Meta will allow businesses to direct new leads to “exclusive, relevant” content on the platform as part of new wave of updates designed to help smaller enterprises acquire and retain new customers.
To coincide with National Small Business Week, Meta said it will soon roll out new tools to help brands better “manage conversations and ads” across Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.
One of these tools will be a gated content feature that allows businesses to deliver a whitepaper, brochure and other “additional resources” to users who have filled out a ‘Lead Ads Instant Form’ on Facebook or Instagram.
Most of the changes are centred on the Meta Business Suite, which allows businesses to manage content, ads and messaging across the three major platforms that it owns.
While Facebook and Instagram have previously hogged the limelight, Meta now appears to see WhatsApp as a key tool for brands who want to engage audiences and improve their online relationship management.
Marketers have already been using ads on Facebook and Instagram that then open in WhatsApp but they will now be able to create and publish them directly using the WhatsApp Business app.
WhatsApp will also be added to the Inbox of the Meta Business Suite, which currently links together Facebook Messenger and Instagram Direct.
Other updates include quote requests for products and services on Instagram, improvements to the lead forms for better filtering and creativity, and deeper integration between the forms and CRM software to help brands follow up with prospective clients and customers.
Meta says it was inspired to make the changes after its research found 71% of users want to be able to get in touch and speak with brands in a similar way to how they do with friends and family.
