When I was doing some reading on a Monday and looking to find my #GoodReadMonday for my Twitter channel. I came across an article by Later.com where they had explored the topic of managing appointments directly through Facebook or Instagram.
This made me want to explore this topic in further detail
and also provide you with some valuable use cases. This might be the perfect
feature if you are a service-based business and just don’t have the money to
spend each month on a booking management software.
If you use this option you save on having to guide your
clients to download a brand new app just so they can book appointments with
you, which can be one of the biggest issues when it comes to getting your clients
to book a service with you. 95% of Facebook visits are made on smartphones and tablets, making booking your services on the go even more important.
Keep reading if you want to know how to get set up.
How to get set up on this service - Facebook
In order for you to get started, you will first need a
Facebook page. If you haven’t set one of those up then I suggest doing so as it
only takes a few minutes.
Once you have a page then click on the blue button that says
“Add a Button”. Here you will be given a few options on what kind of call to
action button you can apply.
Click on “Make a booking with you”. Then choose “Book Now”.
You will then be given the option to either choose Appointments
on Facebook or Link to website. Now select Appointments on Facebook.
Facebook then provides you with a little more clarification
on what exactly this feature can offer you. Make sure to check this over so
that it can align with your business goals. If you are happy with that then click
“Start Setup”, then click “Next”.
You will need to now select the possible times that you will
be available for bookings during a typical week.
Once you have set up your availability then you can start to
customise some of the settings for this service. Choose to make sure that each
booking is sent to you so that you approve it before going ahead with the
booking. You can choose to let clients book you in advance. What could be a true
time saver is to sync these appointments via your Google Calendar.
Then select Next to proceed. Now comes the time where you
show your clients what kind of services you can provide for them. Click “Add a service”
and then “Done”.
Be sure to add as much information as possible when listing
your services, this helps the clients make their decision before booking with
you.
Once you have added your first service it’s now time to list
your availability. So select the service you wish to list and click on “Create
Appointment”.
You are all set up. If you wish to set up more services in
the future, click on “Appointments” then “Appointment settings” under “Services
list” you can add more services if you provide anymore.
How to get set up on this service – Instagram
In order for you to get set up on Instagram first, you will
need to add a Facebook page to set this up. With Instagram, you will be able to
set up this button with a third party such as Acuity Scheduling, Appointy or Booksy.
Below is a full list of the third-party options.
Acuity Scheduling
Appointy
Appointments by Square
Avec
BeautyDate
Bookatable
Booksy
Chope
Eventbrite
Fresha
Genbook
GetSquire
Gettimely
GlassGenius
Gopanache
Gurunavi
Jasper’s Ristorante
MyTme
OpenTable
Quandoo
Reserve
Restorando
Resy
Salon Iris
Schedulicity
Schedulista
Setmore
SevenRooms
Shore
StyleSeat
TheFork
Tock
Treatwell
Vagaro
Yelp
I have to be honest I didn’t know what link to provide when adding
Appointments via the Instagram app so I would suggest following the instructions
below which are done via the Facebook page for your business.
If you have a Facebook page set up, go to your page settings
and choose “Instagram”. Connect an Instagram account to your page if you haven’t
already done so.
Then head to the Appointments tab Scroll down to see “Instagram”
then you will be able to Add Book Button.
Check your Instagram account to see the button in action.
Examples of the button in action
If you need a little bit more convincing from this post then
check out some of the use cases I found on Instagram.
