Meta platforms ad revenue doubles in India across WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram

Meta Platforms reported that its advertisement revenue from click-to-message ads in India, across platforms including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, has doubled during the September quarter. CEO Mark Zuckerberg highlighted the growth of business messaging across their services, with over 600 million conversations between people and businesses occurring daily. He emphasised the potential of this growth when scaled globally, noting that more than 60% of people on WhatsApp in India message a business app account weekly.

Click-to-Message Ads

Click-to-message ads are an important source of revenue for Meta. These are advertisements that run on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. They direct users to a conversation interface on one of Meta’s chat platforms (Messenger, Instagram, or WhatsApp) for businesses and customers to connect. Meta earns a commission from businesses using the chat service and selling products through these platforms.

In India, WhatsApp is a key monetisation avenue for Meta. Industry estimates suggest that WhatsApp could have over 480 million monthly active users in India—its highest base worldwide. To further this, Meta launched multiple new features in September to enhance WhatsApp as a business offering in India. Multiple industries, including established businesses and small ventures, are steadily expanding adoption of click-to-message ad formats for user base conversion. 

Google’s Response

Google launched Business Messages within the Shopping tab on its core search platform on 19 October. However, it remains to be seen how adoption for it grows.

Meta’s Performance

Despite caution and uncertainty about Meta’s core ad revenue business in 2024 expressed by Zuckerberg and CFO Susan Li, Meta’s India business has continued to grow steadily. The company’s India earnings for FY23 showed a 13% increase in gross advertisement revenue to ₹18,308 crore from the previous year, while net profit expanded 19% to ₹352 crore.

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