How may I be of service? Let’s chat
Chatbots aid productivity with a human touch behind the tech
Kelly Noble Mirabella has been known to be a chatty type, and now she has taken it to a new level — all in the name of business and marketing.
Mirabella is a social media consultant, trainer and enthusiast. She is passionate about helping people use social media for business. She has taught social networking skills and online marketing techniques to real estate agents, business owners and other professionals.
She now heads Stellar Media Marketing, which caters to nationwide professionals who strive to grow their own businesses with online strategies.
Her prime interest is chatbots, computer programs or artificial intelligence that conduct conversations via auditory or textual methods. Such programs are often designed to convincingly simulate how a human would behave as a conversational partner.
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Mirabella talked for real with marketing entrepreneur Madalyn Sklar about the value of using social media chatbots for business.
“There are so many amazing things you can use chatbots for — from customer service and lead generation to sales and community building,” Mirabella said. “At the end of the day, they can save a company time and resources as well as eliminate frustrations for customers.
“I also think it is great for getting your content in front of people, engaging an audience and building an active community of raving fans,” she said.
Goal in mind
Rather than jump into chatbots, Mirabella advises entrepreneurs to take a reasoned approach.
“The first thing to consider is what is your end goal?” she said. “What problems can you solve with your chatbot? Also, where do you want to have a chatbot? You can do more than one, but start in one place.
“There are hot spots: Facebook, Twitter, SMS, your website,” Mirabella said. “Once you know that, you can build a valuable chatbot people will use.”
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She uses ManyChat to build her Facebook chatbots and is looking into using Proxima Iris for Twitter chatbots.
“I chose ManyChat because I am very visual and I like their builder better,” Mirabella said. “It is dead easy to use, and they keep bringing more features to the table. Plus it’s free to start. The premium starts at only $10.”
Having decided to use a chatbot, the next step is selecting the correct platform.
“Chatbots can be hosted on Facebook, Twitter, SMS and even voice-command platforms such as Alexa and Google,” Mirabella said. “Once you know which platform you want to use, you can choose the right tool.
“For example, if you choose Facebook, I would suggest tools like ManyChat and Chatfuel, which allow you to build chatbots without any coding skills,” she said. “For Twitter, I am looking into Proxima Iris, but I know Sprout Social also offers a Twitter chatbot tool. The key is to test and figure out what works best for you.”
Try tutorials
Mirabella has chatbot tutorials on YouTube and her Facebook group.
“A lot of chatbots can be integrated into your website,” she said. “I have my Facebook chatbot integrated into my website, and it has worked well.”
The same chatbots can be used for Facebook, Twitter and elsewhere. Mirabella’s Stellar Media Marketing website opens with a chatbot in action. Her YouTube video shows how to do it.
She has several tips to use chatbots to improve customer engagement and service.
“If you have a customer base that asks frequently asked questions, a chatbot can be built out to help answer those questions quickly and efficiently,” Mirabella said. “This takes the load off of your customer service so they can give customers who really need help a great experience.
“As for engagement, there are lots of ways you can better engage subscribers,” she said. “I like to share fun games and build a fun environment in my community. But I also like to segment my list and share my content with the right people.”
Mirabella sent out her latest chatbot video on YouTube to her Facebook Messenger subscriber list that was segmented by chatbot interest.
“I am getting a lot of positive feedback and views already just off of this,” she said.
Integrate with cards
There are challenges for those who want to create simple, useful and engaging chatbot experiences on Twitter.
“Twitter does not allow for as many chatbot capabilities as some other platforms,” Mirabella said. “That does not mean you can’t build a chatbot that can help your business.
“Chatbots can be integrated with Twitter cards,” she said. “Use quick replies and calls to action to get people to share your content, follow your account and so much more.”
Although many tools pop up every day, Mirabella still needs to work on Twitter chatbots. The Iris chatbot holds possibilities.
Turning to businesses, she cited smart, innovative examples of using social media chatbots.
“I love what Lego is doing with their Facebook chatbot,” Mirabella said. “It helps you find the perfect Lego gift. It has great use of images and branding. It’s well-rounded and easy to engage with.
“Companies like Domino’s Pizza and Pizza Hut are also using chatbots to make it super easy to order pizzas on Twitter, Facebook and via text message,” she said. “When you make it dead easy to buy from you, you will see people buy more.”
Individual standouts
Individuals also take advantage of the programs.
“I am a big fan of what Molly Mahoney, the prepared performer, does with her chatbot and Facebook Live videos,” Mirabella said. “Andrew and Pete also get people to watch their videos using chatbots.”
Other professions can get in on the action.
“Realtors would love to know that you can use chatbots via Facebook and SMS to deliver custom comparative market analyses and access the multiple listing service — where available,” Mirabella said. “Just think of the possibilities.”
Those who deploy chatbots have to make sure the user experience doesn’t feel automated and disengaging.
“The key to a good chatbot experience is to make sure you are not trying to overcomplicate things too soon,” Mirabella said. “Start small and make sure it does not seem like you are trying to trick someone.
“You want the chatbot to be a seamless experience between talking to a chatbot and talking to a human,” she said. “You also don’t want people to walk away mad or frustrated because you tried to trick them.”
Mirabella advocates the no-fooling approach.
“I will be very upfront with people when they use my chatbots that they are not talking to a human,” she said. “Yet, I also inject a lot of my own personality into my chatbots so people forget they aren’t talking to me.
“One of the biggest compliments I have gotten about my chatbot is how people felt like they were chatting with me even though they knew it was a bot from the start,” Mirabella said.
Small start
She had questions and advice for entrepreneurs who want to prioritize their chatbots and messaging.
“What problem can you solve? or What is your goal?” Mirabella said. “Start small. Don’t try to build a giant artificial intelligence-led chatbot right out of the gate. Have a simple menu and FAQs. A lead magnet or content-delivery bot is a great start.
“If the chatbot is not useful or valuable to the end users, they will not use it,” she said. “I have seen far too many chatbot builders try to build a bot that is huge and impressive to other builders, but at the end of the day it didn’t work for the end user.”
Mirabella invited those who want to learn more about chatbots to see the chatbot on her Stellar Media Marketing website.
About The Author
Jim Katzaman is a manager at Largo Financial Services and worked in public affairs for the Air Force and federal government. You can connect with him on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
