Facebook Message Tags: A Short and Sweet Guide

One of the biggest changes coming with the March 4th, 2020, Facebook update is with Message Tags. You can currently choose from one of 17 supported tags when sending content outside the 24-hour window. After the 4th, you’ll only have three, plus one in beta, to choose from.  

These tags allow you to send relevant one-to-one updates to subscribers outside the standard 24-hour window. They cannot be used to send promotional content. This means you cannot use a supported tag to send deals, coupons, offers, discounts, and other promotional items. If you do, Facebook may restrict the ability for your page to send messages. 

Let’s go over the new supported Message Tags and tips for staying compliant in your Messenger Marketing.

The four new supported Message Tags

To create a better experience for users, Facebook will only support the following Message Tags after March 4th, 2020:

1. Confirmed event reminder.
2. Post purchase update.
3. Account update.
4. Human agent.

Quick note: The human agent tag is still in beta. Once it’s live, we’ll automatically apply it to messages sent in Live Chat.  You can read more about the four supported Message Tags on Facebook’s site.  

Let’s go over each tag and what they can (and cannot) be used for.

Tag 1: Confirmed Event Reminder

You can use this tag to send people reminders or updates for an event they registered for (i.e. purchased tickets or RSVP’s). It also covers any messages that:

• Remind a user of upcoming classes, appointments, or events that they’ve scheduled.
• Confirm a reservation or attendance to an accepted event or appointment.
• Notify of user’s transportation or trip scheduled, such as arrival, cancellation, baggage delay, or other status changes.

A unique case ManyChat Agency Award winner Angela Allan points out in Chatbots Life is: 

A three-part series mastermind is covered by this tag, but random weekly Facebook Lives are not. For example, people have purchased a course, and the Facebook Live is part of the course, you can use the Confirmed Event Reminder tag, but no replay message is allowed.

Weekly Facebook Live’s, promotions, reminders to purchase event tickets, or cross-selling for other events are not supported by this tag. No replays from past events are allowed either, unless it’s within the 24-hour window.  

Tag 2: Post-Purchase Update

This tag informs people about a recent purchase. You can mark a message with it to:

• Confirm transactions, such as invoices or receipts. 
• Notify users of shipment status, including product in-transit, shipped, delivered, or delayed.
• Inform changes related to an order that the user placed, such as a declined credit card, items are back-ordered, or other order updates that require user action.

You cannot use this tag to send promotional content — including but not limited to deals, coupons, and discounts — cross or upsell your products, or to prompt a customer survey, review, or poll.

Tag 3: Account Update

The Account Update tag is pretty straightforward. You use it to send someone a message about:

• A change in application status (i.e., credit card, job).
• An alert of suspicious activity, such as fraud alerts.

Similar to the other tags, you can’t use Account Update to send promotional content, recurring content, or prompt a survey, poll, or review.

Tag 4: Human Agent 

This one is in closed beta — we don’t even have access to it yet. But with this tag, you can’t use an automated message or send content unrelated to the user’s inquiry. A living, breathing human can send messages within 7 days after someone messages your bot.

What happens if you don’t use a Message Tag? 

One of the most common questions we get about the new Message Tags is, “What happens if you send something without a tag?” For other chatbot providers, you may have to worry about that, but not with us. Mistakes happen, we get it. 

The worst thing that can happen if you miss a tag is that your message won’t send. We automatically block any untagged messages sent to subscribers outside the standard messaging window. 

Whether it’s a rule, sequence, or smart delay in your flow, we won’t send your message to anyone outside the 24-hour window. 

What you should do next 

If you’re a little overwhelmed by all the upcoming changes, here are a few ways to stay compliant with Message Tags:

1. Some of your flows might have messages that required a tag outside the 24-hour window. We recommend reviewing you and your clients’ flows, and applying the appropriate tags to your messages outside the 24-hour. See eight different use cases for Message Tags in our March 4th, 2020, Messenger Update Guide. 
2. Keep an eye out for campaigns running after March 4th. You can look at node stats to see if a message is not being sent. Look at the number of people who were sent a message in the previous step and compare it to the current step. If it’s under-delivering, see what tags apply to the message. 
3. Make it easy for subscribers to help report non-delivery. You can include a “Report an issue” call-to-action button in your flows and main menu. When a user taps it, they can be sent into a flow that alerts an administrator (e.g., you) and asks to specify the missing message. 
4. For a message that doesn’t fit any of the four supported Message Tags above, use an SMS or email step instead. You can always bring a user back into your bot and refresh the 24-hour window. 

To wrap this up, do yourself a favor and prepare your account for the new rules. Remember, any untagged message will not be sent beyond the 24-hour messaging window as of March 4, 2020. And for content that doesn’t fit a tag, use an SMS (in select countries) or email step instead.

For more information about the March 4th, 2020, Messenger Policy Updates, check out the following articles:

1. The Complete Guide to Messenger Policy Changes: How To Do Messenger Marketing After March 4, 2020
2. The Brief Guide to Facebook Sponsored Messages

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