And what happens when you disable the ‘allow user input’ option?
In answer to the above question, f**k all in the case of JeezusBot. I turned off the ‘allow user input’ button at 10.01am on the 24th April 2017 and since then, nothing has happened — and you know why?- because JeezusBot either offers zero value or…he offers zero value.
Retracing my steps in terms of creating JeezusBot there has been some interesting learnings;
- User engagement — unless you know your target audience, expect limited interaction; even friends, family or work colleagues will not necessarily offer you a steady flow of interested users as their understanding or levels of interest are not either provoked or met at the surface view level .
- Facebook promoted posts — make sure your posts are targeted and not just the default settings as the target demographic is to vast. You don’t have to spend a lot to learn this, I spent £5.00.
- Gamification and humour are important to retain user engagement and drive more interactions through a singular conversation. Also, remember that your own personal humour may not translate to a wider and diverse audience.
- The option to contact the ‘creator’ of the bot has limited value; users appear to want to interact with the bot only.
- Users are interested in the intelligence level of the bot and will often have a preconceived idea about the richness of the engagement; if that expectation isn’t met, it can lead to immediate user dissatisfaction.
- Remember, you could have your bot ‘Blocked’; invariably, some users may have one interaction with your bot and then decided they are no longer interested. Be prepared for rejection — new tech doesn’t always equate to interest if poorly executed.
- Repetition is not a great user experience; if your bot cannot answer a question and/or query and simply defaults to the ‘Welcome message’; chances are your user will either try another conversation branch or give up — the latter is more likely than the former.
The journey continues….
