How to Automate Facebook Messages (10 Easy Steps)

Ever get buried under an avalanche of Facebook messages, scrambling to reply, while new ones keep on comin? Yeah, we've all been there. The pressure's on when your customers are waiting for responses and every second counts.  

If you want to provide a great customer experience, you need to set up auto reply on Facebook and schedule Facebook messages that help your customers get the help they need right away. 

In this blog post, we'll show you how to make your Facebook business more efficient by learning how to automate Facebook messages. You'll learn tips, tricks, and templates you can use right away. 

Why is Automating Facebook Messages so Important?

Facebook is one of the most popular messaging apps in the world. In fact, over 20 billion messages are exchanged between businesses and users on Messenger each month. It can be hard to filter through and respond to all those messages in your own or a business account, which is where automation becomes your personal hero. 

A major benefit of using automation for your Facebook messages is the ability to manage high volumes of incoming inquiries efficiently. Instead of manually responding to each message, an automated system takes over this task, allowing you to focus more on complex issues that require special skills.

What are Facebook Messaging Automation Tools? 

Facebook messaging automation tools help determine the right way to reply to an incoming message based on a series of prompts or the kind of questions/content sent to the account. 

Facebook's own Messenger tool, for instance, offers various ways to automate responses based on common questions asked by customers. This ensures faster replies leading to improved customer satisfaction rates. Just by setting aside a little time for a Facebook messenger bots tutorial, you can streamline the messenger response process. 

Automation Doesn't Replace the Human Touch

Automating your Facebook messages brings undeniable benefits such as speed and accuracy, it's important not to lose sight of the human touch in your customer interactions. People are craving human interaction from businesses, preferring to deal with humans, not bots.  Even though 64% of people prefer to message rather than call a business, it's still your job to make these messages feel personalized and helpful. 

Strike a good balance between automated and real-person responses in order not only enhance their response time but also make sure that customers don't feel turned off, but feel heard and valued at all times.

How to Automate Facebook Messages

Automating your Facebook messages can save you time and improve customer service. Thanks to Facebook messaging automation tools, this is a breeze. But how do you get started? Let's look into a straightforward, step-by-step approach.

Step 1: Log in to Facebook

Start by logging into your Facebook account and navigating to the page for which you want to set up automated messages.

Step 2: Click on "Inbox"

On your page, find and click on the "Inbox" option, on the left side of the page.

Step 3: Click on "Automations"

Go to the top of the the page near the right and look for the button called "Automations."

Step 4: Turn on Instant Replies

You'll see an option to turn on Instant Replies. Toggle this to the 'On' position.

Step 5: Customize Your Message

Once you've turned on Instant Replies, you can create your custom message. This message will be sent automatically to anyone who messages your page. Be sure to craft a message that is welcoming and informative.

With the right customization, automated responses on Facebook Messenger have a 70-80% open rate.

Pro tip: you can use Magical to help draft template responses to common questions so you can then pop these automations into Facebook. Between Magical templates and Facebook messaging automation tools, you can save a lot of time. 

Step 6: Set up Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) (optional)

You can also set up automated responses for common questions. Look for the option to add FAQs and input questions and their respective automatic responses.

Step 9: Save Changes

After setting up your automated messages, make sure to save all changes.

Step 10: Test Your Automated Messages

It’s a good idea to test the automated messages by sending a message to your page from a different account to ensure everything works as expected.

Examples with Templates of Facebook Messages

Here's some examples of templates that could prove useful in different situations.

1. Welcome Message

A welcome message is usually the first interaction a user has with your business on Facebook Messenger. Make it count by making it warm and inviting:

"Hello [User's Name], thank you for reaching out to us! We appreciate your interest in our services/products. How may we assist you today?"

"Hello [User's Name], thank you for reaching out to us! We appreciate your interest in our services/products. How may we assist you today?"

2. FAQ Response

If there are common questions customers ask, having an automated response ready can save time:

"Hi [User's Name], many customers find our [Link to FAQs] helpful for quick answers about our products/services."

"Hi [User's Name], many customers find our [Link to FAQs] helpful for quick answers about our products/services."

3. After-Hours Response

Even outside office hours, let users know their queries matter and will be addressed promptly:

"Thank you for contacting us, [User's Name]. Our working hours are from 9 am-5 pm EST Monday-Friday; however, we've received your message and will get back to you as soon as possible!"

"Thank you for contacting us, [User's Name]. Our working hours are from 9 am-5 pm EST Monday-Friday; however, we've received your message and will get back to you when we're back in the office!"

Best Practices for Automating Facebook Messages

Automating Facebook messages can save time and increase response rates, but it's important to strike a balance. Over-automation can make your business feel impersonal or robotic. Once you see the automations in process, you can make changes as needed. 

Regularly Updating and Refining Automated Responses

Your automated responses should evolve as your brand does. It's essential to regularly update them to keep the content relevant and effective. Remember that automation doesn't mean 'set it and forget it'—you need constant refinement based on feedback from customers. Even though Facebook Messenger bots can answer 80% of standard questions immediately, you might need to make changes to provide that personal touch and helpful information. 

A chatbot trained well will be able to handle common queries with ease, helping manage high volumes of customer inquiries effectively without losing the personal touch. Like HEB on Facebook to see how they have done an exceptional job at this.

The ultimate goal is not just addressing customer service issues promptly but also enhancing overall customer experience while building trust amongst users.

Save Time By Automating Your Facebook Messages

Clocking your social media game is no small task, but it's made easier when you automate Facebook messages. It's a step towards improved efficiency and enhanced customer experience.

Once you create your messages, you can store them to use with Magical. It's free to download to your Chrome browser and you can use it to automate all your repetitive tasks. Give it a try today and join the 20,000+ teams using Magical to save 7 hours a week on average.