With WhatsApp gaining momentum in more regions, Meta’s looking to revisit its plans for ads in the app, in order to monetize the platform’s now 2 billion active users.
Which, as Meta has found every time that it’s tried to insert ads into its messaging elements, is something that it needs to tread very carefully with, because ads in private DM chains are not exactly a welcome addition.
Which, to be clear, Meta’s not doing. Instead, Meta’s going back to its original WhatsApp monetization strategy of adding ads into Status, WhatsApp’s own version of Stories.
As you can see in this example, WhatsApp has announced an initial test of ads in Status updates, which will be displayed between updates from your friends.
As per WhatsApp:
“You’ll be able to find a new business and easily start a conversation with them about a product or service they’re promoting in Status.”
So now, when you go through Status posts, you may see paid promotions as well. Which, given that ads are also available in Instagram and Facebook Stories, should be a less disruptive way for Meta to integrate paid promotions in the app, though as noted, Meta has tried this before.
Back in 2018, Meta announced plans to insert ads into Status updates, but then backed away from the idea due to user concerns about the privacy of their chats.
WhatsApp’s focus on user privacy has made it much more challenging for Meta to monetize the app via its regular ad business process. And with Meta purchasing the app for $19 billion (in 2014), it’s long sought to find more valuable, viable options to make money from WhatsApp chats.
Yet, despite these challenges, ads seemingly remain the best option on this front, though Meta is also underlining that user privacy remains the focus:
“To show ads in Status or Channels you might care about, we’ll use limited info like your country or city, language, the Channels you’re following, and how you interact with the ads you see. For people that have chosen to add WhatsApp to Accounts Center, we’ll also use your ad preferences and info from across your Meta accounts.”
Furthering this monetization push, Meta’s also adding “Promoted Channels,” which will enable brands to highlight their content in the “Channels” tab, as well as channel subscriptions.
So now, brands and creators will have more ways to make money from their WhatsApp efforts, which could be a significant step towards monetizing more elements of the app in developing markets.
Of course, it remains to be seen just how open to such WhatsApp users will be, but these are less intrusive monetization measures, which should align with regular usage.
“Should” being the operative word.
