If you think Artificial Intelligence is still a long way off, say something you’ll only see in 2025, you’d be very wrong. Way back in April 2016, Facebook Messenger opened its platform to ‘bot developers. After that within a very short space of time, more than 34,000 had been built. But what is a chatbot and why should you be finding out as much as possible about this technology?
It is predicted that by 2020 a customer’s shopping experience will, by and large, be without the help of a human, which means for any business to flourish. That maks an effective and efficient ‘self-service’ assistance essential. But what is a chatbot and can it be used to build engagement with your blog readers?
Image Pixabay
Blogs and Bots: How They Work Together
Different chatbots serve different purposes, but their main objective is to make the user experience as pleasant as possible, decreasing bounce rates, increasing user engagement and ensuring your audience keeps coming back for more. You might be wondering if a bot will fit your brand’s needs, and while we can’t answer that, we can tell you their functionality is changing all the time.
We can also tell you that while you’re trying to decide whether it’s a viable option or not, your competitors are probably working on their very own bot as we speak.
The Bot’tom Line
Today there are millions of bloggers around and to become a high-ranking one, you need to be able to do a number of things to be noticed. It’s a never-ending to-do list and includes:
- Engaging with your readers
- Interacting with them effectively on various channels
- Having email campaigns set up
- Networking with other bloggers
- Guest posting on relevant platforms
The only way to do this is to use new tools and technology that makes the life of a blogger easier. Say hello to chatbots, the smart blogger’s way of customizing a reader’s experience. This technology is able to package your content in an eye-catching format, allows you to interact 24/7 with your audience, even while you’re catching up on beauty sleep and stores relevant information. It also engages your readers in conversation.
Why You Need a Chatbot Working for You?
There is nothing that beats interacting with someone online who knows your name, your likes, and dislikes. We all know the smallest details can make or break a user experience, and a chatbot will take yours to the next level. They are able to integrate with the different social media platforms you use and gather data on everyone they interact with.
Let’s take a look at why you should have a chatbot working for you.
Chatbots reduce bounce rates and increase reader engagement
Chatbots are ‘engagement ninjas’ if used properly. On average a visitor will spend up to 15 seconds on a post, which we’re sure you’ll agree isn’t very much. A chatbot drives engagement by doing what it does best, chatting. People who have successfully employed the services of a chatbot have seen a 40% increase in the time spent by visitors on a page.
A chatbot is a better marketer than you think
In the past Facebook was used to grow brands, and while it’s still an effective platform, when it comes to promotions, a chatbot makes social media campaigns, status updates and event pages look like something out of the dark ages. Whether you want to promote a new blog post, a podcast or a giveaway, a chatbot is able to send notifications. Readers don’t want to receive an influx of text messages and emails. Bots capture data, analyze it and can send personalized notifications to each user.
Chatbots will save you energy and time
Often, being a successful blogger is a double-edged sword; the more of a following you build, the more time is spent on comment threads and responding to emails. More often than not it’s the same queries you see every day. You obviously want to answer everyone. But that’s just not possible, regardless of how dedicated you are. But a chatbot is relentless and is there for your readers when you can’t be. This also goes for when you feel that there aren’t enough hours in a day.
A chatbot provides visually appealing content
When you’re competing with a million other blogs, as well as all the microblogging sites, a different theme might not be enough to pull readers your way. A chatbot on the other hand by default packages your content in the most appealing way. They can also ask what your readers what they’re looking for and respond with relevant content. It’s a sure-fire way of keeping your audience interested for longer.
Creating your own chatbot is easier than you think
A tool that does all this and more? Surely it takes hours of coding and know-how to create your very own chatbot? We don’t blame you for thinking this but you’d be wrong. There is a multitude of chatbots builder platform options for every business and blog that will suit every possible need.
There are no ifs or ‘bots’ about it, chatbots are changing the way people interact with blogs and businesses, and as they evolve the entire experience will only get better. Trendsetters and influencers are already using AI to increase engagement and keep users interested and it’s only going to grow. According to Crowdspring, Whatsapp claimed to have more than 1 billion active users in 2017, while Facebook Messenger had the same number of monthly users in 2016. With this in mind, more companies are turning to chatbots. Just as social media and apps quickly became the go-to means of communicating, so too will chatbots.
This form of Artificial Intelligence is an exciting development with endless opportunities. Given how far it’s come in the last year, we can only wait with bated breath to see what the future holds. Chatbots is where the (inter)action is. Now is the time to decide if you’re going to be leading the pack, or at the ‘bot’tom of the list.
Image Flickr
Yes, Chatbots reduce bounce rates and helps to increase reader engagement, with the help of chatbots we save time and energy,