Dialog model of messengers Business API message accounting. A brief overview
Since February 1, 2022, messengers Business API has a new message accounting system – dialog (Conversation model). The previous model, the Notification model, has ceased to exist. Let's try to understand the new system's advantages, highlight its strengths, and also understand what subtleties of the new system should be known to use it most effectively.
How it worked until February 1, 2022
The previous message accounting system was quite justifiably called the "Notification model" since the fee was charged for outgoing messages that "notify" the client about something. That is, the initiative on the part of the business to start communicating with the client was paid, while all incoming messages are complimentary. The old model was especially advantageous for the organization of customer support services, which could handle a large number of incoming messages for free while paying only for the hosting of the number.
Each template message sent opened a window of 24-hour free communication with the client. It was possible to use not only template versions of messages but also messages with any text and media content. It is essential that this 24-hour window had the property of stretching over time; in other words, if communication with the user was resumed before the expiration of 24 hours, then 24 hours began to expire again from the moment of the last message sent by the client.
What has changed since February 1, 2022
The new pricing system is called the dialog "Conversation model" and also for a reason. In the new approach, not "Notifications" are paid accounting units, but the "Dialogue" between the client and the business. At the same time, both the dialogue initiated by the company and the client will be considered paid. Let's note this again. There are no free incoming messages in the dialog system, all dialogues are paid, but dialogues initiated by customers are almost two times cheaper than dialogues that open a business.
The rule of the dialog-free 24-hour window has also changed. Now 24s start to expire not from the moment of the last message but the client's first message. Twenty-four hours are rigidly fixed. If earlier, theoretically, it was possible to conduct continuous free communication with the client, having time to update the conditional timer with new messages within 24 hours, then since February 2022, this has become impossible.
After reviewing the changes, we can conclude that the messengers Business API has become a more expensive tool, but do not get upset ahead of time because there are also innovations in the dialog system that make the messengers Business API very attractive for small and medium-sized businesses.
Firstly, every first 1000 dialogues per month of one messengers account are free. If you have several numbers in one messengers account, the dialogs will be distributed between them;
Secondly, all incoming messages that were initiated by the "Call to Action" Click to messengers buttons from your advertising companies are free. It is important to note here that dialogs from Click to messengers buttons will be free only if they are placed in advertisements through Comp Business Manager. If you just install the "Send me" button with the transition to the messenger, then such a dialogue will not be considered free.
Thus, we see that some of the changes may make the messengers Business API a more expensive tool, but for small and medium-sized businesses, the new offer may even be more profitable.
It should be noted that messengers is becoming increasingly popular for businesses and organizations after Comp lifted restrictions on marketing messages at the end of 2021. This way, the dialog model looks like a reasonable step by Comp management. At the same time, we still recommend conducting a small analysis to make the right decision: count the number of sent and incoming messages, how much they exceed or not the pool of free dialogues, and correlate with the value that you will receive when working with the 2 billion audiences of the messenger.
Below is a small reference of all the current changes, so that you always have it at hand:
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Notification model - Old model |
Conversation model- New model |
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Only template messages sent by the business that initiate communication with the user are paid. |
The dialogue initiated by the business is paid. |
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All incoming messages are free. |
The dialog initiated by the client is also paid. |
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Twenty-four hours of accessible, free communication begin to expire from the last message. That is, Twenty-four hours (theoretically) could be extended indefinitely. |
Twenty-four hours are fixed and expire when the first message is sent. It is not possible to extend the period of accessible 24-hour communication within the framework of one dialogue. |
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1000 free dialogues per month for one messengers Account. |
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The first dialog initiated using Click-to-messengers or the Comp action button will be free. |
How much will dialogues cost now?
Different regions and countries have different price lists, the cost of the dialog is read by the country receiving the message. The official price list can be viewed here.
API providers set their margin for open dialogs, which can vary from 10 to 50%, so carefully study the provider's offer. Our margin is 5%.
Write to us if you have questions about the messengers Business API; we will be happy to help you. You can find all the latest news about the work of the service in our telegram channel.
