TABLE OF CONTENTS
- What is Meta’s new update for WhatsApp Business Platform (API)?
- Why the change?
- Frequently asked questions
- How does this impact your deliverability?
- What kind of messages are exempt from Frequency Capping?
- Does Frequency Capping affect all users?
- What determines the capping for a WhatsApp Business Account with multiple phone numbers?
- Will WhatsApp users not receive marketing conversations they were expecting?
- Will Meta provide an error message for failed messages?
- What do I do if I get an error message after a failed delivery?
- Recommended best practices to improve deliverability
What is Meta’s new update for WhatsApp Business Platform (API)?
Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, has introduced Frequency Capping to limit the number of marketing messages sent to WhatsApp users with Indian phone numbers. This restricts the number of marketing messages a person can receive from any business in a given period of time and applies only to the Marketing Template Messages sent to customers.
Note: A person's limit or frequency cap is based on the total number of marketing template messages they have already received from any business and not specifically yours.
The exact number of messages and the delivery window are dynamic and subject to change by Meta without prior notice. That is when frequency capping is enforced for a WhatsApp user, they may only receive a predetermined number of messages from brands or businesses within a time frame.
For example, if a user has a frequency cap of 10 messages within a 10-day rolling period and your message is the 5th message being sent to them within the 10-day rolling period, the message will be received. However, if it is the 11th message, it will not be delivered.
Note: If your message is not delivered to a user due to frequency capping, you will receive an error code. The Cloud API will return error code 131026 and the On-Premises API will return error code 1026. These error codes cover a wide range of issues that may lead to non-delivery of messages, and the exact reason for non-delivery will not be disclosed due to privacy concerns.
Why the change?
Meta introduced restrictions or frequency capping on Marketing Template Messages to reduce spamming or over-sending messages to WhatsApp users. Controlling the number of messages a WhatsApp user receives prevents them from receiving messages they are less likely to engage with, creating a better user experience.
Businesses can benefit from this change as well. This brings a better opportunity to engage with customers and convert them, without the distractions from less relevant brands.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How does this impact your deliverability?
Frequency capping works on a first-come, first-served basis, meaning marketing messages from businesses will be delivered to users until the limit is reached, and the remaining marketing messages will not be delivered.
Q: What kind of messages are exempt from Frequency Capping?
Frequency capping only applies to promotional and marketing template messages that require users to open a new conversation. However, the limit does not apply to existing marketing conversations between businesses and the user, such as:
Session Messages: If you send a support message in an existing customer service interaction within 24 hours, a new conversation is not opened.
However, if you send them a marketing message, a new marketing conversation is opened, resulting in two open conversations of which the latest one may be capped.Click to WhatsApp Ads: Free entry point conversations such as Click to WhatsApp retargeting ads will remain uncapped.
Pro-tip: Respond to incoming CTRW messages within 24 hours after receipt. Otherwise, you would need to use a template to message the customer to open a new conversation, which may be capped.
Q: Does Frequency Capping affect all users?
Frequency Capping is only applicable to marketing messages sent to users in India (+91) country code.
Q: What determines the capping for a WhatsApp Business Account with multiple phone numbers?
The restriction applies to individual users, based on the total number of messages they have received from any business. It is not determined by the messages received from one specific business.
For instance, if the limit is set to 10 marketing template messages in a 7-day rolling window and a user has already reached the frequency cap for the 7 days, the next incoming template message will not get delivered due to the frequency capping.
Q: Will WhatsApp users not receive marketing conversations they were expecting?
Yes, delivery rates may not be 100% at all times. However, it is important to note that there are a range of issues that can result in non-delivery of a message, including:
Limited access to a mobile/ internet/ WiFi network
Inactivity of users
Quality of the user experience, determined by Meta
Q: Will Meta provide an error message for failed messages?
If a marketing template message is not delivered to a given WhatsApp user due to the limit, the Cloud API will return error code 131026 and the On-Premises API will return error code 1026. However, it is important to note that this error code covers a wide range of issues that can result in non-delivery of a message, such as when the recipient is not a WhatsApp user or they’re using an old version of the app, and may not always mean that the message was not delivered because of frequency capping.
Q: What do I do if I get an error message after a failed delivery?
If you receive one of the error codes and suspect this is due to the Frequency Capping limit, ensure you have eliminated other reasons for the failed delivery and refrain from resending the template message immediately, as this will lead to another error message. Instead, retry with longer gaps between messages until the message is delivered since the frequency limit may hinder deliverability in shorter time spans.
Recommended best practices to improve deliverability
This update calls for rethinking your communication strategy and current approach to WhatsApp marketing
Opt-In Engagement: Opt-ins are not just a legal and compliance handshake. Make sure to only send messages to customers who have explicitly opted-in to receive messages from your brand. This dramatically improves deliverability and your return on investment (ROI) too.
Segment your contact list: Group your audience based on common characteristics like demographic data such as location, age group, gender, or behavior patterns like product purchases, website visits, abandoned carts, etc., to ensure you send the right offer to the relevant customer base.
For instance, a pet supply store might segment customers based on the type of pet food they buy (dog food, cat food, etc.) and the price range of their products. This segmentation helps reach the right audience with the right offer when they want to run offers for a specific product range, like cat food.Personalize recommendations: Understand your customers' behaviors or purchase patterns to bundle products that are frequently bought together or recommend similar products they might want to try.
Taking the previous example, the store might recommend a new brand of cat food only to customers who buy a specific product range of cat food or bundle the new brand along with health supplements.
Pro-tip: Manually curating these recommendations is tedious and also prone to human errors. This is where you can leverage Freddy AI to automatically curate personalized recommendations.
Emphasise quality over quantity: Consider putting yourself in your customers’ shoes to understand whether your messages enrich their experience and evaluate whether generic marketing messages resonate with their needs and preferences.
Engage via two-way conversations: Two-way interactions are not only a great way to create meaningful touchpoints with your customers but also to stay on top of your customers' minds. When customers perceive value in using a channel, they’re more inclined to engage.
For instance, you can set up a WhatsApp catalog using bots to help answer product, price, and shipping-related questions or train them to answer support-related questions around the clock.