Meta is looking to capitalize on the 200 million users now catered to by WhatsApp Business, which previously stood at 50 million in 2020.
With ‘click-to-WhatsApp’ ads now accounting for a healthy part of the platform’s revenue, the Meta-owned messaging platform is now looking to expand that to allow users to generate ads without needing a Facebook account.
As part of the revisions to WhatsApp Business, companies will also be able to create ads for Facebook and Instagram from within the app.
WhatsApp Business is getting better
The news comes as Meta continues to battle a tough and changing economy during its so-called ‘Year of Efficiency’ which has seen it lay off thousands of workers and cut funding to several projects.
While the company has stated that it remains committed to artificial intelligence and the metaverse, ensuring a diverse selection of revenue streams is vital for sustainability, and given the four-fold increase in WhatsApp Business users, trying to eke out more money from SMBs and larger enterprises is a no-brainer.
The company has not confirmed how much the changes to its messaging app will cost, but we do know that the services will be chargeable thanks to a Reuters report.
Personalized messaging is also set to come to the platform, with the messaging app soon to be able to generate messages to customers to notify them of upcoming appointments, or for ecommerce businesses to advertise new products and sales, for example.
These changes represent an entire shift for the company as CEO Mark Zuckerberg looks to make more money from Meta’s messaging platforms, including WhatsApp and Messenger.
The company has not announced details on pricing as yet, but testing for the new features is expected to follow imminently before a full release, likely later this year.
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