp Comment Auto-Responder

Instagram comment auto-responders allow you to send private automated messages to people who comment on your posts. So think of them as Quick Replies that actually help you boost your posts on Instagram for free. Here’s why…

The message is sent to the commenter immediately after the comment is published.  

To trigger a comment auto-responder, users need to comment on a post using a specific keyword. For example, below you’ll see an Instagram post with a CTA (call-to-action) to comment with the word SATURN to enter into an Instagram giveaway. 

Instagram Growth Tools: Comment Auto-Responder by MobileMonkey

Comment auto-responders are extremely powerful and viral in nature because comments equal engagement. More engagement triggers Instagram’s algorithm, which results in more impressions of your post. 

Prior to the launch of this tool, we already have an all-star example of virality from MobileMonkey Founder, Larry Kim. 

Larry has a large social media presence with millions of followers across the major social networks. His most successful Instagram post, by far, uses a comment auto-responder.

Here’s Larry’s post, which has received over 550 comments!

If you swipe or click through the carousel, you’ll see that the CTA (call-to-action) in the captions and the last slide of the carousel is to: 

“Type “AUTODM” in the comments section below to get instant access to all 15 Instagram auto DM use cases.”

And this isn’t a one time occurrence. Since using InstaChamp, Larry’s engagement numbers have quadrupled and his reach has nearly increased by 10x.

For example, here’s another post using the Comment Auto-Responder that reached 20,000 people, 89% of which are outside of Larry’s followers. That’s incredible and by far the cheapest way to get more views and reach new followers on Instagram I’ve ever seen!

Clearly, one of the best use cases for comment auto-responders is to tease your content and then ask for a comment for access to the full article, infographic, white paper, etc.

There are multiple challenges faced by Instagram marketers addressed with this one solution: 

  • Lack of locations where you can place clickable links. 
  • Variety of effective CTAs marketers can place in their content.
  • Getting people to comment and engage with your posts.

Think about it, where can you place links on Instagram? Most marketers ‘go-to’ call to action is, “Click my bio link for more information.”

However, you can always include a clickable link in a DM. Therefore, by sending a DM to users when they comment on your post, not only do you have an easy CTA for followers to complete, but you also have an opportunity to share a link and drive traffic to your site.

Additionally, the more comments you get on your post, the more visibility your posts will receive.

This is just the tip of the iceberge for InstaChamp. Check out all of the tools and features you get with InstaChamp, here!

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5 Differences Between InstaChamp and Instagram Quick Replies (Saved Replies)

There are some major differences between Instagram’s native Quick Replies (Saved Replies) and InstaChamp’s auto-reply tools, which are 100% Instagram-approved and safe to use at scale. 

#1. Instagram Saved Replies (Quick Replies) are Static and Non-Conversational

The biggest difference between Instagram Quick Replies and InstaChamp is that Quick Replies are static responses and lack any dynamic qualities.

InstaChamp, on the other hand, can fascilitate fully automated back and forth conversations, chat menu buttons, links to your most relevant offers, images, and much more.

Instagram Quick Replies require users to manually select answers. Yes, you can quickly find those answers via shortcuts, but this still requires a person to be ready to answer questions, which nearly defeats the purpose entirely.

InstaChamp instantly replies to user questions and inquiries and runs 24/7, making sure you never keep anyone waiting or miss out on a great opportunity.

Unlike Instagram Saved Replies, InstaChamp uses keyword-based Q&A triggers and NLP (natural language processing) technology to answer FAQs, which eliminates virtually all manual work. 

All you need to do is create your auto-replies, monitor their performance, and optimize them over time. 

#2. With InstaChamp you can Add a Chat Menu to Guide Instagram DM Conversations

You can take conversations a step even further with InstaChamp. 

In this Instagram automated messages example, you’ll see what’s known as a menu-based chatbot, which is like a mini-website built into your Instagram DM inbox.

Menu-based chatbots allow you to guide a conversation, kind of like a phone tree, which can branch off in many different directions, based on the interests of the prospect or customer.

Here’s an example of how @TheInstagramExpert Sue Zimmerman is using a menu-based chatbot:

Sue has adopted the menu-based chatbot in her Page Welcomer to provide multiple options for first time messagers to choose from:

Instagram auto DM example: Instagram Page Welcomer

The next step is to provide value with one of your most popular offers or additional information about a product or service. 

When I click on the “3 Keys Training” button, Sue has a high quality image with information about her online course with a link to learn more and/or signup. 

Instagram chatbot dialogue

At the end of a short chat dialogue, Sue’s CTA is to check out her online training course on the “3 Keys to Getting Engaged Instagram Followers and Buyers.” When I click on the link, I arrive on Sue’s landing page for her free training course. 

drive Instagram traffic to your website

Once you learn your way around MobileMonkey’s user friendly chatbot builder, creating highly engaging Instagram auto DM’s like Sue’s is a piece of cake.

Here’s what Sue (@TheInstagramExpert) has to say about her experience using MobileMonkey:

“MobileMonkey has been a game-changer. As someone who has been using the Instagram DM for 8 years for building relationships and getting new clients, it has saved my team and me so much time on a daily basis. We’ve been able to reply to clients quickly and get the information they are looking for back into their inbox — without lifting a finger or spending hours upon hours replying manually to each message.”

Sue B. Zimmerman, Instagram Expert & Business Coach

Are you an established or aspiring Instagram influencer? Discover the 10 best tools for Instagram influencers in 2021!

#3. Get In-Depth Instagram DM Analytics with MobileMonkey

If you’re using MobileMonkey and have attached your Instagram account in order to get all the features of InstaChamp, you’ll have the benefit of detailed chatbot analytics. 

MobileMonkey even tells you what visitors to your Instagram pages are asking, so you can easily identify and program instant answers for all your FAQs. As opposed to guessing, which is step 1 when creating your Instagram Saved Replies.

#4. Visual Chatbot Builder & Chatbot Widgets

It’s easy to build both straightforward and complicated chat dialogues in the InstaChamp (or MobileMonkey) drag-and-drop visual chatbot builder.

#5. InstaChamp Doesn’t Require a Business Profile

You can use InstaChamp from any Instagram profile you wish, whereas Instagram Saved Replies require an Instagram Business account.

Important Next Steps: Getting Started with Instagram Quick Replies

Want to get started with InstaChamp and new Instagram DM automation tools?

Learn how to:

Are you an affiliate? Get in on the madness that is InstaChamp while it’s still brand new and become a MobileMonkey affiliate partner, today!

Instagram accounts that use MoibileMonkey’s Instagram marketing tools, will generate automated activity and interactions which are perceived as entirely organic. And because you’re able to generate organic engagement at scale, this translates into a huge increase in genuine followers.

Best of all, with MobileMonkey, you’ll be working with 100% Instagram-approved engagement tools.

The proof is in the numbers. 75% of consumers also prefer to engage with brands using private messaging channels vs traditional channels.

✅ Get early access to Instagram messaging tools for free!

GET EARLY ACCESS TO NEW INSTAGRAM TOOLS FROM MOBILEMONKEY

Are you looking for an edge on Instagram? Influencers, artists, brands and D2C businesses, you may qualify to be the first to use tools that generate elite engagement via Instagram DMs.

Get Early Access

  • Create your first chatbot today after you sign-up for MobileMonkey.
  • Talk and learn about chatbots with other enthusiasts. Join MobileMonkey Island, our Facebook group of 40K marketers and entrepreneurs who are ready to support you.
  • Advance your marketing performance with Chatbot University, a free chatbot tutorial and training area for chat marketers.





from
https://fatsfixedassettracking.com/how-to-use-instagram-quick-replies-other-dm-automation-tools/2514/

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