Martech: Martech is Marketing Logo
  • Topics
    Digital Transformation
    Marketing Operations
    Data
    Customer & Digital Experience
    Performance Marketing
    Marketing Management
    Special Reports
    All Topics
  • Conference
  • Webinars
  • Intelligence Reports
  • White Papers
  • What is MarTech

Processing...Please wait.

MarTech » Performance Marketing » Facebook tests tool to make it easier for businesses to send message blasts on Messenger

Facebook tests tool to make it easier for businesses to send message blasts on Messenger

Messenger Broadcast appears to be the self-serve version of Messenger’s Broadcast API that enables businesses to message multiple accounts.

Tim Peterson on November 28, 2017 at 2:14 pm | Reading time: 2 minutes

Facebook is internally testing a tool that businesses would be able to use to send message blasts to people who had conversed with their accounts on Messenger, a Messenger spokesperson confirmed on Tuesday after TechCrunch first reported the news.

Based on screen shots published to Twitter by The Next Web’s Matt Navarra, Facebook’s tool, called Messenger Broadcast, appears to be a self-serve interface for Messenger’s weeks-old Broadcast API.

New! Facebook is preparing a “Messenger Broadcast” feature for business Pages

h/t @pwd pic.twitter.com/PncLYXDBeX

— Matt Navarra (@MattNavarra) October 27, 2017

Last year, Messenger introduced a subscription feature for certain businesses, such as news publishers, to be able to send messages to multiple people simultaneously. Then, earlier this month, the Facebook-owned messaging service unveiled its Broadcast API for businesses to automate these message blasts, which are limited to only reaching people who have an open conversation with a business on Messenger. However, not all businesses may have the in-house development chops or funds to pay an outside firm to connect their Messenger accounts to the Broadcast API. That’s where Messenger Broadcast appears to come in; Messenger Broadcast is to the Broadcast API what Facebook’s Ads Manager is to its Ads API.

Speaking of ads, it’s unclear whether businesses will be able to send sponsored messages through Messenger Broadcast. According to the screen shots posted by Navarra, the messages sent through the tool would be free. That’s also the case for messages sent through the Broadcast API. However, Broadcast API messages “must be non-promotional,” according to its documentation for developers.

If and when Facebook does officially roll out Messenger Broadcast, it could opt to enable businesses to send Sponsored Messages through Messenger Broadcast, though it’s unclear why it would need to. For one thing, Sponsored Messages are effectively a paid version of the free message blasts that can be sent through Messenger Broadcast; both message types are limited to people who have previously messaged a business, though the paid version enables more refined targeting of the message’s delivery. For another, businesses can already buy Sponsored Messages through Ads Manager. Of course, that wouldn’t stop Facebook from adding a “Boost This Blast” button to Messenger Broadcast for businesses to pay to fine-tune who their messages reach.


Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily MarTech. Staff authors are listed here.


New on MarTech

    Only 38% of marketers very confident in their customer data and analytics systems
    Does your email copy persuade or sell?
    The latest jobs in martech
    74% of B2B marketers expect budgets to increase next year
    How Cherry Bombe uses email to make customers smile

About The Author

Tim Peterson
Tim Peterson, Third Door Media's Social Media Reporter, has been covering the digital marketing industry since 2011. He has reported for Advertising Age, Adweek and Direct Marketing News. A born-and-raised Angeleno who graduated from New York University, he currently lives in Los Angeles. He has broken stories on Snapchat's ad plans, Hulu founding CEO Jason Kilar's attempt to take on YouTube and the assemblage of Amazon's ad-tech stack; analyzed YouTube's programming strategy, Facebook's ad-tech ambitions and ad blocking's rise; and documented digital video's biggest annual event VidCon, BuzzFeed's branded video production process and Snapchat Discover's ad load six months after launch. He has also developed tools to monitor brands' early adoption of live-streaming apps, compare Yahoo's and Google's search designs and examine the NFL's YouTube and Facebook video strategies.

Related Topics

Performance Marketing

Get the daily newsletter digital marketers rely on.

Processing...Please wait.

See terms.

ATTEND OUR EVENTS The MarTech Conference logo.

September 28-29, 2022: Fall

Start Training Now: Master Classes

Start Discovering Now: Spring



The SMX Conference logo.

Start Training Now:: SMX Advanced

November 14-15, 2022: SMX Next

March 8-9, 2022: Master Classes

Webinars

SEO Recon: The What, Why, and How for Building Amazing Links

Unlock the Cutting-Edge Potential of QR Codes

Why Finding the Right Platform is the Key to Winning in Email Marketing

See More Webinars
Intelligence Reports

Enterprise Marketing Performance Management Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide

Enterprise Customer Journey Orchestration Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide

Enterprise Account-Based Marketing Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide

See More Intelligence Reports
Featured White Paper

The Definitive Buyer’s Guide to Collaborative Work Management for Marketers

See More Whitepapers
Search Our Site

Receive daily marketing news & analysis.

Processing...Please wait.

Topics

  • Transformation
  • Operations
  • Data
  • Experience
  • Performance
  • Management
  • All Topics
  • Home

Our Events

  • MarTech
  • Search Marketing Expo - SMX

About

  • What is MarTech
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Marketing Opportunities
  • Staff

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Newsletters
  • RSS

© 2022 Third Door Media, Inc. All rights reserved.