Greetings, earthlings! Today we’re talking about bots (the good kind), and I’m going to let our web producer J.C. take the stage this time:
You cannot escape the bots. They are everywhere, putting a stop to misinformation and even checking in on your mental health.
Actually, it’s not even hard to make one for your Facebook page – especially if you’re using Chatfuel. Chatfuel has a drag-and-drop interface that lets you customize the interactions between your audiences and your bot. You don’t have to write a single line of code.
Your bot can also do more than jabber. It can start a chatroom with other users or share content using an RSS feed. It also has a “chat plugin” that lets users talk with your bot on your website.
If you’re a visual person, you could try ManyChat instead. It has a “flow builder” that maps out the prompts and responses for your bot.
There are lots of ways to use chatbots for engagement, but, as with most things, you get as much as you put into it. Try making one with Chatfuel or ManyChat, and it will give you a good idea of what will work best for your newsroom.
That, or you could just use it to re-enact scenes from Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
J.C. Lee is a freelance multimedia and web producer. You can get in touch with him through email or Twitter.