Facebook is rolling out a new feature on its platform, which will let advertisers connect with over one billion WhatsApp users. According to Techcrunch, Facebook has launched a new click-to-WhatsApp messaging button for pushing out ads to WhatsApp so that people can call or message via Whatsapp instantly. However, apart from advertisers, it is still unclear whether Facebook plans to launch the Click-to-Whatsapp feature for the regular consumers as well.
The feature is said to be rolling out in North and South America, Africa, Australia and most of Asia. The report further says that Europe is missing from the list, given WhatsApp‘s equation with EU regulators over data sharing with Facebook.
Many people already use WhatsApp to communicate with small businesses. It s a fast, convenient way to stay in touch, said Pancham Gajjar, product marketing manager, Facebook, in a statement. By adding a click-to-WhatsApp button to Facebook ads, businesses can now make it even easier for people to learn about their products, set up an appointment or use their service, Pancham Gajjar, Product Marketing Manager, Facebook, was quoted as saying.
Facebook said that over a million Pages currently include WhatsApp numbers in their posts. To make the new feature work, reported Adweek, businesses that have WhatsApp numbers can add send message buttons with the WhatsApp logo to their Facebook ads and those ads will only be delivered to users who have WhatsApp installed on their smartphones.
People must add business WhatsApp numbers to their contacts to start a conversation. Once they do it, the messaging app opens with a default message expressing interest, which can be edited by users upon being sent. The feature is similar to the click-to-Messenger button that Facebook introduced in its ads in November last year.
Meanwhile, WhatsApp is also working on new features including tap to unblock, private reply features. The Private Replies feature will let users reply privately to a person within a group. With this feature, you need not leave the group to reply someone. The unblock feature will let you chat with blocked contacts simply unblocking them using the new action: tap and hold the cell to unblock and send a message