WhatsApp Business now has over 200 million users, the company revealed as part of its announcement discussing some updates coming for small businesses. The Meta-owned company said that businesses will soon be able to run Click-to-WhatsApp ads on Facebook and Instagram without having an account on these platforms.
Businesses will be able to use the WhatsApp Business app to create, purchase, and publish ads on Facebook and Instagram, the company said in a blog post. They just need an email address and a payment mode to get started with Click-to-WhatsApp ads that can appear in places like News Feed, Marketplace, and Stories.
The users who click on these ads on Facebook and Instagram will be redirected to the business' chat page on WhatsApp so they can ask questions about the product and make purchases. "These ads are one of the most powerful ways to drive potential customers to message them on WhatsApp and this will open new opportunities for WhatsApp-only small businesses that need a simpler way to get started with advertising," it said.
WhatsApp will bring another paid feature that will allow businesses to send personalized messages to their customers automatically. For instance, they can send updates about upcoming sales, birthday greetings, or appointment reminders, etc.
The feature will allow businesses to group customers into different lists based on the context. They will be able to send messages to a list with a customizable call-to-action button and schedule the date and time as well. While there is no word on how much the messages will cost, WhatsApp said it will begin testing the feature soon and drop more details in the future.
Earlier this month, the instant messaging app also rolled out the Channels feature in Colombia and Singapore as part of the Updates tab. The feature allows admins to send one-way messages to their followers similar to Telegram. WhatsApp said it wants to support admins who want to build a business around their channel.
