WhatsApp is one messaging platform that has always said no to ads. But it looks like Facebook that owns WhatsApp is all set to find out other ways of monetizing the popular messaging platform.
According to a report by TechCrunch, Facebook is all set to launch a new ad unit that will let the businesses create a link between both Facebook and WhatsApp. This way the advertisers can include a button on their ads and people can either call or message via WhatsApp with just a click of the button.
While this feature was spotted in the test mode earlier this year, now there is official confirmation from Facebook regarding the same, claims the report. It adds that this feature will be rolled out gradually starting with countries such as North America, South America, Australia, Africa and Asia initially. Though Europe is not included in the first wave of countries those will get the feature, it is likely that users in the continent will get the same at a later date.
It is said that Facebook will first observe how the feature is used in the other regions and will work through the questions that arise from outside the company regarding how both WhatsApp and Facebook will work together. There are claims that this new feature will be announced today and it will follow the development that businesses are using with WhatsApp.
This new button ad-unit is said to be quite similar to the click-to-Messenger ads that we have seen on Facebook previously. For now, it is believed that Facebook does not have any plans to add the WhatsApp button integration to the regular consumer services though it can potentially put the links in Pages where the users want to provide a contact address.
The report cites a Facebook spokesperson pointing out that they have started testing numerous ways for a Facebook Page to point people to their respective WhatsApp presence from the Page itself. But the reports states that further details regarding the same have not been shared right now.
A few months back, it was reported that Facebook might be in plans to bring WhatsApp closer to its social networking app. It was pointed out that the company could add a new feature to the social network that will let users switch between Facebook and WhatsApp instantly.
