Objective
Instagram Recurring Notifications (BETA - Limited Access from Meta)
Applies To
- Jumper
- Instagram Recurring Notifications, Broadcasts, Live Chat, Bot Builder
Please note: This document information is subject to change as Meta is taking feedback from customers under the BETA program and making enhancements for the best user and business experience.
Overview
About IG Recurring Notifications
Instagram Recurring Notifications is a newly launched feature by Meta, which lets IG Professional Accounts proactively send topic-based marketing messages to people who opt-in to receive them.
Instagram Recurring Notifications is a new, optional premium feature that Meta intends to charge for in the future similar to the WhatsApp Business API pricing model. Meta will inform customers and partners of any changes to the free trial with ample advance notice.
Marketing Messages (Recurring Notifications)
What are Marketing Messages?
With more than one billion users connecting to a business account through Meta messaging services each week, Messenger and Instagram are where people interact with their favorite businesses.
Marketing messages are how businesses re-engage their customers on Messenger and Instagram to increase sales, loyalty, and engagement.
With marketing messages, brands can strike up frequent conversations with customers on any topic they care about.
- Remind people about live events, product drops, or other key moments in your campaign
- Deliver exclusive access to content, deals, or products
- Augment movies, concerts, or sporting events with behind-the-scenes trivia and other supplemental content
- Replace low-performing email newsletters with messages
- Segment customers by topic so they get personalized in-thread experiences
How do marketing messages work?
- Customer opt-in
Customers must opt-in (subscribe) to marketing messages before businesses can send messages. There are several ways, both paid and organic, and on and off Meta’s platform for businesses to obtain opt-in. - Customizable messages sent up to once a day
Marketing messages are sent up to once a day to all subscribers. Each marketing message supports different content types (video, carousel, text, image, gif). - Reconfirm customer opt-in
Marketing messages help businesses easily maintain active subscriber lists with high engagement. Meta asks subscribers who haven't engaged with messages sent by a business to periodically reconfirm their interest in receiving marketing messages. - Customer-centric controls
Customers can opt out at any time. They also have one-tap access to controls such as mute, block, and report.
Recurring Notifications Use Cases
Using the Instagram Recurring Notification feature, IG Professional Accounts can turn customers into frequent buyers by offering them to opt-in for:
- Promotional updates
- New Product Launches
- Appointment reminders
- Special discounts
- Loyalty program updates
- Back-in-stock reminders
- Event updates and reminders
Refer to the list of the use cases shared by Meta for Recurring Notifications to show how to best leverage this great messaging feature
Recurring Notifications Opt-In
IG Professional Accounts must obtain opt-in from users before sending them Recurring Notifications.
During the 24-hour messaging window, an IG Professional Account can request to send users notifications.
Users can opt-in outside the 24hr window to receive Recurring Notifications any time after this opt-in request is sent.
After a user opts in, an IG Professional Account can send Recurring Notifications regarding ongoing promotions and campaigns in which the user has expressed interest, even after the 24-hour window. Recurring Notifications are a great way for IG Professional Accounts to build relationships with customers and keep them apprised of updates.
Important Note: Currently, the opt-in template is not clickable on IG web.
- IG Professional Accounts must not send more than one opt-in request to a user per week on the same, specific topic.
- If IG Professional Accounts attempt to send an opt-in request to a user for the same topic in less than a week, the app will receive an error message with error code 613 and the request will not be sent.
- In addition, there must be an open 24-hour messaging window before an IG Professional Account can send an opt-in request to the user. Users can opt-in to receive Recurring Notifications for multiple topics in the same thread.
- Limitations
- Meta’s Recurring Notifications service limits the number of opt-in requests that can be sent to a user. This limit helps avoid negative user experiences and protects the integrity of Instagram Messaging API.
- Generally, up to 10 opt-in requests for different topics can be sent per user over 7 days. A sub-limit of up to 5 opt-in requests may be sent to a user in a day. However, you should consider whether users are likely to find each opt-in request relevant and valuable before sending. Users can block, mute, or report your IG Professional Account’s messaging.
- Do not send duplicate opt-in requests to users, which is defined as having the same title and image_url.
- These requirements and limitations are subject to change as Meta is always striving for the best user and business experience.
Ways to Get Opt-Ins
Customers must opt-in (subscribe) to marketing messages before businesses can send messages. There are several ways, both paid and organic, and on and off Meta’s platform for businesses to obtain opt-in.
Pages can only send opt-in requests if the conversation is user-initiated.
The following entry points allow users to initiate conversations with Pages so that they can receive opt-in messages for recurring notifications.
- ig.me Links - ig.me links are shortened URLs that redirect users to Instagram conversations. These links can be included in websites, emails, QR Codes, and social media posts.
- Private Replies - Pages can reply with one message using Private Replies to comment or post within 7 days of its posting date. This message then gives the user the opportunity to opt-in to recurring notifications.
- Ads That Click to Instagram Direct - Pages can use Ads that Click to Instagram Direct to run campaigns. The opt-in request is sent to the user once the user clicks on the ad.
- Story Replies - Pages can use Story Replies to run campaigns. The opt-in request is sent to the user once the user comments or reacts to an Instagram story.
Match the entry point with the audience you want to target for opt-ins
Think of entry points as your audience targeting strategy for opt-ins. Depending on who you are trying to reach for marketing message opt-ins, some entry points work better than others.
Examples:
- Reaching existing customers through owned email or print channels is best done through ig.me links that can be used in CTAs or QR codes.
- Reaching existing customers on Instagram can be done using custom audience targeting for Ads that Click to Instagram Direct.
- If the goal is to target website visitors for opt-ins, pick entry points that can be integrated on websites, such as ig.me links that can be used on website CTAs.
- Targeting customers who engage with your brand on Instagram for opt-ins can be done using Private Replies or Story Replies entry points
- Put ig.me links behind QR codes to place in-store fronts, on flyers, on display furniture tags
User experience for opting-in to marketing messages on Instagram
Manage Opt-In
Once users opt-in, they can easily manage their Recurring Notifications, including stopping and resuming them, by clicking the “Manage” button.
Re Opt-In
Just before the token associated with the Recurring Notification opt-in is about to expire, users will receive a re opt-in request. Users will then have the choice of whether or not to continue receiving the Recurring Notifications.
By default, the Recurring Notification frequency will be daily, and re opt-in request will be sent to the user after six months just before the expiration date.
Meta Recurring Notifications Guidelines
Click here to access the developer document and know more about Best Practices, Requirements, and Limitations stated by Meta to create and send IG recurring notifications opt-in requests and how to send IG recurring notifications to people who have given you permission to do so.
Setting up Instagram ‘Recurring Notification messages’ on Jumper Dashboard
Setting it up in 3 easy steps within Jumper
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Step One - Create the Opt-in template
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Step Two - Send the opt-in template within a bot, or via Live Chat to get users to opt in / subscribe
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Step Three - Send notifications via Broadcast
Step 1: Create the Opt-in template:
- In the Jumper dashboard, head over to Sales channels > Instagram and look for the “Opt-in notifications”.
- Create a new opt-in message:
Card Title: Max. 65 characters
Recommendation: Create a clear opt-in message title:
The title of the opt-in message helps customers know what they should expect from your marketing messages. While there is a 65-character limit, use 40 or fewer to ensure the title gets to the point.
Examples:
- New product launches
- Sign up for daily sales updates
- Get updates about <Event Name>?
Card Image: Upload the image. Recommended Image size less than 4 MB, with a 1.91:1 ratio
Card Image Ratio: Select the image's aspect ratio, i.e. Horizontal or Square.
Aspect ratio for the image.
SQUARE – render square image (1:1). Image will be cropped if needed
HORIZONTAL – render horizontal image (1.91:1). Image will be cropped if needed
Button Type: Select the text that appears on the call to action button
- ALLOW – set the opt-in message button text to “Allow messages”
- GET – set the opt-in message button text to “Get messages”, this is also the default if notification_messages_cta_text is not set
- OPT IN – set the opt-in message button text to “Opt-in to messages”
- SIGN UP – set the opt-in message button text to “Sign up for messages”
Note that the text below the Edit Card title (“Want to get additional message from us? You can opt out at any time”) is added automatically and can’t be edited by the business. This content ensures that users have full visibility into what they are opting in to.
- Save
Step 2: Send the opt-in template within a bot, or via Live Chat to get users to opt-in / to subscribe
From Jumper, the opt-in template can be sent to the end users in two ways:
- Embedded within the bot, or
- By an agent in Live Chat.
Live Chat:
Please note: For Live chat, we can send an opt-in request within 7 days of the referenced user action.
- Right below the composer input, the agent can select “Send opt-in notification”.
- Select the relevant template you want to send to the user. This will show a dropdown of all opt-in templates created in Step 1.
- Hit Send, which will immediately send the opt-in template to the user.
Bot Builder:
Please note: For Bot Builder, we can send opt-in requests during the 24-hour messaging window.
1. Using the bot builder and creating a bot flow under the Instagram sales channel, you can now include the Notifications opt-in template as part of the flow.
2. Notification opt-in option is available under Message Type. Add it at your desired step, and this will capture the user’s opt-in.
Once the user subscribes either via Live Chat or Bot Builder, then you can view the number of subscribed users under the respective Notification Opt-in.
Path: Sales Channel → Instagram → Opt-in Notification → Select the Opt-in
Step 3: Send notifications via Broadcast
Please note: IG recurring notification allows daily messaging frequency, which permits the IG account to send only one notification to the subscriber within a 24-hour period regarding the same specific topic for up to 6 months. However, the IG account may send an additional notification about a different topic to the same subscriber within the same 24-hour period, incase they have subscribed to that topic.
If you are sending multiple messages on the same topic, then be sure to delay subsequent messages by 24 hours or you will receive an error.
For sending out notifications, you can use the broadcast module under Automated Responses > Broadcast
- Name the Broadcast and Select the Messaging Channel as Instagram
- Set up the message for broadcast:
- Select the message type that you want to send.
Recommendation: Always create a message with a button, quick reply, or carousel if you need action from the user. - Set up the right action on the button - if unsure, check with your Jumper account manager/customer success manager
If you have been given a payload, select “Custom payload” on the options for button actions, and enter the payload.
See below the different types of messages:
- Text: Text-only message with the option to add up to 3 buttons
- Image: Image only (no buttons/quick replies) (image size less than 4 MB)
- Video: Video only (no buttons/quick replies) (video size less than 10 MB)
- Carousel: Image (image size less than 4 MB),
- Title text (20 characters), Subtitle (60 characters) with a button
- Quick reply: Text-only message with the option to add up to 10 quick reply buttons (Button Title: Max 20 characters)
Currently, only one message type at a time is allowed to be selected and the combination is not possible.
- Select the opt-in notification template.
This will send a broadcast to all users who have subscribed to the selected notification template.
You can also further refine your target segment based on the filter condition or segments
- Next, schedule the broadcast, or send the broadcast immediately.
Note: The broadcast will pull a list of all users who have subscribed at the time of sending. Also, there is a 30-minute lag between when a user opts-in and when he or she will be marked as subscribed.
Tips to Send engaging marketing messages content that aligns with what customers expect to receive
- Send messages when you have something relevant to share. Irrelevant content and too frequent messages may lead to a higher opt-out rate, blocks, or reports.
- Add marketing messages to your content calendar to plan ahead and to ensure alignment while amplifying your overall messaging.
- Give people a reason to opt in, such as exclusive access to a promo code or content.
- Consider using the first marketing message to welcome the customer and set expectations for what to expect.
- Send marketing messages when your audience is most active and likely to read them.
Analytics related to Instagram Recurring Notifications
To view Analytics data for Instagram Recurring Notifications:
Subscription Activity:
Go to Automations >> Broadcast >> View Analytics >> Meta Notification Subscription Activity.
This page shows the subscription and expiry trends for Instagram Recurring Notifications.
To know more about Instagram Notifications Subscription Activity, visit here.
Broadcast Analytics:
Go to Automations >> Broadcast >> View Analytics >> Broadcast Tracker.
This dashboard provides insights on the progress on which broadcast messages are sent and insights on the outcome of sending Broadcast to your target audiences.
To know more about Broadcast Tracker, visit here.
Error Codes for reference:
Meta might not be able to send a message to the user and respond with one of the following Error Codes.
The error would be visible under Live Chat: