WhatsApp rolls out new advertising features for businesses

Meta has announced the rollout of three new marketing features on the popular messaging app WhatsApp this week. The change will allow WhatsApp for Business users to advertise to customers in-app.

Companies will be able to advertise through the app’s “Update” and “Status” sections and subscription models, meaning private chats will not be disrupted.

With WhatsApp quickly becoming a top platform for business-customer interaction, this latest development will give sole traders and small businesses alike the opportunity to advertise to customers through a new medium, without compromising on user privacy.

How will WhatsApp’s business ads work?

Announcing the move on Monday, WhatsApp confirmed that it would start showing ads to users for the first time. It stated that the messages will not be displayed on users’ private chats, nor will the content of its encrypted messages be used for personalised marketing.

Instead, businesses will be able to post advertisements on the “Updates” section of the app. Here, they can promote themselves through status messages that users can interact with to start a chat.

The platform’s parent company, Meta, has said that users who primarily use the app for messaging would not see the ads. 

The move brings WhatsApp more in-line with other Meta-owned social media campaigns such as Facebook ads. Those who have chosen to connect their WhatsApp account to their Facebook or Instagram profiles will see more personalised ads.

WhatsApp will also provide businesses with a subscription model feature, where customers pay to access exclusive content. From there, it will charge a 10% commission on that fee. 

Finally, the new “Status” feature within the app, similar to Instagram’s story function, will allow ads to be displayed for 24 hours. 

New WhatsApp features mean business

Even before these new features were announced, WhatsApp was already becoming a go-to platform for many small businesses. According to a study by Vodafone, 80% of firms use WhatsApp for their business operations.

Specifically, it’s become a preference for customer service interactions. Call Centre Helper reveals that WhatsApp’s usage among contact centres grew by 2% between 2023 and 2024.

But even in marketing, WhatsApp is proving to be effective. While businesses can only send marketing messages through personal chats if the customer opts in for them, the platform was reported to have a 45-60% click-through rate.

With this, WhatsApp’s new features are likely to precipitate newfound marketing strategies, giving businesses the opportunity to reach their target audience through a new medium.

Should your business use WhatsApp ads?

While these new features will be beneficial for businesses, company owners should be aware of the risk of backlash among customers. 

Personal WhatsApp users may take time to get used to reading promotional messages in what has previously been touted as an ad-free platform. 

“Any perception that WhatsApp is becoming noisy or Facebook-ified will spark backlash,” Matt Navarra, social media expert, told the BBC. “If [Meta] moves too fast or it starts to feel like another ad network, people might disengage or maybe worse, distrust the app.”

However, WhatsApp boss Will Cathcart argues in the BBC report that the move is a “natural extension of messaging services”, with similarities to rival apps like Snapchat and Telegram.

“We have stories on Instagram and stories on WhatsApp, and now we have a way for businesses to promote themselves in both, and we think it’s a good thing.”