WhatsApp integrates with Instagram: how it works, who can integrate it and how to do it
We are going to explain everything you need to know about the integration of WhatsApp within Instagram , so that it can be used as an alternative contact method to Direct. For two years now, Facebook has been thinking about how to integrate its applications with the messaging system , and now it seems that it is beginning to take its first steps in this regard.
And these first steps can be confusing, because at the moment not everyone is going to be able to use this integration . For this reason, we are going to start by explaining to you how WhatsApp has started to be integrated into Instagram, what it can be integrated for, which accounts can do it and how to configure this integration. Of course, you must bear in mind that if you integrate this WhatsApp number in the Instagram account, anyone will be able to see it when they enter your Instagram professional account.
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Who can start integrating WhatsApp on Instagram
Let’s start with the basics, who is this first integration between the two platforms aimed at. For now, WhatsApp is integrated into Instagram only in professional accounts . Therefore, if you have a business account on your Instagram, you will already be able to see this option on both Android and iOS.
This also means that normal users at the moment do not have this integration , so if you read about it somewhere, you should know that you will still have to wait a while. You could get it just by setting up your account as a professional , but you couldn’t use it actively either.
What is this integration for?
This integration serves as an alternative method to contact professionals who are on Instagram . To avoid having to be using private messages, companies can configure other methods to contact them, such as an email or now, the phone number they use in their WhatsApp.
When you visit a business account, in addition to the button to send a private message, you will also see a button called Contact . This is a button that only appears in professional accounts, conventional users will only have the method of being contacted by private message.
When you click on the Contact button , a window will appear with the email and WhatsApp number that that company has configured. You can also add another company number that is not linked to WhatsApp. These are the three methods that are available to establish as a contact method.
Therefore, and summarizing everything, WhatsApp is not going to replace the private messages of Instagram Direct at the moment . Instead, what it will do is show itself as an alternative to be able to contact companies in a more comfortable way than these private messages, based on the idea that it is more comfortable and easier to talk on WhatsApp than to depend on Instagram.
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How to add your WhatsApp account to Instagram
As we told you at the beginning, the first step to integrate WhatsApp as a contact method on Instagram would be to have a professional account . The process to change your account to professional is within the Instagram settings, and you just have to follow the steps. We have already explained the step by step here , so we are going to assume that you already have it configured and move on.
If we start from the basis that you already have a professional account, what you should do is enter Instagram and go to your profile (1), by clicking on the profile button that you have below. The screenshots that we offer you are from iOS, but on Android everything is exactly the same. Once inside your profile, click on the Edit profile option that will appear in your professional account, below your description and above the content.
When you are within your options to edit profile, now you have to click on the Contact options option that you have below, in the Profile information section .
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You will go to the Contact Options screen , where you will see the three methods that Instagram offers so that they can contact you. Until now, it was only by mail or by phone, but now you can also indicate the WhatsApp phone option. To do this, click on the WhatsApp option that will appear with the messaging app icon.
You will go to a screen where you must now indicate your WhatsApp phone number and click on Send code . You can write the number by hand, although you can also select the one that you have configured in Instagram as your phone number to save you writing it in case it is the same.
Now, in your WhatsApp you will receive a message from the Facebook Business account with a code . The account appears as verified on WhatsApp, meaning there is no loss or confusion. You won’t see their phone number, just the Facebook Business name with the green verification symbol. You will have to write the code on your Instagram , which will have remained on a screen where you can do it.
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And that’s it, from now on the number will appear in your contact options, and when someone clicks on the Contact button that appears in your professional account, they will also see this number. It is something that you must bear in mind, that your WhatsApp phone number can be seen by anyone who accesses your Instagram account.
