Meta reports that currently the monthly number of active users of the WhatsApp business application exceeds the 200 million mark.

Company CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on Tuesday, June 27, that users of the application will be able to create advertising content for subsequent placement on virtual platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. This solution of the technology giant will allow brands to expand their customer base. Mark Zuckerberg also said that this feature is available for implementation without the condition of mandatory presence of an account registered on Facebook.

The head of the company also announced the launch of a new paid messaging service. According to him, this proposal of the technology giant will allow representatives of small businesses to interact more effectively with customers, as well as simplify and speed up the communication process.

Meta launched WhatsApp Business in 2020. About six months after that, the monthly number of active users of the application was 50 million people.

The company is implementing a plan to expand the functionality of the business application in order to compensate for the losses associated with the Metaverse project. The technology giant needs new sources of income, with which it is possible to return financial indicators to an acceptable level in terms of the needs of Meta functioning. As of the current moment, the virtual universe project is very expensive and does not yet bring income that compensates for expenses.

Mark Zuckerberg said in February this year that the possibilities of monetization of business messages are exciting and said that this service will become an important financial support for the tech giant in the coming years.

Also at the beginning of 2023, the head of the company announced an increase in the number of brands that connect to the WhatsApp business platform. On this virtual platform, the possibility of direct communication with customers and the ability to sell goods through the chat function is available.

Meta CFO Susan Lee in February of this year informed investors that in the fourth quarter of 2022, the company’s revenue amounted to $ 184 million. Separately, she noted that this indicator, which is 19% higher than the result for the same period in 2021, was made possible thanks to the growth of revenue from business messages.

In May, Meta established a partnership with Vonage in Singapore. As a result of the cooperation of the two companies in this country, consumers of financial services have been able to make payments using WhatsApp via Vonage Conversational Commerce.

Currently, the concept of commercial activity on virtual platforms of social interaction is in the stage of intensive scaling. Purchases can be made not only in WhatsApp but also in Messenger, Apple Business Chat, Instagram, Twitter, and SMS.

At the beginning of June, the Channels feature appeared in WhatsApp. This is a new format of interaction between companies and customers, public opinion leaders, and supporters of their views. Channels are a one-way broadcasting tool with which you can publish photos, videos, text materials, surveys, and stickers.