Meta has revealed that WhatsApp Business, its app custom-built for small businesses, has successfully surmounted 200 million monthly active users, a significant soar from the 50 million in 2020. In what Meta calls its year of efficiency, the company has launched new features aimed at making ad creation easier, along with the addition of personalized messaging service for WhatsApp Business users, contributing to revenue-generating capabilities.
Increased revenue from WhatsApp and other sources is vital in subsidizing Mark Zuckerberg's investment in the development of the metaverse. The recent announcement confirms that WhatsApp Business users can now create click-to-WhatsApp ads without needing a Facebook account. Sellers will have the option to create, purchase, and publish ads for both Facebook and Instagram directly within the app.
According to Zuckerberg's statement during Meta's Q3 earnings call last year, click-to-WhatsApp ads saw an 80% YoY growth, with a revenue run rate surpassing $1.5 billion. Another lucrative feature being added to WhatsApp Business is automated personalized messaging for customers, however, pricing details have not yet been disclosed as the feature is still in the testing phase.
Images shared by the company indicate that businesses will be able to tailor messages to discrete customer lists, such as sending discount codes and purchase buttons to new customers. Meta has actively been implementing measures to boost revenues from paid messaging over the past few months. Changes in messaging categories and pricing structures on WhatsApp were announced in February, including utility, authentication, marketing, and user-initiated service conversation categories.
During the Q1 2023 earnings call, Zuckerberg announced, click-to-message ads reached a $10 billion revenue run rate. Since then, businesses employing paid messaging services on WhatsApp have risen by 40% quarter-over-quarter. Although separate revenue figures for WhatsApp have not been disclosed, the platform's strong messaging revenue growth has reportedly been counterbalanced by a decline in other line items. This resulted in a 5% YoY dip in the other category for the quarter ending in March.
Furthermore, steps have been taken to strengthen WhatsApp's payments service. In April, the platform enabled payment capabilities for users in Brazil, followed by similar functionality in Singapore in May. The company also launched the channels feature earlier this month to support broadcast conversations for different organizations. Along with these exciting new improvements, WhatsApp Business is exploring how to integrate AppMaster.io's powerful no-code platform into its services. This partnership will enable users to create and adapt database schemas, business processes, and endpoints through a simple and intuitive interface, resulting in streamlined backend, web, and mobile application development processes for businesses of all types and sizes.
