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Hey Manychat community! 🌟 Trilce here with a nifty trick to supercharge your automation game. Ever find yourself tangled in creating separate flows for Facebook Messenger, Instagram DMs, and WhatsApp? Say goodbye to the hassle because I've got a solution that will streamline your efforts into one powerful automation.

🔗 Click here to see the 3 minute video tutorial

 

Introducing the Universal Flow Method:

This method allows you to create a single flow that can be triggered across multiple channels without duplicating work. Here's a quick breakdown of how to set it up:

  1. Create Your Automation: Start by crafting your new automation and name it something like "Opening Hours - All" to indicate it's designed for all channels.

  2. Set Up Conditions: We'll use conditions to direct the flow based on the channel the contact comes from. This is crucial since, currently, Meta doesn't recognize if a contact on Instagram is the same as on WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger.

  3. Channel-Specific Conditions: Add a condition for each platform—opted in for Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp. This setup ensures that the correct message gets delivered no matter the channel your contact uses.

  4. Why It Works (For Now): Given Meta's current limitations, this method effectively treats each contact separately per platform. However, keep in mind, should Meta evolve to unify account recognition across its ecosystem, adjustments to this strategy might be necessary.

  5. Set Up Your Triggers: Lastly, define triggers based on keywords like "location". This ensures that no matter where the message originates—be it Instagram, Messenger, or WhatsApp—the user receives the tailored response you've set up.
     

     

Why This Matters:

This approach not only saves time but also ensures consistency in your messaging across the most popular communication channels. It's a game-changer for businesses looking to maintain a unified brand voice while catering to their audience's preferred platforms.

Ready to Try It Out?

By following these steps, you'll be able to craft flows that are not just efficient but also incredibly versatile. Whether your audience reaches out on Messenger, Instagram, or WhatsApp, you'll be ready to engage them with the right message at the right time.

Dive in and start streamlining your automations today! 🚀

Let's keep innovating and sharing our successes. If you've tried this method or have other multi-channel tips, I'd love to hear about them. Together, we can make our automations smarter and our customer interactions more seamless.

 

Oh I can see this causing several issues….

In many cases, WhatsApp + Messenger/IG profiles are unified. At least with the accounts me and my students work with.

You trigger the automation from Meta’s social network with organic traffic (IG or FB), ask for the phone number, and associate the WhatsApp number to that existing profile on your ManyChat account (you need to do this through the API, but it’s the correct way to keep things tidy).

If you’re using IG/FB + WhatsApp in ManyChat this is the proper way to do it. It saves on your ManyChat bill since you’ll be paying for 1 contact (that has IG/WhatsApp), and not 2 contacts. It also helps you consolidate your customer information and be able to reach them in multiple channels when necessary.

 

So having a scenario like I mentioned with IG + WhatsApp, and considering the flow on the image, you could have the following problem/very likely scenario:

  • The person types ‘location’ in WhatsApp - this resets the 24hr rule in WhatsApp, and counts as one interaction. It effectively buys a window for you to talk to that person for the next 24 hours, through WhatsApp only.
  • The keyword triggers the flow, as expected.
  • The first condition checks that the person is an IG contact, so it goes down the second path, and tries to send the message in IG.
  • However, the 24hrs window is closed in IG. The message in IG will not go through.
  • Since the condition triggered on the 2nd option, the WhatsApp message option never triggers.
  • So the bottom line is:
    • Your WhatsApp bot becomes unresponsive - the customer never gets a reply
    • You miss the 24hrs window that you paid for on WhatsApp because your automation are messed up.

 

Sorry to disagree with you here @Trilce Jirón Garro, but my suggestion for multi-channel bots is: 

Keep channels separate and avoid headaches…

Which is exactly why I mention there can be issues if the contacts have the channels merged, which you would see if you watch the video 😊

This is wonderful! Is this something that you could share a template for? 

Oh I can see this causing several issues….

In many cases, WhatsApp + Messenger/IG profiles are unified. At least with the accounts me and my students work with.

You trigger the automation from Meta’s social network with organic traffic (IG or FB), ask for the phone number, and associate the WhatsApp number to that existing profile on your ManyChat account (you need to do this through the API, but it’s the correct way to keep things tidy).

If you’re using IG/FB + WhatsApp in ManyChat this is the proper way to do it. It saves on your ManyChat bill since you’ll be paying for 1 contact (that has IG/WhatsApp), and not 2 contacts. It also helps you consolidate your customer information and be able to reach them in multiple channels when necessary.

 

So having a scenario like I mentioned with IG + WhatsApp, and considering the flow on the image, you could have the following problem/very likely scenario:

  • The person types ‘location’ in WhatsApp - this resets the 24hr rule in WhatsApp, and counts as one interaction. It effectively buys a window for you to talk to that person for the next 24 hours, through WhatsApp only.
  • The keyword triggers the flow, as expected.
  • The first condition checks that the person is an IG contact, so it goes down the second path, and tries to send the message in IG.
  • However, the 24hrs window is closed in IG. The message in IG will not go through.
  • Since the condition triggered on the 2nd option, the WhatsApp message option never triggers.
  • So the bottom line is:
    • Your WhatsApp bot becomes unresponsive - the customer never gets a reply
    • You miss the 24hrs window that you paid for on WhatsApp because your automation are messed up.

 

Sorry to disagree with you here @Trilce Jirón Garro, but my suggestion for multi-channel bots is: 

Keep channels separate and avoid headaches…

Hola @Gustavo Boregio, llevo mucho tiempo usando esta forma de omnicanal, y para solucionar el inconveniente que mencionas creé un campo de usuario para cada canal, en cada campo se guarda la última interacción del contacto de cada canal, sé que ya hay un campo predeterminado en el sistema para cada usuario que ya hace esto, pero lo hago para poder hacer una comparación en un nodo de condición, ya que no puedes comparar campos predeterminados, entonces, antes del nodo que determina a que canal se debe enviar el mensaje, hay una acción que rellena los campos personalizados de última interacción de cada canal, para luego en un nodo de condición determinar en cuál canal fue la interacción más reciente, esta condición remplaza el nodo condicional de @Trilce Jirón Garro 

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