You have used Facebook Messenger to engage with your Facebook fans.

You might also have used WhatsApp to connect with business owners who have their phone numbers displayed on their websites or pages.

Now, Facebook is bridging the gap between Facebook and WhatsApp by using WhatsApp Business for small businesses and WhatsApp API for larger organizations.

WhatsApp Business API Is Pushing Businesses to Communicate with Their Customers

If you have already set up your WhatsApp Business account, you might already know that you can set up automated responses and quick replies for common FAQs.

Currently, access to WhatsApp Business API is very limited, and you will need to submit a form to Facebook for a chance to access this feature.

As mentioned in the heading above, WhatsApp Business API is putting customers first, encouraging businesses to respond faster to inquiries and feedbacks.

WhatsApp Business API Charges for Messages or Replies That Occur 24 Hours After Customers’ Last Message

While businesses can reply their customers and send them messages completely free of charge within a 24-hour window, any responses given after the duration will be charged.

This means that WhatsApp Business API may not be as suitable for marketing purposes or announcement blasting, since the API is marginally encouraging businesses not to speak unless they are spoken to first.

Businesses seeking for these features could be better off using WhatsApp Business or Facebook Messenger first.

Hotels, Airlines, Banks & E-Commerce Stores Are Using WhatsApp Business API

Uber, Singapore Airlines, Booking.com, Melia Hotels, Wish & Bank BRI are just among the few customers that are currently using WhatsApp Business API. Perhaps this gives a rough idea of the scale of businesses using WhatsApp Business API.

If you are running a small business instead of a medium or large one, we strongly suggest that you use the WhatsApp Business app, which has a comprehensive range of features on its own.

Since access to WhatsApp Business API is very limited, rumours have been spreading about its requirements - including where a business is based and how many messages they need to spend each month with not much confirmation from WhatsApp.

WhatsApp Business API - From Booking Confirmations to Shipment Tracking & Virtual Personal Banking Assistant

Booking.com users can obtain their booking confirmations from the website or directly contact the hotel regarding their reservations with this API.

Bank BRI uses WhatsApp Business API to help their end users with common inquiries and solutions as a virtual assistant.

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines is using this API to send flight information and documents, as well as to serve as a dedicated 24/7 available social media support for their customers.

Wish helps their customers to keep track of their orders and shipments.

How you want to utilize WhatsApp Business API is ultimately up to you, but we do suggest trying the normal WhatsApp Business app first. If you find yourself in need of more extensions and features, you can try contacting Facebook for your access to this API.

Just be sure to have your developers ready to set the API up correctly for you!

People are messaging more than they were in the past two years, and it’s transforming the customer buying journey.

In our previous article about WhatsApp Business, we have revealed that people are messaging businesses more and more.

When asked about why customers are opting to message businesses instead of through other contacting options, 61% responded that messaging is the easiest, most convenient way to contact a business.

Why Customers Are Messaging Businesses 

From the same survey conducted last year, the result revealed that over 49% of the surveyed correspondents who prefers messaging over other contact methods say that they can get more truthful responses via messaging.

Over 50% agrees that messaging businesses get them better advice and care, and over 59% say that they were able to get faster response time by doing so.

More than half of the users who message a business to ask questions, make purchases or give feedbacks to the business also feel more confident and connected to the brand.

Business messaging is transforming the customers’ buying journey, and WhatsApp Business could be the next revolutionary tool that connects businesses to customers this year.

Click-to-WhatsApp Ads Are On The Way

Facebook users would already be familiar with the ‘Message Now’ ads that will allow them to contact a business on Facebook directly.

In the near future, Click-to-WhatsApp Ads will be possible under the ‘Messaging’ ad objective during ad setup.

Businesses will need to connect their WhatsApp Business account with their Facebook Business Account to start running these ads once it becomes available in our region.

Connecting WhatsApp Business to your Facebook Business Account

Users with an existing WhatsApp Business account can head to their Facebook Business Manager and look for the WhatsApp Manager section once available to connect their WhatsApp Business phone number.

A step-by-step guide has been made available on Facebook regarding this function, but this feature has yet to be widely released.

Meanwhile, business owners can continue to share their WhatsApp Business short links on their page to encourage users to WhatsApp them for any inquiries.

If you search for ‘WhatsApp’ on PlayStore or App Store, you might find an identical app under your expected listing.

It’s called ‘WhatsApp Business’.

WhatsApp Business is optimized for small businesses, and it could be the next big thing that transforms your business.

What is WhatsApp Business?

You have the normal WhatsApp application in your phone, and then you have this newer one that was launched around the end of January this year in Malaysia.

WhatsApp Business is developed for small business owner who wants to utilize better communication with their customers for an improved customer experience.

It’s free for download on Android and a BETA test (currently fully booked) is underway for iOS users.

What Can WhatsApp Business Do?

Two WhatsApp Applications in One Device

You can install both WhatsApp and WhatsApp Business in a single device, but you will need two unique phone numbers to do so. You will not be able to use your personal WhatsApp number for your WhatsApp Business number.

Landline/ Fixed Number Support

Your WhatsApp Business does not need to run on mobile numbers. You can also use a landline number to set up your WhatsApp Business account. You will receive a verification code via a phone call to the landline number you selected to set up your account.

WhatsApp Business Profile

Include your opening hours, business description, website, location and e-mail address in your WhatsApp Business Profile to gain more trust and confidence from prospective customers.

Business Messaging Tools

Set up automated responses like how you would for your Facebook page. Use this feature to inform your users that you are away! You can also set up quick replies and responses to your customers’ common FAQs and inform them about your ongoing promotions with a single click.

Enjoy the Same Functions that WhatsApp Users Do

You can still send pictures, videos, make voice or video calls online et cetera, just like how you do on your personal WhatsApp account.

Organized WhatsApp Chats

Use labels on different messaging threads to keep track of your work progress. No more missed pending payments or new customer promotion alerts!

Messaging Statistics

Keep track of the important metrics when it comes to messaging your customers. This includes number of messages successfully sent, delivered and read among several others.

Why Do I Need WhatsApp Business?

Last year, Facebook conducted a study to find out just how much consumers are messaging businesses. The results showed that more than half of the users who finds businesses online messages them throughout their buying journey.

When surveyed about which particular step they message a business for, 56% answered that they do so across all stages.

That’s everything from inquiring a product to purchasing or booking, followed by after-sale services and feedbacks.

Future updates also await us on Facebook and WhatsApp, including the possibilities of Click-to-Whatsapp ads on Facebook.

Running a bigger business? WhatsApp Business is also catering to that using WhatsApp Business API, a more extensive integration that makes reaching your customers easier - but with a cost.

Any of us who are actively prowling Facebook and Instagram would be familiar with the Facebook Story and Instagram Story feature. However, as much as we use WhatsApp as our chat and communication platform, the WhatsApp Status feature is not explored as often.

You might remember rumors from last year stating that WhatsApp is going to start charging its users for using the platform. The original USD0.99 annual charge decision was later on removed the same year after much protest and complaints from the users, and WhatsApp has stayed monetization-free ever since. While that issue is thankfully out of the way, there is something new brewing about the WhatsApp Status feature.

Facebook Native Ads Integration into WhatsApp Status Ads

WhatsApp has confirmed that they will be utilizing their Status feature as their main monetization product, starting with Facebook’s native advertising system. While this can be a good opportunity for Facebook to open up more ad spaces to even more advertisers around the world, FALCON’s co-founder has also remarked how these ad spaces are only good for the short term. Prospecting long-term wise, WhatsApp’s decision to run these Status Ads could be deemed as damaging for the company.

Currently, Facebook has ads showing in its messenger app, between Facebook posts, in the sidebars, and even between Instagram stories and posts as well. Recent news have confirmed that WhatsApp has confirmed their app monetization by inserting ads between WhatsApp statuses, although the date of commencement for this is still yet to be confirmed.

There were also some speculations where there could be a programmatic change to WhatsApp that allows business owners to send and receive messages from WhatsApp users from those status ads once they are live.

WhatsApp User Base A Good Opportunity for Facebook Ads?

WhatsApp has been a user-centric app so far with its decision to stay free-of-charge and not to run ads on their platform to ensure maximum user satisfaction. It’s no surprise that WhatsApp has managed to maintain its user base, but what next after plans to run these WhatsApp status ads?

There has been enough complaints that the ads are getting too intrusive on Facebook and Instagram, giving a bad user experience for anyone using these apps.

Are WhatsApp Status ads a good business opportunity, or a downward cycle of advertising?

Your business decides this.

Meanwhile, why not find out whether your business is suitable for WhatsApp marketing with PanPages TRINITY? We are offering free consultations for you to find out what is the next best step for you! Leave us your inquiries on our official website or call us at 03-56118099 to get started!