Broadcasts
Broadcasts allows you to send bot-initiated messages to several users at one go. You may use the broadcast function to send messages to all users, or a targeted group of users
In the Broadcasts page, you will be able to able to see a list of all broadcasts your bot has scheduled and completed
To create a new broadcast, click on the New Broadcast button on the top left corner of the page
When you click on it, you will be taken to the New Broadcast page
In order to create a broadcast, you will need to enter details in these fields
The story that you would like to send to all your users. When you select a story, you will be able to preview it under the Preview Story area on the right
The time that you would like to send your broadcast. You will have these options:
Schedule: Schedule your broadcast at a later date and time on your current timezone. A broadcast can only be scheduled at least 10 minutes in advance of the current time. The time selected will be in respect to your current timezone, which will be reflected above the Schedule calendar
Timewarp: Schedule your broadcast at a later date and time on your recipients' individual timezones. A broadcast can only be timewarped at least 24 hours (1 day) in advance of the current time. The time selected will be in respect to your recipient's timezone. For example, If you send from Singapore and schedule delivery for 9am UTC+8, your users in Jakarta would receive it at 9am UTC+7 (translated to 10am UTC+8).
Publish Now: Publish your broadcast right here, right now. When you publish your broadcast now, you will get a confirmation popup before it is actually published to your recipients
Target your broadcast to a specific audience based on their profile fields, tags, and attributes. You can make your targeting as generic or as specific as you wish
The above example targets users who are tagged with "b2c", first spoke to the chatbot on Jan 1st, 2020, and have a first name of "Abhilash".
When you enter the three fields above, you will be able to see its
The Estimated Reach is the current estimated number of recipients who will receive your broadcast based on your target subset of users. If you click on the preview link, you will be able to see a list of all the recipients on the right side of the page
You will also be able to preview the recipients by clicking the Preview Recipients button above, and toggle the view from Preview Story
The status of the broadcast. Every new broadcast will have a default status of UNPUBLISHED. A status can be only one of the 4 values from here:
Status | Description |
UNPUBLISHED | The broadcast is being setup |
SCHEDULED | The broadcast is scheduled to a later time |
PUBLISHING | The broadcast is being sent to its recipients |
FINISHED | The broadcast has been sent to its recipients |
The status field can also be viewed on the Broadcasts page, which will show a summary of all broadcasts
When you done creating the broadcast, you can click on the red button below called Schedule or Publish Now, depending on your when you scheduled your broadcast. Once done, you will get a notification that the broadcast has been scheduled and will be taken back to the Broadcasts page
If you click on the Scheduled Time of a broadcast, you will be taken to a page where you can view your broadcast details. In this page, you will not be able to change any preset fields. You will have the option to cancel the broadcast at the bottom.
You can cancel a scheduled broadcast by clicking on the Cancel Broadcast button at the bottom of the Broadcast Details page.
You will get a confirmation popup before the broadcast is finally cancelled. Once the broadcast is cancelled, it will be removed from the Broadcasts page. A broadcast can not be cancelled when its status is FINISHED.
You also have the option of cancelling the broadcast from the Broadcasts page directly by clicking on the delete button on the right.
You have the option of deleting a FINISHED broadcast this way as well.
Different Messaging Channels have their own specific guidelines the kind of content you are allowed to broadcast. The guidelines are listed below.
Visit this link to learn more about the Facebook broadcast guideline on Subscription Messaging and Sponsored Messaging.
