WhatsApp Business Crosses 200 million Users; Mark Zuckerberg announces new features for business users

Meta, the parent company of popular social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, consistently strives for seamless integration among its platforms. It prioritizes harmonizing features across these platforms and regularly introduces updates that facilitate their interconnectedness.

In a recent communication by Mark Zuckerberg, the company announced a significant milestone for WhatsApp Business, the messaging platform designed for small businesses. It has surpassed 200 million monthly users, a substantial increase from its 50 million user count in 2020.

Building on this achievement, the CEO of Meta also unveiled two exciting updates; the ability to create ads without needing a Facebook account and the introduction of new paid optional messaging features. These developments aim to provide enhanced advertising opportunities and expanded functionality for businesses on the platform.

“Starting soon we’ll begin testing a new feature within the WhatsApp Business app where small businesses will have the option to send personalised messages to their customers — like appointment reminders, birthday greetings or even updates on a holiday sale — in a faster and more efficient way,” the company said in a statement.

The company further explains that this new personalized feature will allow businesses to send personalised messages that include the customer’s name and customizable call-to-action buttons. These messages can be targeted to specific customer lists, such as those labeled as “VIP customers” or “new customers.” Additionally, businesses will have the flexibility to schedule the day and time for sending these messages, as well as track their performance to see what strategies are effective.

Premium messaging services

Small businesses often face challenges when it comes to effectively engaging with their customers due to various limitations. While larger organizations have been able to leverage the WhatsApp Business API to connect with their customer base, small businesses have struggled to access similar functionalities.

To address this, WhatsApp is introducing premium messaging services that will empower small businesses to create campaign messages using customizable templates. With this new feature, small businesses can send tailored promotions, reminders, or updates on holiday sales, enabling them to engage with and reach their clients more effectively.

With the introduction of these new features, WhatsApp is providing small businesses with an opportunity to engage with their customers seamlessly. This is particularly targeted at those who face difficulties reaching their customers at the moment. The said feature is still under development, but the message by Mark Zuckerberg indicates that these features will be rolled out soon.

Paid messaging

Small businesses will benefit from the introduction of these optional paid messaging options because they will be able to effectively control their communication budget. Businesses may use these improved messaging capabilities and simply manage their budgets by limiting the cost associated with each message they send by paying a fee, which may vary from country to country.

As per WABetaInfo, when the feature is in development, businesses can make sure they always stay within their allotted budget while maximising client engagement with the option to manage and monitor messaging charges.

Create ads on Facebook and Instagram

What’s more, users of the business app will be able to generate Facebook and Instagram advertising without a Facebook account, as revealed by Mark Zuckerberg in his announcement. By sponsoring a post on Facebook that contains a click-to-chat button that goes to a WhatsApp conversation with the business, this connection absolutely eliminates the requirement for a Facebook account, making it easier to run advertising and engage with possible new clients.

Users will soon be able to download these features through the latest update of WhatsApp Business for Android from the Google Play Store and WhatsApp Business for iOS from the App Store or the TestFlight app.

Earlier, WhatsApp rolled out a feature for both its Android and iOS users wherein users are allowed to share short video messages that are up to 60 seconds long. With this function, users can instantly record and transmit video messages. As a result, the user’s messages are intercepted to be more genuine, and the interaction is better. When recipients receive video messages as opposed to pre-recorded videos, they can assume that the message was most recently recorded rather than at any previous time. WhatsApp has been on a roll to introduce new features for its users.

Meta has revealed that this enhanced feature will come with a cost and will be accessible through the WhatsApp Business app. More information about pricing and implementation will be shared by the company soon.