Facebook Messenger

You can use Facebook Messenger to send messages to your users, or engage with them in two way conversations, this guide will show you how to set this up and get started.

How can I use Facebook Messenger

What types of messages can I send?

Please ensure you have reviewed and comply with Facebook Messengers policies which can be found here.

Gaining permission

In order for you to contact your customers via Facebook Messenger you will need to gain permission from them. This can be achieved in a variety of ways as detailed below, and we can work with any of them:

Web Plugins

Facebook provides web plugins you can easily add to your web site at appropriate points to invite customers to allow you to interact via Facebook Messenger with them. The plugins are:

• Message Us - takes the person directly to Messenger and allows them to initiate a conversation with you
• Send to Messenger - allows to initiate a conversation with them in Messenger by providing a Facebook Messenger id for the customer

Find out more about how to use the Facebook web plugins with us here

Messenger Codes

You can place a scannable Messenger code on your app, web site or documentation to allow customers to scan it to initiate a conversation with you.

Facebook Instant Game Players

If you are creating Facebook Instant Games then you can message your players using our services to encourage re-engagement as detailed here. With Facebook Instant Games you can receive a callback when a player completes a gaming session, and part of the data about the player is a Facebook Messenger Id that can be used to contact the gamer. Simply use this value in the fbMessengerId field in the to block with the the One API to send message to them, or alternatively import them as profiles and use our Broadcast tool.

Setting Up Facebook

Create and publish your Facebook page

First steps are to create a Facebook page for your company / product you want to communicate from, if you already have a Facebook page then you can skip to the next section.

To setup a Facebook page please follow the guidance given here.

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Ensure your Facebook page is published

If you leave your Facebook page in an unpublished state you will not be able to send messages properly from your page. Please ensure it has been published prior to testing messaging.

Configuring the Messenger channel

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Facebook Page administrator required

In order to setup Facebook as a channel for your API Space you will need to be able to login as a administrator for your chosen Facebook page

Now you have finished setting up your Facebook page and activating Messenger, you need to configure the Facebook channel to the portal prior to using it. To do this follow the simple instructions below:

1. Open your API Space in the portal and select the Channels page from the menu on the left, and find the Messenger section (highlighted in green below)

2. To configure your Facebook Messenger channel click on the Edit button in the Messenger section

3. Click the Confirm button and ensure you have a login to Facebook with administrator rights to your chosen Facebook page
4. (If not logged into Facebook) Login as a page administrator for your chosen Facebook page
5. Select the Facebook page from the Choose one drop down that you want to use
6. Tick the Use Phone Number option if you have enabled Customer Matching on your Facebook page
7. Click Save to complete the setup

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Your Facebook administrators password changes

Please be aware that the token we generate whilst linking your Facebook page to us will be revoked when you next change the password for the Facebook administrator that was used to link the page, therefore please ensure you repeat the page linking after any password updates.

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The Facebook user must remain an administrator

It is crucial that the Facebook user used to setup the page link to us remains a Facebook administrator to your page for the system to work. If the user will lose administrator permissions to your page, it is essential that you repeat the page linking process described above with a new page administrator to avoid a loss of service on the this channel.

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You're done

Now that you have setup your Facebook page and configured the channel in the portal you are ready to send messages.

Now that you have setup your Facebook Messenger channel in the portal you are ready to start engaging your audience using the "One" API or using our Chat tool.

To find out more about sending to Facebook Messenger using the "One" API please check out the docs here