How App Deep Linking to Messenger Can Yield a 12x Return on Ad Spend

Social marketing continues to spark an ongoing revolution in the ecommerce and apparel industries. New brands are launching every day and a hyper-competitive marketplace is inspiring not only great design but innovative marketing technologies that improve the customer experience. Consumers are embracing all types of new innovations including chatbots with Facebook Messenger which are fast becoming a standard tool for customer service and sales. This case study explains how using Facebook Messenger marketing bots in combination with app deep links can dramatically increase your return on ad spend.

The Objective

Chatbots are a proven tool that can help drive sales but having a smooth implementation across channels is key. Even the simplest roadblock in the consumer journey can translate into thousands of dollars in lost sales. Jonathan Villa, founder of digital marketing firm Adegy Push, discovered this when running an ad campaign on Facebook and Instagram. The link behind the ad sent the visitor to a landing page which linked to the consumer to the company's Facebook Messenger profile for the brand which connected the consumer to the bot experience. Although the CTR was higher than expected, engagement with the bot and revenue did not follow and were close to zero.

Confidence and buzz around the brand was high as evidenced by the company's success in other marketing channels. Jonathan realized that something was disrupting the consumer journey and he had a feeling it was the link behind the Messenger icon on the landing page which took the visitor to the website for Messenger. The problem was that the Messenger website required the user to login. That was unnecessary because chat apps are in a persistently logged-in state but the regular Messenger profile link could not open the app. What Jonathan needed was a no-tech app deep linking solution for Facebook Messenger that could open the app on iOS or Android.

“We found a deep linking solution for Messenger that immediately solved the login issue yet didn’t require any technical setup. The results exceeded our expectations. The deep link for Messenger helped us unlock an additional $220,000 in incremental revenue over two months.”

– Jonathan Villa, Founder Adegy Push

Jonathan researched deep linking solutions and was looking for something that was easy-to-use and didn’t require any technical implementation. Equally important was a solution that could be tested and proven at no cost.

The Solution

Jonathan discovered that deep linking platforms designed for marketers and agencies don't require any technical resources. The deep link can be created easily by pasting the Facebook Messenger link into the platform. For Jonathan's campaign, the deep link was placed behind the Facebook Messenger icon on the web landing page in place of the regular Messenger profile link.

In addition to solving the login issue, app deep linking would also help capitalize on the ability to retarget potential consumers once they hit the landing page and began engaging with the bot. It is critical to get as many prospects into the Messenger app as possible. Prior to using the app deep link for Messenger, consumers were hitting the web login for Messenger and then abandoning their shopping journey.

The customer was losing out on a deeper level of engagement with prospects and customers who then became retargeting opportunities. App deep linking solved that problem immediately and seamlessly by allowing consumers to continue shopping and to easily learn more about the products by engaging with the bot.

The Results

The results of combining the bot strategy with app deep linking were outstanding. Over two months, Villa’s company helped the fashion and apparel client generate an additional $220,000 of incremental revenue which was directly attributed to a $17,000 spend on Facebook and Instagram ads crushing the customer’s revenue objectives.

Simple problems need simple, powerful solutions that enhance the customer experience. The results can be the difference between profit and a happy client.