Features of sending messages in Facebook Messenger. Rule 24+1

UA	US	RU

UA	US	RU

Please note that Facebook currently restricts the capabilities of chatbots and API usage for various platforms. This is done on their part to increase user loyalty to Facebook and limit spam within the network. Given these restrictions, the conversion rates you can get through Facebook are potentially much lower than the conversions you could achieve through Telegram or Viber. Therefore, we recommend using Telegram and Viber as the primary communication channels.

Here are a few limitations to keep in mind, with the main one being compliance with content sending rules. All messages you plan to send through Facebook must comply with their rules, otherwise, the messages will not be sent.

Messages containing the Facebook tag NON_PROMOTIONAL_SUBSCRIPTION will only be available for sending to verified news pages. We have also added additional Facebook tags. We advise you to double-check the purpose of your messages and apply the appropriate tag based on the purpose. If the tags are not applied, we will default to using the CONFIRMED_EVENT_UPDATE tag. You can read more detailed information in the documentation provided by Facebook at the following link: Facebook Message Tags Documentation.

Additionally, Facebook has restricted the use of chatbot platforms in the European Union. Since December 16, these restrictions have affected user groups from 27 EU countries, as well as Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and the UK.

There are three groups of users affected:

1. Facebook pages registered in these countries.

2. Facebook pages with administrators from the mentioned countries.

3. Chatbot subscribers from the mentioned countries.

Thus, if a Facebook page or its administrator is registered in the affected countries, the restrictions will apply to all chatbot users. If the page and administrator are not from the restricted countries, but there are users from these countries, the restrictions will apply to these users.

The "24 + 1" rule:
You have 24 hours to respond to a message sent by a user. You are also allowed to send one message 24 hours after the initial user message.

Facebook’s requirements for scheduled messages:

• It is forbidden to send any promotional content.

• Content must comply with Facebook, Messenger, and community guidelines.

• Messages must contain only content that falls under one of the acceptable use cases for subscription-based messaging policies (news, productivity, or personal monitoring).

• Messages must contain the NON_PROMOTIONAL_SUBSCRIPTION tag in the request (messages from our sales funnels are automatically tagged with this tag, or you can apply the one you need, as explained in the video below).

Message blocking:

To fully subscribe to a Facebook chatbot, the user must take an action in response (send a message) or click the "Start" button. Otherwise, Facebook will enforce the 24 + 1 rule (response within the specified time), blocking the ability to send a message to this user.

To submit an application, you need to go to your Facebook profile:

1. On the left menu, select the "Pages" option

2. Create or select the page that needs to be verified

3. Go to the "Settings" section

4. Go to the "Page Settings" section

5. In the menu on the right, find the section "Advanced Messaging" and click "View"

6. After the page loads, scroll down to the "Requested Features" section and then expand the "User Information" section

7. Then, you need to submit for verification the three items: Gender, Language/Region, and Time Zone. To do this, click Confirm, write your request, and click the Save Draft button

7.1 Click the Gender button, fill in the required information according to the template, and then click Save Draft

7.2 Then click on “Language local”

7.3 After that, select Time Zone

If the application is not approved:

Add to the application a screencast video showing the first steps of interaction between the bot and the subscriber. To do this, refer to the link: https://newreporter.org/2016/10/17/5-luchshix-besplatnyx-programm-dlya-zapisi-video-s-ekrana/

Demonstrate a real example of useful content in your sales funnel (this can be an educational article, guide, recipe, tip, etc.).

Show an example of scheduled messages. Please note that these messages must be purely non-promotional. For example, educational content, questions, or other information that does not contain advertising.

Example message if you selected "News" in the application:

"At the presentation on March 25, Apple introduced a new service – Apple Arcade. The gaming platform will be available on the company's main operating systems — macOS and iOS. Analysts believe that Apple may revolutionize the gaming industry with this service, as the company has taken a thorough and meticulous approach to its creation. Moreover, the corporation has allocated a substantial sum to attract developers."

If the application is not approved:

There are cases where the application is not approved on the first try. The key is to not lose hope — we know of a case where approval was received on the 8th attempt. Currently, Facebook does not limit the number of attempts. Also, note that according to Facebook’s policy, they may not provide feedback on why a page was not approved. This doesn’t mean you won’t succeed. Just review the information you submitted, try changing something, and try again.

So, if you’ve been rejected, carefully review our recommendations and try again. You can also find the official information from Facebook here: https://developers.facebook.com/docs/messenger-platform/policy/page-subscription-messaging