Facebook Plays a Game of Chess with Apple

M Dorsett - Communications Doctor Chibur

Ever have one of those mornings? Where you wake up to “breaking news.” Last month I had one. Facebook released messenger integration for websites, calling it Customer Chat Plugin. Discussion groups I belong to went wild discussing the impact. Even Product Hunt sent their daily email that day with the headline, “Facebook pivots into the enterprise.”

Needless to say I was a little shocked. Messaging, the ability for brands to communicate with consumers via text, and Messenger, the app for messaging exclusively via Facebook, has been available for brands to deploy on websites for awhile. Nothing seemed really new with this announcement except that you had to sign up on a waitlist. It’s like when a new nightclub makes you wait in line even when it’s empty inside.

I’m going on the record and saying I truly appreciate this latest marketing effort. This is certainly another another milestone in the story that Facebook has been telling since they rattled and accelerated the rate of development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) forever post A.F8 2016. But will enterprises take advantage?

I’ve paired my assessment of the situation with some chess related quotes, as this is certainly one fine game we’re witnessing.

Play the opening like a book, the middle game like a magician, and the endgame like a machine. — Spielmann

This is what I see. Facebook seems to be — no pun intended — facing off with Apple. Apple is the wise old couple on the block. Earlier this year they announced iMessage for business. Facebook, are the kids who keep throwing a ball in their yard.

Everyone grab your popcorn. It’s like a scene straight out of “Neighbors”. This announcement from Facebook feels like a clap back. Notable enterprise brands for my life that went live on Customer Chat with messenger are KLM & AirFrance. I’m really looking forward to seeing which brands deploy in 2018 when iMessage Business Chat is rumored to launch.

“When you see a good move wait — look for a better one.” — Emanuel Lasker

Branding messenger integration as Customer Chat Plugin is a good move. When a small business integrates messenger on their website they will see immediate benefits. However Customer Chat Plugin, despite its name, is not a plug and play option for enterprise brands. Facebook has not solved the scalability of Messenger. In order for an enterprise to integrate conversational commerce into their digital engagement strategy, they will need to have a backend solution that allows for messages to be handled at mass.

Now you may be wondering why I say that is needed when a bot can handle messages at scale? The reality is bots are not able to answer all questions. The human touch will still be required. Humans need to: oversee bot conversations, be available for escalations, handle specific customer journeys, and, most importantly, take the nuggets that the bot couldn’t handle and train it how to — improving its intelligence.

In addition, Founder and CEO of Agent IQ Craig Davis makes a valid point when it comes to scalability. Conversations with consumers happen on many different channels. “Using a platform with closed loop AI brings more efficiency to the large customer service organizations that were serving.” Whether or not the conversation comes in from Messenger or another messaging channel “the AI gets smarter, turns around and applies that knowledge automatically to the other channels.”

“The winner of the game is the player who makes the next-to-last mistake.” — Tartakover

Staying true to it’s millennial spirit, Facebook didn’t wait for a conference to roll out the plugin. They just built it and released it. They can do that when they have Apple users, android users, and let’s not forget WhatsApp, which also plans to monetize the messaging application for businesses in 2018. Investors of Facebook should be feeling pretty good. Facebook is testing a mass chat tool that looks exciting, it just announced Direct another stand alone messaging app, and four out of the top five apps that are downloaded in the world fall under the Facebook umbrella.

Check Mate.

The fifth most downloaded app on that list is snapchat. Making all the top apps that are downloaded in the world messaging apps. 54% of consumers today prefer to connect on platforms like Messenger vs email phone or online chat, but majority of enterprise brands do not offer it. What it boils down to at this point in history is any brands that that implement a conversational commerce option is a good thing for Apple. Regardless of the platform that is used on the brands end, the consumer will be communicating from their device of choice. Apple produces devices. Facebook does not.

Optional to include originally published link: https://chatbotsmagazine.com/facebook-plays-a-game-of-chess-with-apple-391190574af6

Public Relations: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

By: Carolina Lafuente

So you’ve just wrapped up an event one of your clients was hosting, thanks to your social media coverage and the feature you got on yesterday’s 5 p.m. news, the turn-out was excellent. More people are now familiar with your client’s brand, they now have a larger following on social media and sales are estimated to go up.

    But what if something went wrong and suddenly negative news comes out about your client’s company? Do you spin the story around? Is that really the right thing to do? Or do you own up to it and apologize?

Public relations specialists sometimes get a bad reputation of being dishonest based on stereotypes. Simply because some brands have had PR nightmares, doesn’t mean we are all made equally. Our jobs are to sell brand images; nowhere does it say this cannot be done by presenting factually based evidence about products. Yes, at times things go wrong. Thankfully there are guidelines to ethics of public relations, which can be found on Public Relations Society of America’s website.

According to the PRSA Code of Ethics, we must “Act promptly to correct erroneous communications for which the member is responsible and investigate the truthfulness and accuracy of information released on behalf of those represented.” In the simplest terms, we must remain transparent. Transparency allows customers to build a trust with brands, in turn creating a loyal customer base. We are in the communications field, let’s communicate effectively.

Cross-Posting on Social Media and Why You Shouldn’t Do It

BY: Carolina Lafuente

As a brand, sharing on all your social media platforms is key to engaging with your audience. However, if you’re sharing the exact same post across different platforms, you’re probably not going to get much interaction. Your followers will notice and it comes off as impersonal and lazy from your part.

First and foremost, not all social media platforms are created equally. Therefore, each post should be appropriately tailored to specific outlets. Your Twitter audience wants short, in the moment updates, while your Instagram audience is much more visual. Twitter works great with links to lead your followers to your site. Instagram, not so much since you can’t embed links into captions.

Facebook might be the trickiest to reach your audience through. Facebook’s strange algorithm punishes you for that one video you might’ve posted that didn’t get much attention. This however may work to your brand’s benefit by challenging you to really get to know your audience. It is important to keep in mind that with Facebook, the amount of people your posts reach varies on how much interaction your previous posts receive.

Social media shouldn’t be taken too seriously though, unless you’re a serious news outlet. Instagram is one of the best ways to showcase your brand’s personality through photographs, videos and text. Your followers will resonate with posts that are personalized. Sometimes, the amount of likes and comments go further than the number of followers you have. Speaking of followers, don’t forget to reply to your followers on their posts to let them know you’re there and you’re listening. So go ahead, post that TGIF gif or photo, and don’t forget to add that hashtag.

Why You Should Use Snapchat for Your Business

By: Carolina Lafuente

    Snapchat is slowly growing more and more each day. Today, it’s even used as a news media outlet with its Discovery feature that features stories by media outlets such as ESPN, The Food Network, and CNN to name a few. Celebrities have it, bloggers have it, my friend’s little sister has it and has more followers than I do fresh out of high school.

    The truth is, the world is becoming more social media conscious to where if you don’t have a presence in a certain outlet, you might as well not be real. Snapchat can be used to a brand’s advantage to grow its presence by giving consumers an inside look to a company’s everyday functions, a behind the scenes experience.

    Snapchat can become a way to get consumers to get to know the people behind your brand and the work put into how products are made. It can also be used for promotional purposes to get your audience out to events your brand might be participating in or hosting. Show them the venue, talk about activities that might be included, and on the day of the event show them the end result. It may encourage others who didn’t make it to come out next time once they see what they’re missing.

    The best thing, and main purpose, of Snapchat is that it’s to tell stories. Tell your brand’s story, keep your audience engaged by giving them a treat at the end of story such as a discount code. Don’t be afraid to get creative, that’s what visual social media outlets are for. We are storytellers by nature, add your brand’s story to Snapchat.

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