Since launching our Bot Shop in April, more than two billion messages have been exchanged with bots on Kik, and more than 20,000 bots have been created on our platform. We’ve learned a ton from working with hundreds of developers, brands, and partners, and we wanted to share those best practices with the community. Please note that each bot is unique.
Getting Started
Keep it Simple
Make your bot's username make sense - short and simple so users can remember it. Avoid names that require switching accounts.
Pick a Persona
Establish a personality for your bot and keep it consistent. Will it be formal? Sarcastic? Playful?
Include a Banner
Include a large banner with your bot submission to be considered for the Featured position in the Bot Shop. Featured bots generate 2X as many chatters on average than those without.
Keeping the Conversation Going
Start Chatting
Ensure that the bot initiates conversation when a user is ready to chat or scans the bot’s Kik code (start chatting and scan data functions).
Make a Good First Impression
The first message a user sees should be concise, provide a brief look into your bot’s purpose, and prompt engagement.
Use Suggested Responses
Suggested responses facilitate the flow of conversation and eliminate the chance for confusion on what a user needs to say in order to access the bot’s full potential.
Segment Your Audience
Get the user to answer some basic questions about themselves or record their opinion on hot topics. Broadcast tailored messages to specific user segments, not simply to every subscriber.
Be Consistent
In voice, function, and feel. If suggested responses are used once in the bot, use them throughout.
Be Conversational
Language used in suggested responses should be conversational, making the exchange feel natural (e.g., Use “What else can you do?” instead of simply “Back”)
Connect and Moderate
Allow users to connect and make meaningful relationships through your bot. But be sure all images, videos, and text are moderated before echoing them off to other users.
Ask Questions
Avoid sending messages that are statements without a question following soon after. Make sure conversations don’t end abruptly.
Sending Multiple Messages
This is tempting, but stay away from the one-sided conversation:
- Break It Down: Messages that need to include lots of information should be broken down into multiple messages to avoid bombarding the user with too much information at once.
- Add a Time Delay: Give users the chance to read each message before receiving the next one; adjust the time delay based on the length of the previous message sent.
Optimize Kik Features
Sending Text and Media Messages
On Kik, your bot can send video, links, and image message types to users. When sending media accompanied with text, send the rich media message first, followed by the text message to ensure no text gets cut off.
Receiving Message Types
Bots need to respond to all message types, so be creative about it. Start chatting and scan data messages are usually sent to your bot to start or re-enter the conversation. If you can’t handle images, stickers, or video, let the user know gracefully.
Catch-All Responses
For an optimal user experience, include a catch-all response for messages that don’t have a response. Be sure to always redirect the user back into the intended flow of conversation. This is a great time to use suggested responses.
Text and Picture-Suggested Responses
Suggested responses are designed to guide the chat flow for the user in a meaningful and entertaining way. Suggested responses are already a powerful way to interact with your users; picture-suggested responses expand on them and provide an amazing way to engage and retain chatters.
Invites
Add this suggested response type, encouraging your users to include their friends in your experience. Great uses of this feature include challenging friends to a game, sending secret notes, and sharing your bot with their friends.
Mentions
Users can subscribe to your bot by mentioning it to their friends. Make sure your bot is optimized to add value when mentioned in a group or private chat.
Start Building!
Ready to jump in? Secure a bot username on the Bot Dashboard
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