Dive Brief:
- Marketers using Facebook’s Messenger app can send promotional messages via bot, but the ability is limited to a 24-hour window after a user messages the bot, according to a Facebook blog post.
- The one-day window is a change in policy for the Messenger platform and is designed to improve the user experience on the messaging app.
- Another change is the addition of subscription messaging for users who opt-in to this form of messaging. Subscription messages aren’t limited to the 24-hour window, but can’t include promotional content and have limited functionality compared to standard messages.
Dive Insight:
Facebook is allowing bot-based marketing messaging on its Messenger app, but it is working to refine the user experience — and both changes reflect that goal.
Restricting promotional bot messaging to a 24-hour window after the initial bot interaction keeps marketers from inundating users with bot-based messages. Subscription messaging gives users control over the brand content they see while also giving marketers confidence they are only sending messages to Messenger users who want to receive that content.
Facebook also streamlined the review process to within five days of submission. The blog post outlines a number of scenarios and processes for all the Messenger policy changes.
In July, Messenger hit one billion monthly active users, a notable milestone for the mobile messaging app.
