Facebook Messenger to get new lead gen templates, appointment booking

Messenger’s new lead gen template.

Messenger is rolling out two new features for businesses: lead generation templates and an appointment booking interface that will integrate with calendar platforms. The new tools were launched during Facebook’s F8 Developers Conference that kicked-off on Tuesday.

The lead gen templates are housed directly in Facebook’s Ads Manager platform. Businesses will be able to create an automated question and answer flow that will be delivered via Messenger when someone clicks on a News Feed ad offering a chat option. The booking feature involves an interface within the Messenger Platform API and can be integrated with calendar systems so that customers can see a business’s availability and book their appointment based on open time slots.

Why we should care

Both new features offer brands the opportunity to close the communication gap with potential customers, giving them a personalized experience via Messenger. Facebook reports General Motors was able to generate 3,000 leads in eight weeks time via the lead gen template they created with their development partner Smarters.

Sephora had early access to the appointment book feature in Messenger and worked with Assist to build its booking experience. The beauty company saw a 50 percent increase for in-store bookings compared to other channels using the new Messenger feature.

More on the news

• Both General Motors and Sephora teamed up with development partners to create their automated Messenger experiences, highlighting the need for brands to work with companies that understand the technology and nuance of creating automated experiences.
• Facebook said both features are still in beta, but will launch later this year.
• Facebook reports users and businesses are currently exchanging over 20 billion messages over Messenger each month, according to their internal data from April.