A brief introduction to Facebook
Facebook has increased its business over time and today it stands as one of the top social networking sites and also has more than 2.3 billion monthly active users as of December 2018 which has led to the development of Facebook Messenger, Facebook Watch and Facebook Portal.
A brief introduction to Facebook Messenger
Facebook messenger was originally known as Facebook chat in 2008. The company refurbished its messaging services in 2010 and detached the messaging interface only to release distinct iOS and Android apps in 2011.
Apart from just chatting the application also supports playing games, having five accounts open and up and running at the same time and end to end encryption. The application was found to have 1.2 billion users in April 2017.
Messenger codes
Now if you are using Facebook Messenger for quite some time then you would have definitely noticed some strange pattern of dots and dashes revolving around your Facebook profile picture somewhere in the messenger application. Those are known as messenger codes/ parametric codes/ scan codes.
Now there must be questions arising in your mind as to what are these messenger codes, what is their purpose, how to make these codes. The answers are really simple. A messenger code is essentially a unique code consisting of dots and dashes that revolve around your profile picture and can be seen in the messenger app.
These codes vary from account to account that’s why it is unique. Secondly, it helps make the process of chatting with anyone known or unknown very lucid provided they have a messenger code too.
Creation and usage of messenger codes in day to day purposes
Creating a messenger code is a facile task. All you need to do is open the messenger app then tap on your profile photo on the upper left-hand corner of the home screen. Your messenger code will appear at the top of the new screen.
Tap on that to open a window where you can see “my code” on the right side and “scan code” on the left side of the screen. You can either save your messenger code to your camera roll or share your messenger code via other social media platforms. For business purposes, you can also connect your messenger code to a sales bot or a chatbot.
Now messenger codes have two distinguished benefits. Firstly, if you are making a messenger code for your personal use, it becomes pretty straightforward for your friends to reach you or contact you on Facebook.
If there are too many profiles with the same name then by using messenger codes it becomes easier for you to find the person you are looking for. Secondly, speaking of the business field, according to a survey almost every offline job is now prospering with leaps and bounds when linked to online marketing strategies and networking facilities and in doing so QR codes have played a major role.
Just think of it one scan and then you are directed to all the information you need about the product you are consuming. Similar is the work of messenger codes when used for business purposes but both of them are not the same thing.
When you scan a Quick Response code a predetermined action will be triggered but when you scan a messenger code it will automatically take you to a chatbot or a chat head in messenger.
Plus messenger codes are more visually appealing than just dull black and white QR codes. All you need is the Facebook messenger app, which already most of the people have on their phones, to scan these codes and then you are automatically connected to chatbots or messenger chat heads of the company or firm or business. Here are some of the innovative uses of messenger codes in the business field.
Business card implementations
If you are running a business, then you can print your messenger code on your business card, brochure, visiting card, article, etc then your customers or clients will be able to reach you in a more effortless and efficient way. The only thing you have to do is to pursue your clients to scan the messenger code.
Once scanned then Facebook messenger will automatically link them to a sales bot or chatbot. The sales bot will fix appointments as well as provide more information about your business. A 24 hour follow up on your chatbot will be like a cherry on top of the cake because most people won’t be interested to talk to a bot for long hours.
Retail
There are numerous usage opportunities for messenger codes in retail. In China, QR codes are a prominent dominating feature in retail. Imagine messenger codes on food items. One scan and you will be able to see the ingredients, their nutritional values and etc. Take another example of the clothing industry. One scan can direct you to the company’s chatbot who in turn would provide information about the sizes of the clothing, availability of stocks, pricing and other necessary details.
Job recruitment boards
Scan codes could be a boon for job boards. On a daily basis, you would find advertisements for job opportunities and vacant positions. Using scan codes in ads will directly advance the job seekers into the application process. The scan codes if connected to chatbots will answer questions regarding the vacant position, requirement or qualification.
Private Tutoring
Parametric codes can be a blessing for private tutors as well. Students can easily enroll for private classes via the scan codes. They can get necessary details regarding class timings, fees, and other facets.
Offline Advertisement
Offline advertisement can be made more and more interactive using messenger codes. Just think of it how many people actually see offline ads. Very few, right? So why not combine your offline marketing expertise along with integrated messenger codes to help attract more general folks towards your business. You can also recruit different parametric codes for different segments of your ads.
Conclusion
The usage of messenger codes is not only limited to only these few ways. There can be several other usages of messenger codes probably in better ways. With the advancement of technology, more and more opportunities for publicity and marketing strategies are popping up.
Messenger codes have a massive slot in the marketing department. It provides for cheap but efficient marketing but the only problem that is overshadowing its benefits is the fact that not many people are well exposed to this feature of the social media platform.