Pat yourself on the back. You’ve taken the first step to building meaningful relationships with your clients by choosing to use YakBot.
There are various ways to communicate with your customers in the digital space, and using Chat Marketing is one of the most efficient ways to build a trusting relationship.
So, where do you start? The first step is to exhale, then grab your creative cap as we get started building your bot.
How to Start Building Your Bot
First, establish your overall goals. What do you want to accomplish? Do you want to sell something, are you growing an email list, want clients to book a demo? Knowing what you are trying to achieve will help you set up your chatbot for better success.
Four Steps to Start Building Your Bot:
- Connect Your Facebook Page to YakBot
- Create a Greeting Text
- Build the Main Menu
- Create a Welcome Message
Step 1: Connect Your Facebook Page to Yakbot
Connecting your business Facebook page to your YakBot account is easy as one, two, three. From the YakBot dashboard, click Social Accounts in the menu tab, then click on the blue Login with Facebook button to import your account.
Once you have imported your account, you can allow YakBot to connect to the page by clicking the plug icon.
Step 2: Create a Greeting Text
When a non-subscriber messages your page for the first time, a greeting text is the first initial interaction. You can personalize this and combine a little creativity with images, gifs, and emojis.
On your YakBot dashboard, click chatbot then bot settings from the left menu. On this page, you will find the Getting Started Settings.
This is where you’ll type out your message. There are only 160 characters allowed here, so use your words wisely.
Step 3: Build the Main Menu
By now, you should have set up your greetings, so now it’s time to set up your main menu. This is a way for people to navigate through your chat to get them to your main offerings, from services to demos.
You can steer people to outside links or keep them right in the bot. It’s up to you. On the left side of your YakBot dashboard, you’ll see ChatBot; click on that. Next select Bot Settings, then Persistent Menu settings.
Clicking on the blue Create Persistent Menu button will allow you to create your menu. Start by giving your menu item a title, then choose the type of menu item you would like to add.
Step 4: Create a Welcome Message
The Welcome Message is the initial message that a user will get when they first message your page on Facebook. This is the place where you need to set expectations. Most people like to give their chatbot a persona, a nickname or avatar, to make it more fun and appealing. If you did so, this is a high point to introduce the user to him or her!
Your welcome message is an excellent place to let people understand how they can at any time unsubscribe. Keep it short and personalized, and feel free to point people to other parts of your bot or even to outside websites using buttons and quick replies.
On your dashboard menu, go to ChatBot, then Bot Settings. Click on Action Button Settings, and in the popup, select Get-Started Template.
This is where you will start typing out your welcome message.
Well, there it is, four quick steps to get you started on building your chatbot. Have fun with images, emojis, gifs, and videos. Just make sure that you stay true to your brand’s view as you establish your bot’s persona.