On 19th May, Meta held its first-ever business event ‘Conversations’ on the future of customer communication and business messaging, announcing the global launch of ‘WhatsApp Cloud API’ and introducing Facebook’s latest broadcast feature ‘Recurring Notifications’. Businesses can build deeper connections with their customers through WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram at a more affordable price.
Meta next focus: WhatsApp, Facebook for Conversational Commerce
Our work arrangements, ways of living and even spending habits have been changed since the pandemic began. Customers are expecting a speedy and accurate response from the merchants. Through chat commerce, online shopping, restaurant and flight reservations… have become much easier.
The best businesses meet their customers where they are.
– Mark Zuckerberg, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Meta
More than 1 billion users connect with a business account across WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and Instagram Direct every week, and the number of conversational commerce users is expected to increase. 65% of customers prefer to use messaging rather than email or phone; 50% of U.S. adults do online shopping through ‘conversations’, 62% of whom are 25 – 34 years old.
Conversational commerce is gradually becoming a market trend, and Meta is accelerating the business development of WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, empowering businesses to seize new opportunities through conversations.
1. WhatsApp Cloud API for all businesses
Meta announced WhatsApp Cloud API is now available to all businesses worldwide in the event. As the official partner of Meta, Omnichat is happy to assist brands on Cloud API application. Not only can brands avoid the complicated application procedures, but they can also enjoy free cloud hosting server fees.
Businesses and developers can build on top of WhatsApp to customise their solutions and thus provide positive experiences to customers. The first 1,000 WhatsApp Business conversations per month are free of charge. A conversation includes all messages delivered within a 24-hour period. Further cost reduction of WhatsApp Business API is definitely good news for businesses.
Omnichat has offered professional chat commerce business solutions. The advantages of using Omnichat are as follows:
- Integrate all communication channels including WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, LINE, WeChat and Website live chat into one place.
- Manage the conversations of multiple branches and team members at the same time. Customer service, marketing, branch sales representatives and management teams can access the conversations anytime, anywhere.
- Sales representatives can be bound to customers through WhatsApp, so the sales performance can be tracked and measured whether customers shop online or offline.
2. Facebook Recurring Notifications
Facebook’s 24-hour rule only allows brands to send promotional messages to customers who have interacted with the page in the last 24 hours. Using Recurring Notifications, brands can send proactive, personalised, and automated messages that drive leads, sales and re-engagement, such as product recommendations or new offers.
Businesses can customise the message content, and choose to send a message daily, weekly or monthly.
- Daily: Send one message daily for 6 months.
- Weekly: Send one message every seven days for 9 months.
- Monthly: Send one message every 30 days for 12 months.
This new feature is currently free of charge and it is expected to be on Instagram this fall.
Many brands have already taken the lead, using Facebook Recurring Notifications for remarketing through Omnichat.
Messaging has become an important and powerful tool to grow your brand, get new customers and reach business goals. Ready to get started? Get in touch with our consultants and learn more!
