Are WhatsApp Facebook Ads finally coming???
I think so…
Honestly, this is much bigger deal than ads to Facebook Messenger.
Especially if you are in a developing country in Latin America and Africa.
WhatsApp Is The Leading Messaging App
Just look at the map below:
According to a study by SimilarWeb, WhatsApp is the leading app in 109 countries worldwide.
If you look at the map more closely, the majority of the countries are in Latin America and Africa.
WhatsApp is the go-to app for private conversations.
Facebook Messenger comes close at second place.
So yes!
If you are in a developing country, Facebook Ads in WhatsApp is great news.
Is Facebook finally ready to monetize its 2014 – $19 Billion acquisition?
Yes!
You can now launch ads on with certain limitations.
You can launch WhatsApp Ads now with certain limitations!
Facebook is looking for its next cash cow and WhatsApp is the next logical platform to start monetizing.
However, this 2019 update and new ad formats that they presented this past month are awesome!
WhatsApp Ads – 2019 Update
Facebook revealed about the new feature on WhatsApp application at an annual Facebook Marketing Summit in Rotterdam, Netherland.
WhatsApp will bring Stories Ads in its status product in 2020. #FMS19 pic.twitter.com/OI3TWMmfKj
— Olivier Ponteville (@Olivier_Ptv) May 21, 2019
What can you expect?
There are several ad formats that are coming…
WhatsApp Ads – Stories
The Status ads will appear between news updates and allow users to swipe up to gain more information about the product.
Status on WhatsApp is similar to a story on Instagram or Facebook as an update that lasts for 24 hours.
Richer messaging format
The richer messaging format means the WhatsApp messages would now include image and text along with PDF and text simultaneously in just one message.
Integration of WhatsApp product catalog with Facebook Business Manager catalog
Facebook is testing a feature that would enable businesses to add their product catalog directly into chats. ‘WhatsApp product catalog to be integrated with existing Facebook Business Manager catalog.’
What else do we know about WhatsApp Ads?
A spokesperson for WhatsApp earlier this past September, 2017 mentioned in a TechCrunch article:
“We’re testing a new way for people to start a chat with a business in WhatsApp from a Facebook ad. This makes it easier for people to connect with businesses that they care about on WhatsApp.”
NextWeb Matt Navarra first spotted the WhatsApp name in a Facebook ad’s manager code:
Man… this is exciting news!!!
Look a the code below…
These are probably just first tests with users.
How to connect your WhatsApp with Facebook?
Watch the video below to understand how to connect your WhatsApp Business with your Facebook Fan Page:
How to launch WhatsApp Ads on Business Manager?
You can now launch WhatsApp ads on your Business Manager under the “Traffic” campaign objective.
Keep in mind that you need to have WhatsApp Business App on your Android phone. It currently does not work with an iPhone (as of June 2019).
Once you select the traffic objective, under the ad set level, you have the following options:
- Website
- App
- Messenger
You want to select WhatsApp and then look for your Fan Page.
You have to previously connect your WhatsApp Account with your Fan Page in order for your ads to run.
If you are only using the normal WhatsApp app, your ads won’t run!
At the ad level, you can run multiple types of ads at the moment:
- Images
- Videos
You can also add a title, subtitle and text just like a normal traffic ad.
There are obviously certain limitations as you can’t run a carrousel and other creative types; however, expect more and more functionality to be published soon.
Here is how a WhatsApp ad would look like:
Trinus was also able to send a traffic to their WhatsApp number by boosting a post directly within the Facebook platform.
We were not able to replicate the ad but it seems like Facebook is starting to test ads with random accounts.
So make sure you are running your ads within the Facebook Business Manager.
How Do The WhatsApp Facebook Ads Work?
So far you are only able to send people messages.
Once people click on the “Send Message” button, it will open their WhatsApp mobile app and start a conversation with business.
This is how the reply message looks like in WhatsApp:
I am sure more formats are coming. Just look at everything you can do with Facebook Messenger.
Where to start?
And how to be better prepared for this changes:
- Install WhatsApp Business on your phone (get an Android phone if you don’t have one).
- Familiarize yourself with the WhatsApp Business platform.
- Learn how to run Facebook Messenger ads to get familiarized with results, metrics, and workflows.
This should give you a better idea of how WhatsApp ads will work.
When Is This Going To Be Ready?
Expect stuff to be published this year.
Officially things will be ready by 2020!
I personally think all of these ads will be announced by next year’s F8 Conference.
But it could beforehand.
Facebook has been doing big changes recently.
And running big tests. Just look at the change of the Explore Feed and how it disrupted many media publishers.
If you have been able to launch WhatsApp Facebook Ads let me know!
Stayed tuned…. and keep reading our blog.