What is WhatsApp Business API Frequency Capping?

Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, is shaking up the way businesses utilize the popular messaging platform for marketing in India. A new feature called "Frequency Capping" is changing how and when you can reach your customers. Let's break down what this means for your WhatsApp Business API strategy.

What is Frequency Capping?

Simply put, Frequency Capping puts limits on the number of marketing messages an Indian WhatsApp user can receive within a specific time frame. The exact number of messages and the length of the timeframe are dynamic – these values will be constantly adjusted by Meta and won't be disclosed.

Why the Change?

WhatsApp seeks to provide a better overall user experience. By preventing users from being overwhelmed with marketing messages, Meta believes interactions with businesses will become more meaningful (good news for marketers!). In the long run, this could actually boost engagement with your marketing messages.

Message Types Affected

It's crucial to understand that Frequency Capping specifically targets promotional or marketing messages sent using approved WhatsApp Business templates. Here's the good news:

• Session Messages: Regular, conversational messages that are part of a 24-hour customer service window aren't restricted.
• CTWA Retargeting: Messages connected to Click-to-WhatsApp ads won't be limited by these changes.

Challenges and Troubleshooting

As with any new feature, there are implications.  Due to Frequency Capping, businesses could find that some marketing messages won't be delivered. Don't worry, you won't get a special error code specifically for this – you'll receive standard error codes for undelivered messages. Before assuming every failure is due to Frequency Capping, remember other factors can still affect deliverability.

Adapting Your WhatsApp Business API Strategy

Here are some key takeaways for adjusting your WhatsApp Business API approach:

• Quality over Quantity: The days of blasting as many marketing messages as possible are likely over. Prioritize messages that offer real value, making each customer interaction more important.
• Focus on Conversations: Leverage your initial marketing template messages to start valuable conversations with users. Once a session is open, the Frequency Capping rules are relaxed.
• Experiment and Track: The dynamic nature of these limits means a "test and iterate" approach becomes essential. Gather data to discover the frequency of messages that works best.

The Road Ahead for WhatsApp Marketing

While Frequency Capping presents a challenge,  it encourages businesses to become more thoughtful in using the WhatsApp Business API. This evolution might ultimately make your WhatsApp marketing more effective – and appreciated by your audience.

What can be reason for non-delivery of my message to a user?

There can be many reasons why a message may not be delivered to a person, please see “Why is my delivery rate not 100%?” in the WhatsApp Business Platform FAQ. In this instance we take into consideration the number of marketing conversations that person has already received from any business over a given time period.

One of my business is seeing much higher non-delivery rates than others, what can I do?

There can be many reasons why a message may not be delivered to a person, please see “Why is my delivery rate not 100%?” in the WhatsApp Business Platform FAQ. In this instance we take into consideration the number of marketing conversations that person has already received from any business over a given time period. This is specific to that person, and not related to the business. They should not immediately retry the user, as this will result in another error message. They may retry that person at a different time, we are unable to give a specific time period as it may differ based on the individual.

What determines the capping for a specific WABA with multiple phone numbers?

The capping is done at the end-customer level independent of the WABA but determined by the phone number. The limit is calculated based on the number of marketing template messages that an individual has received from any business. It is not specifically related to one business.

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