Introduction
Have you ever considered integrating a texting platform like Chatbot into your marketing arsenal?
You may have heard of Slack, Microsoft Teams, or WhatsApp. All of these platforms boast an extensive array of free features that make them popular choices for business users.
But have you ever thought about using a different texting platform called ManyChat, which is owned by TikTok?
TikTok wasn’t the first app or website to integrate with WhatsApp, Slack, or Microsoft Teams. But it is one of the most popular choices among businesses these days. You can bet that when TikTok launched its own chat platform, ManyChat, many businesses were quick to jump on the bandwagon.
Why? Because most businesses have a whole team of people waiting to engage with customers via text message. So it only makes sense that they want to find a tool that can easily transition between email, web forms, and text messages.
With ManyChat, you can take advantage of all three of those touch points.
Let’s have a look at how you can integrate the services to create a cohesive customer experience.
Step 1: Set Up Email and AWeber Accounts
Even if you’ve never done business via email, you’ve surely heard of it. And even if you’re not entirely sure what an email account is, you know what they are. Let’s not forget about how important they are.
For those of you who are unfamiliar, an email account is a place where you can send and receive email messages from different websites and email marketing tools. It is also a place where you can create and manage subscriptions to different email lists. Having an email account allows you to stay in touch with potential customers and subscribers across various platforms. As a business owner or marketer, you need to have an email account.
What’s more is that you can now get a free email account from Google or PayPal. So it’s a great option for those who want to try out the service without spending a dime.
Step 2: Set Up a Simple Webform
A webform is a website or landing page form that allows visitors to subscribe to an email list or to make a purchase. When a potential customer submits their information via a webform, you can have a special offer or product announcement conveyed to them via email.
You may think that forms are quite boring. But trust me, they aren’t. That’s why I love working with forms so much. With forms, you can present customers with an easy way to receive important information without having to go through a lengthy email conversation. And as a business owner or marketer, you want to make sure that your customers feel that they are valued and that their opinion matters.
Because of all of the options available to businesses now, creating a webform for customer service is more important than ever. When customers feel that their opinion is important to the company that they’re contacting, they will feel more comfortable sharing their thoughts with you.
Step 3: Integrate AWeber
AWeber is the preferred email marketing platform for businesses. It was actually founded by Mark Hanna, the same person who co-founded MailChimp. And like other popular email marketing platforms, AWeber has become a bit of a social media darling.
To create an account with AWeber, you’ll need to input your email address and a password. Don’t worry, it’s not too much to remember. Once you’ve done that, you’ll be presented with a short survey about your marketing preferences. But before you take the survey, you can have a look at the different options available to you. From there, you can select the type of content that you’ll want to receive.
One of the great things about AWeber is that they’ve taken the guesswork out of creating and sending out emails. After you create your account, you’ll be presented with a wide range of pre-made content that you can use to get the ball rolling. Some of the content that you’ll see includes drip campaigns, automated emails, and even templates for welcome and confirmation emails.
Step 4: Add Attachments
Attachments are great for a variety of reasons. First and foremost, they allow you to attach files, such as documents, product images, or recordings, to your messages. Second, they allow you to send bulky files, such as product manuals or PDFs, without having to worry about going over the allotted email size. Finally, they provide an additional level of security for your important emails.
To add attachments to your email, simply click on the “Attachments” icon at the top of the screen. Then, you’ll be presented with a menu of the different files that you have available to attach. Do be careful when choosing what you attach, as anyone who gets too attached to an attachment could find themselves in a bit of a pickle.
Step 5: Write A Short Welcome Email
When a user signs up for your account on your website or via the email form, they will be presented with a short email, often called a “welcome email,” that you’ll need to write. Why is this important?
This is a critical step in creating a good customer experience. When a customer signs up for your email list or makes a purchase from your website, they’ll be provided with an email telling them how great their service is. You don’t want to take away from their positive experience by sending them a boring email trying to sell them more stuff or urge them to take a survey about your products.
The best way to make sure that they have a positive experience is by personalizing their email address. If you use email marketing software like MailChimp or AWeber, you can input the customer’s name or business name as the greeting. Alternatively, you can write a short personal note to the customer and sign it with your company’s name.
Doing business via email means that you have to look at all of the aspects of the inbox experience—from the look and feel of the emails to the information that they contain. Even if you use a software to handle your email marketing, it’s still up to you to ensure that each individual email that you send out is designed to provide the best possible experience for the recipient.
Step 6: Test, Test, and Test Some More
With any new marketing or business endeavor, there are bound to be hiccups along the way. That’s why it’s important to test, test, and test some more. Once you’ve gotten everything setup and integrated, it’s a good idea to spend a little bit of time analyzing how customers are using the service and finding areas where you can make improvements.
Luckily, you’ve already got a user who’s already tried and tested this service. So you can use their report to pinpoint problems and create a solid foundation for the future of your business.
Before you know it, the holidays will be upon you and you’ll have ample motivation to take a breath, relax, and enjoy your time off work. If you can get all of that done before then, excellent!
How can you implement this strategy yourself?
If you’re interested in trying out a new service that can help you connect with customers more effectively, you can use tools like Hello Analytics to track the progress of your email marketing campaigns.
You’ll be able to see how many people opened your emails, how many clicked on a particular link or button, and which ones of your email templates performed the best. This data will be crucial in helping you to refine your approach and eventually grow your business.
In 2018, email marketing will continue to be a key way that businesses interact with customers. Because of how important it is to have an email marketing strategy, it’s quite easy to make sure that you’re not wasting any time, effort, or resources in your campaign. From setting up the account to figuring out the perfect email template, to sending out the welcome package and analyzing the results of your campaign, you’ll have everything you need to get started in no time.