The Digital Marketing Podcast

Episode: What is Messenger Marketing?

Hosts: Ciaran Rogers, Daniel Rowles

Guest: Jayden Maharaj (Axis Marketing)

Date: May 28, 2018

Episode Overview

In this episode, Ciaran Rogers interviews Jayden Maharaj from Axis Marketing to explore the evolving world of Messenger Marketing. The discussion provides a practical introduction to Messenger as a marketing channel, compares Messenger with traditional email marketing, and lays out actionable advice, best practices, and common pitfalls. Listeners are guided through tools, engagement strategies, opt-in mechanisms, and how to effectively use automation and segmentation to deliver highly relevant, personal messaging at scale.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. What is Messenger Marketing?

• Messenger is Facebook's chat platform, now open to automation similar to email marketing. Businesses can broadcast messages to subscribers, build lists, and automate sequences.
• Engagement levels dwarf email: Messenger campaigns regularly see 80–95% open rates, compared to 20–30% for email.
• Notable quote:

  "With messenger marketing, what we found is on average our broadcasts are getting anywhere from 80 to 90, sometimes even 95% open rates, whereas with email marketing, we were happy getting 20 to 30%."
  — Jayden Maharaj (01:41)

2. Tools for Messenger Marketing

• Requires third-party platforms to connect to Facebook Pages.
• Top Tools: ManyChat and Chatfuel are leading options. ManyChat is recommended for usability and community support.
  • "I personally use ManyChat for all of my campaigns as I found it to be basically the easiest to use." — Jayden (03:01)

3. Opt-In & List Building Mechanics

• People must opt-in to receive messages (can't send unsolicited messages).
• Opt-in methods include: clicking special URLs, Facebook Ads, or links from existing email and social audiences, making it frictionless (just two clicks versus filling out forms for email).
• "With messenger it's literally just two clicks to get someone opted into your list." — Jayden (04:13)

4. Using Automation and Chatbots

• Automation allows sequential follow-up, keeping the brand top of mind.
• Example: A gym gives away a free 7-day pass and sends automated nudges and reminders.
• Messenger sequences are akin to email drip campaigns, combining instant notifications (like SMS) with rich content capabilities (GIFs, video, segmentation).
• "Messenger is really an email, a mix of email marketing as well as text message marketing." — Jayden (06:29)

5. Key Differences From Email Marketing

• Messenger is highly interactive and personal—users can answer questions and interact in real-time, enabling dynamic segmentation and instant responses.
• Marketers must not rely solely on Messenger: "You're playing on Facebook's turf… get them onto different channels so you can reach them with different touch points." (07:15)
• Messaging fatigue risk: Easier to annoy users—frequency and messaging should adapt to user preferences (how often/what topics).

6. Growth of Messenger and Other Chat Platforms

• Growth in messaging apps outpaces main Facebook platform usage. Users favor more one-to-one, private communication.
• "If they do share, they want to share it more one to one." — Ciaran (08:42)

7. Personalization & Segmentation

• Segment users by interests and preferences gleaned from their Messenger responses; deliver targeted, relevant content.
• Engagement is dramatically higher; up to 30–40% of users respond to segmentation questions (compared to 1–3% via email).
• "With messenger you might get 30, 40% of people saying, 'Hey, I like this, I like that.'" — Jayden (13:10)

8. Avoiding Pitfalls & Common Mistakes

• High potential to annoy—sending too many messages can quickly turn users off. Always ask for frequency/content preferences.
• Use Messenger as an opportunity to ask users about their interests/goals.
• Unsubscriptions are easier and more common than in email; always include easy opt-out options.
• "It's really easy to annoy someone through messenger than through email." — Jayden (10:21)

9. Reporting & Analytics

• Messenger bot platforms provide robust analytics: open rates, click-throughs, performance per message; allows rapid iteration and A/B testing.
• "You can break that down afterwards and see, okay, this message is something that people aren't engaging with, but this other message, a lot of people are..." — Jayden (14:13)

10. Best Practices for Effective Campaigns

• Map out your funnel before starting—know your objectives, touchpoints, and user pathways from opt-in to conversion.
• Provide value, personalize, and tailor your content based on user feedback.
• Keep opt-out easy and visible to prevent spam complaints and maintain trust.
• "You really need to know what you're trying to get out of Messenger... map everything out so that you can see." — Jayden (14:26)
• Recommended unsubscribe rates: 10-15% is normal (higher than email), especially as users may forget why they opted in.

11. E-commerce Integration

• Apps like Recart connect to Shopify for abandoned cart messaging.
• Messenger is a strong follow-up tool for prospects driven to stores via Facebook Ads.

12. Key Ingredients for Success

• Deeply understand your target audience
• Consistent value delivery tailored to evolving interests/goals
• Use Messenger to build relationships, not just to “blast” promotions

Memorable Moments & Notable Quotes

• On user engagement (Open rates):
  “Our broadcasts are getting anywhere from 80 to 90, sometimes even 95% open rates, whereas with email marketing we were happy getting 20 to 30%.” (01:41, Jayden)

• On segmentation:
  "You can create segments... and basically create different pockets of your audience that you know are interested in, for example, email marketing..." (09:24, Jayden)

• On personalization and consent:
  "Literally asking, 'Hey, you know, how often should we send you messages?' Because some people are going to want messages every few days. Some people might only want like a wrap up once a week." (10:21, Jayden)

• On avoiding over-messaging:
  "It's a lot easier to annoy someone through messenger than through email." (10:21, Jayden)

• On multi-channel importance:
  "You always want to collect these people's emails... You're playing on Facebook's turf and we don't know what's going to happen... get them onto different channels..." (07:15, Jayden)

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment | |:-------------:|:----------------------------------------------| | 00:31 | Jayden Maharaj introduces Axis Marketing | | 01:41 | Messenger open rates vs. email | | 03:01 | Recommended Messenger marketing tools | | 04:13 | Building Messenger subscriber lists | | 05:40 | Using automation & drip sequences | | 06:29 | Messenger vs. Email/SMS hybrids | | 07:15 | Risks of relying only on Messenger | | 09:24 | Personalization and segmentation in Messenger | | 10:21 | Pitfalls and frequency management | | 13:10 | Engagement: Messenger vs. email response rate | | 14:13 | Reporting and analytics capabilities | | 14:26 | Planning out Messenger campaigns | | 16:28 | Unsubscribe best practices and rates | | 18:19 | E-commerce integration (Shopify, Recart) | | 18:52 | Final advice: listen and tailor content | | 19:36 | Jayden’s resources and Facebook group |

Recommendations & Additional Resources

• Join Jayden’s Facebook Group: For community support and learning (“Axis Marketing” Facebook group; link in the show notes).
• AxisMarketing.co: Jayden’s site for more resources.
• ManyChat & Chatfuel: Leading Messenger automation platforms to explore.
• Experiment & Analyze: Start with your current audience/email list to build Messenger opt-ins, and continuously analyze engagement metrics to improve.

Conclusion

Messenger Marketing stands as a powerful, emerging tool for digital marketers—with engagement rates and personalization potential that far outpace traditional email. However, its intimacy and directness require marketers to pay careful attention to user preferences, opt-in/opt-out ease, and thoughtful content strategy. Used well, Messenger can be a cornerstone for meaningful, ongoing customer conversations.