At the most recent Facebook Developers Conference F8, “the Book” shared some pretty amazing Messenger stats, including that 20 billion messages are exchanged between people and businesses each month. Maybe you’ve already seen some success leveraging Messenger as part of your marketing plan, but have you explored what Messengerbots can do for you? That’s the topic Lars Maat, Messengerbot Specialist, will take on this month at PPC Hero London conference. We had a chance to sit down and talk with him about his advocacy of Messengerbots and more.
Can you give us some insights into what PPC Hero London attendees will learn in your session “How Messengerbots Will Affect Your Marketing Strategy And Increase Your Revenue”?
Sure! My main goal is to convince attendees that Messengerbots are not scary, are here to stay and are here to increase revenue for them and their clients! I’ve found that many marketers haven’t heard from this relatively new trend and if so, they haven’t act on it. And I think that’s a shame. I see the potential of Messengerbot marketing daily and I really think that others should to. So I’m travelling the world to do so 😉
The attendees will learn the basics (what is it, how does it work), the possibilities (how can you build a bot, how do you promote a bot) and also the benefits. If I can get the audience fired up about this topic, than I have succeeded.
Have you participated in a PPC Hero event before?
Yes! I’ve been here 3 times before and to be honest, it was the first foreign event I ever visited. So it’s become an annual tradition for me now. What I really love is the diversity of the line-up; you have the choice of so many great presentations and topics. And they are all PPC-based. So as a PPC marketer; this is the place to be!
What tips do you have for attendees to maximize their time on-site at PPC Hero London?
What I normally do when I visit a conference is have a look at the agenda first. Which sessions are a must-see and which sessions do you think are just interesting. This way, you can make your schedule and prepare properly for the event!
Also, I like to look up the presenters on Twitter and LinkedIn before the event. Just to see if they have some interesting content available already.
The worst thing is when you have two sessions you would like to see at the same time. If you know that before the event, you can reach out to the presenter on LinkedIn or Twitter to ask if the slides will be available. Hopefully one of the two presenters will have their slides available which makes your choice easier.
At the event, you really want to follow the hashtag. Keeps you up to date about the sessions you couldn’t make.
Other than your own session, what presentations are you most interested in attending and why?
Obviously you want to check out Frederick Vallaeys. He is presenting a keynote after my own presentation. He always has some interesting ideas. Also, I’m really curious to see the presentation from Helen Freeman on the 2nd day. I don’t know her myself but the company she works for, Impression, is really great!
What do you think is the most interesting trend in digital advertising now?
I think you can guess this already 😉 Messengerbot marketing! And you want to know why I think that? Come follow my session and you’ll see it yourself!
What are the top tools or apps you use almost every day and why?
Here’s my list of tools which aren’t that obvious for online marketers that go beyond Google Analytics, Google Ads etc. At the moment I really love ManyChat (Messengerbot marketing tool) and Zapier (let’s you automate pretty much everything). Specially Zapier; I think around 80% of the campaigns we run for clients are in one way or another connected with Zapier. If you don’t know it, you should check it out.
What was the worst job you ever had and what did you learn from it?
That’s a difficult question… After high school I immediately rolled in to online marketing and I really love that actually. So if I have to name one, it would be me delivering newspapers twice a week when I was about 14 years old.
What people have influenced your thinking (and why) and might be of interest to others?
I read a lot of books just to get inspired and don’t stay in my own loop of thoughts. And one book that really changed my life is “Goals” by Brian Tracy. It made me think about what I wanted and how I wanted to achieve that. I can truly say that after that book, my life changed rapidly.
Another recommendation I can give is “The One Minute Manager” by Ken Blanchard. But that’s purely for C-level.
What is your favorite quote?
I don’t really have a favorite quote but I love music and one lyric that is standing out for me at this moment is (from rapper NF) : “Everybody is living to die, but not everybody is dying to live”.
What advice would you give yourself when you first got started in digital advertising?
Just do it. There is so much free information online about digital advertising and to be fair, it’s really not that hard to start if you know the possibilities. Also make sure to be on top of the trends. The online world is rapidly changing all the time so you want to keep up! Some of my favorite sources are Search Engine Land, Facebook Press Releases, Google Blogs, Jon Loomer, Chrys Tan..
Bio: My name is Lars Maat and I have over 10 years of experience in online advertising on various platforms. I’m dedicated to informing prospects and customers the advantages of working with messengerbots, based upon the mind-blowing results we’ve seen for our clients so far. My company, Maatwerk Online, runs campaigns in more than 10 countries and is a Google Premier Partner and a ManyChat Agency Partner. I’m personally I am proud to have all the Google Ads certifications, Google Analytics certification, Bing Ads certification and Facebook certification.