| Service type | Text | Image | Text & button | Text & button & image |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| One-way | X | X | X | X |
| Two-way | X | X | X | X |
| Sessions | X | X |
As a commitment to delivering relevant business messages, Viber authenticates brands with a Blue Tick. Users can update their subscription to the service at any point in time.
Every Business Message includes a Blue Tick to reassure users they aren’t receiving spam. When a business sends a message to a Viber user, it will be displayed in a dedicated Viber chat from that sender. The end users will view the following:
- Business information: Business name and logo, business website URL and description.
- The Viber verified icon: Green (or blue for iOS devices) checkmark.
- Unsubscribe button: Each Viber user has the option to opt out from receiving messages from a specific sender by blocking that sender. They can also opt out of receiving all Business Messages directly in their settings.
- Learn more button: A way to find out more information about the sender.
Types of Business Messages
Viber helps reduce friction throughout the customer journey with various types of business messages:
- One-way: Companies send out notifications and alerts; users cannot reply.
- Two-way: Companies start the conversation and users can reply, allowing for deeper interactions.
- Sessions: Users initiate the conversation with companies.
Transaction Messages
Transactional messages are of informative nature that may contain text only, however they can also contain an optional URL related to the text. Examples include: appointment reminders, transaction notifications, flight alerts, and more.
Here are a few examples of transactional messages:
Hi {{name}}! Thanks for placing an order at FabClothes. Your order 786564, for a total of EUR 64.00, is confirmed. The expected delivery date is May 5th.
Dear {{name}}, your appointment with Dr. Mueller scheduled for May 5th at 10AM is confirmed. To change the time of your appointment or cancel, please reply to this message.
Transactional messages in Russia
In Russia, transactional messages are sent in a template format in the form of a predefined message structure sent by the service and manually approved by Viber. Templates are created to ensure that messages are easy to send and adhere to Viber guidelines. This is Russia-specific service and is only available in this country. .
If you are based in Russia and plan to send service traffic outside of Russia, it is necessary to use two different accounts—one for your end users in Russia and the second account for your end users in other countries.
Promotional Messages
Promotional messages have the purpose of promoting the business, a particular product or special offers/deals. Usually, this message contains more interactive elements such as buttons, emojis, images, etc.
All promotional service messages must be labeled "Promotional". In case a business message is not identifiable as transactional and/or targeted to a specific user, it will be considered and charged as a promotional message.
Here are a few examples of promotional messages:
1-way promotional message:
Dear {{name}}, thank you for choosing to fly with {{company name}}! With your flight tomorrow, you are gaining {{number}} miles. Use your miles in the airline shop here (link or button).
Hi {{name}}, enjoy the last week of FabShoes winter sale! Discounts for all online store purchases! Find the latest offers here (link or button).
According to Viber guidelines, the first message towards the end user cannot be a promotional message.
Sessions
Sessions is a set of two-way messaging with the same user in a defined timeframe. The Sessions service allows business a new channel of communication with their subscribers essentially for customer support purposes.
Users can also initiate conversations by asking a question, reporting a problem, changing a reservation, etc. By clicking on your company’s “Viber Sessions” contact option, users can start chatting and launch a session. Each session has its own service ID.
A company can add a Viber Sessions deeplink to your website, apps, social media, email signature and/ or Viber profile page. Then, have a person or chatbot on hand to respond, of course.
Each session is configured as follows:
- The session is set for a default period of 12 hours (in seconds).
- Each session will have a default maximum of messages (60). When reached, a new session will be opened automatically.
- A fixed rate according to the message type.
In regards to billing:
- The charge for the Sessions/ Replyable messages will be per session and not per delivered message. This will allow the business multiple message deliveries with a fixed price per session.
- The session will be opened and billed after the business replies to the user's first message.
- The Session rate will be applied ONLY if the user initiated the conversation. The business may send the first message in a session however, in that case it will be charged as a regular one-way message.
Sessions require a dedicated business account. Existing business accounts that would like to use a session type should create a new account.
{ "from" : "{{viberServiceId}}", "to" : "{{receiverPhoneNumber}}", "channel" : "viber", "messagePurpose": "transaction|promotion", "content" : { "contentType" : "text", "text" : "test message 2" } }
{ "from" : "{{viberServiceId}}", "to" : "{{receiverPhoneNumber}}", "channel" : "viber", "messagePurpose": "transaction|promotion", "content" : { "contentType" : "image", "image" : { "url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6c/Sample_EPC_QR_code.png" } } }
{ "from" : "{{viberServiceId}}", "to" : "{{receiverPhoneNumber}}", "channel" : "viber", "messagePurpose": "transaction|promotion", "content" : { "contentType" : "components", "components" : { "body" : [ { "type" : "text", "text" : "I'm mandatory" }, { "type" : "button", "button" : { "caption" : "click me", "callback" : "some callback" } } ] } } }
{ "from" : "{{viberServiceId}}", "to" : "{{receiverPhoneNumber}}", "channel" : "viber", "messagePurpose": "transaction|promotion", "content" : { "contentType" : "components", "components" : { "body" : [ { "type" : "text", "text" : "I'm mandatory" }, { "type" : "image", "image" : { "url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6c/Sample_EPC_QR_code.png" } }, { "type" : "button", "button" : { "caption" : "click me", "callback" : "some callback" } } ] } } }
Forbidden industries and use cases
Viber Business Messages’ content does not permit any of the following:
- Political parties or organizations with a political nature
- Gambling and Trade - online and offline casino businesses, bidding, lottery, bitcoin, binary options and forex companies.
- Credit/loan services and pawn shops unless these services are offered by a registered financial institution such as banks and services that are endorsed by banks
- Content with sexual nature and any other adult content
- Tobacco related services
- Alcohol related services
- Businesses that are involved in weapons and drug trade
- Open portals/blogs that have no control over the published content, for example
- Internet websites that allow its users to create content and share it
- Religious services including churches, temples, mosques etc.
- Online spiritual services such as tarot cards readings, astrological mapping, etc.
- Companies that we consider as Viber’s competitors.
