Do you ever have a sudden realization that you’ve been making things much harder on yourself regarding something than needed?
Recently I had such an epiphany when it came to my studio’s Facebook page.
A lot of people like to contact me through Facebook. I really hate messaging through Facebook and much prefer email however, it’s 2021 and that’s just how a lot of people work now.
95% of the time, the message sent to me via my studio Inbox is the same.
I’m interested in piano lessons for my 6 years old. Can you tell me more about your lessons and prices?
Yada, yada, yada. You get it.
One by one I would type out a reply. Sometimes I would get smart and cut and paste from previous messages and then customize a little from there.
Today, I was suddenly DONE.
I knew it had to be easy to create a generic automated message that would direct people to my website where I really wanted them to be. It took a little research (I mean, nothing is terribly intuitive with Facebook, am I right?) but it was no big deal once I found my way.
Today I want to share a quick 2-minute video to show you how you can also do this as well as give you a copy of my message you can use as a starter to craft your own.
Here’s my message:
Hi!
Your message has been received.
If you are inquiring about piano (or Ukulele) lessons, please visit this link to learn more about my studio, see if I have any openings, submit your name to my waiting list, or receive a list of other teachers available in the area.
https://studio88piano.com/contact/
If your message is about something other than the items listed above, I will do my best to reply within 24 hours.
Thank you and have a great day!
~Amy Chaplin
Owner, teacher
Studio 88
Be aware that Facebook limits you to 250 characters so you might have to get creative with your wording.
Lastly, it’s important to remember that automating something can also make it completely out of sight-out of mind. So, to make sure I wasn’t entirely disconnected from my studio’s Facebook Inbox, I set a reminder on my calendar to check it once a month, just to see what had come through and if I needed to follow up with anything in more detail.
Hi Amy,
I loved this post! It was a good reminder that this was on my to-do list.
One of the nice things about this Facebook “Instant Reply” feature is the ability to add the person’s name to the message to personalize it, but also to add your website as a link as well. These features can be found just below the text box & by clicking “+ Add customer’s name”. This will give you several options, including your website URL.
Thanks, Amy!
Cool…thanks for sharing!