FB launches ‘bot makeover contest’ for small businesses

San Francisco, November 21 (IANS): Inspired by small businesses who are using Facebook Messenger to connect with their communities and customers, the social media giant has announced the launch of the first-ever “bot makeover contest”. In partnership with the bot development platform ManyChat, the contest will have 3 winners who will receive $5,000 each in ad credits.   They will also get a makeover to their Messenger experience courtesy ManyChat, along with consultation from Messenger experts, Facebook said in a blog post late on Monday. “For small business owners looking to get started on Messenger on Tuesday, we will be partnering with small business expert Gene Marks for a Facebook Live panel about Messenger best practices,” the company said.   According to a recent Facebook-commissioned study by Nielsen, 63% of the people said their messaging with businesses has increased over the past 2 years, and 67% expect to message businesses even more over the next 2 years. In fact, in 2017 alone, over 330 million people connected with a small business on Messenger for the first time. More than 1.2 billion people on Facebook are connected to a small business in another country, out of which over 250 million people are connected to a business in India. Also, 42% of the people on Facebook in India are now connected to at least one small and medium business (SMB) in a foreign country and 65% of Indians are connected to at least one domestic SMB.