The Dos and Don'ts of WhatsApp marketing
With over two billion active users worldwide, WhatsApp offers an extensive reach and a highly engaged user base. However, like any marketing channel, there are certain best practices to follow and pitfalls to avoid. In this article, we will explore the dos and don’ts of WhatsApp marketing to help you maximize your success on this platform.
The Dos of WhatsApp marketing
WhatsApp marketing is becoming increasingly popular as businesses recognize the importance of engaging customers on their preferred messaging app. Let’s explore what you can do to maximize the effects for your business:
Use the WhatsApp Business Platform/API
The WhatsApp Business Platform/API allows you to reach a global audience with over two billion active users. With automation and scalability, you can handle a high volume of messages and respond promptly. Personalized customer interactions at scale are possible by leveraging customer data.
The API supports rich media formats, enhancing engagement through visual content. Efficient customer support is enabled with features like chatbots and automated responses. Transactional notifications improve the customer journey and keep customers informed. Analytics and insights help track campaign performance and make data-driven decisions.
The WhatsApp Business Platform/API doesn’t have a user interface, so you’d need to connect it to a shared WhatsApp team inbox like Rasayel to leverage its features. Rasayel offers a shared WhatsApp inbox designed to streamline communication and maximize your team’s efficiency. How?
- Shared team inbox for WhatsApp and other messaging channels
With Rasayel, you can now manage all your WhatsApp conversations in one place - quickly, easily and without ever losing a customer. Onboard teams in minutes and keep customers happy with a fast and efficient team inbox. Get your WhatsApp customer conversations in one place - with Rasayel.
- Easy to build a WhatsApp chatbot
If you want to scale your customer support, there is an easy solution to make every customer interaction faster and more efficient. With our simple yet powerful drag-and-drop builder you can create custom chatbot flows, buttons, links, actions, and on-brand messages. Plus, with a well-designed chatbot, you can effectively qualify leads with zero effort from your team and instantly connect customers to the most relevant team member.
- Run powerful campaigns
Rasayel is the perfect platform to reach out to your customers and get better engagement. You can segment your audience, build templates, have a clear overview of your campaigns once you hit the “publish” button, and get detailed insights into who approved, blocked, or saw your message.
- Use detailed analytics
Rasayel provides instant clarity on individual and team performance with key metrics like total conversations opened and closed, first response time, resolution time and more, all presented in powerful visual reports.
Use Call-to-Action buttons
In the realm of WhatsApp marketing, incorporating effective call-to-action (CTA) buttons can significantly enhance the success of your marketing campaigns. A CTA is a prompt that encourages the user to take a specific action, such as clicking on a link, subscribing to a newsletter, or making a purchase.
Utilizing CTA buttons in your WhatsApp messages can lead to increased customer engagement, improved conversion rates, and, ultimately, more sales.
Collect Opt-ins
Before initiating any communication on WhatsApp, obtaining consent from your customers is essential. You can do this by incorporating a clear opt-in process on your website, mobile app, or even in your WhatsApp messages.
Ensuring that your customers actively choose to receive messages from your business builds trust and helps you comply with privacy regulations.
Opt-ins are mandatory for businesses that want to engage with their customers over WhatsApp. Learn more about customer consent and WhatsApp policies in our recent post: Opt-ins, consent, and WhatsApp best practices & policies.
Use a QR code to make it easy for your customers to connect with you
By integrating QR codes into your WhatsApp marketing, you can create a direct and hassle-free connection with your target audience. Place QR codes on various marketing materials like posters, brochures, business cards, and product packaging. When customers scan your QR code, it should lead them to a relevant and optimized landing page.
Read our post: “How to Generate WhatsApp Links & QR codes.”
Grow your audience with “Click-to-WhatsApp ads”
These ads have proven to be highly effective in growing your audience and driving engagement. Click-to-WhatsApp ads are a type of social media advertising that allows you to engage with potential customers directly through the WhatsApp messaging platform.
When users click on the ad, they are instantly redirected to a WhatsApp chat window with you. Read our post if you want to learn how to create Click-to-WhatsApp ads to grow your business.
Personalize WhatsApp messages
WhatsApp is an intimate messaging platform, and users expect personalized interactions. Take advantage of this by tailoring your messages to individual customers. Use their names, reference previous purchases or interactions, and make them feel valued.
Personalization is easy as a breeze if you’re using the WhatsApp Business Platform/API connected to a customer communications platform like Rasayel. All you need to do is create a WhatsApp message template. WhatsApp templates are customizable messages you create to initiate a conversation with your customers.
A simple message template includes texts as well as placeholders for variables or parameters that you’d fill in later to customize your message for each customer. Variables and parameters are defined using curly brackets and a number in between them, as shown in the following example:
Personalization increases engagement and encourages customers to develop a stronger connection with your brand.
Provide valuable content
Delivering relevant and valuable content is crucial for WhatsApp marketing success. Share exclusive offers, product updates, useful tips, or relevant industry news. Make sure your messages are concise, clear, and provide actionable information.
Valuable content builds credibility and keeps your audience engaged. If you want to read more about creating meaningful relationships with your customers, read our past article: How to create engaging WhatsApp content?
Automate WhatsApp conversations
Automated messages, such as welcome messages or order confirmations, can save time and enhance the customer experience. However, deploying a chatbot is a whole new level of automation. In Rasayel, you can create a chatbot flow from scratch without any coding knowledge. It’s a drag-and-drop process, as simple as building a Lego set.
Read this if you want to learn Everything you need to know about WhatsApp chatbots.
Use multimedia in your WhatsApp messages
Multimedia make your WhatsApp messages more engaging. Incorporate images, videos, or audio messages to capture attention and convey information effectively. Visual and audio content can create a richer experience and increase the likelihood of your message being remembered.
The Don’ts of WhatsApp marketing
Follow these few tips and grow your business with WhatsApp without the risk of being sanctioned or losing customers:
Don’t spam your customers on WhatsApp
One of the most significant pitfalls in WhatsApp marketing is spamming. Bombarding customers with excessive messages, irrelevant content, or unsolicited promotions can quickly lead to frustration and opt-outs. Respect your customers’ time and inbox by sending messages only when necessary and ensuring the content is valuable to them.
Learn more about How to avoid getting your WhatsApp number blocked.
Don’t neglect your customers’ privacy
Privacy is a paramount concern for users; mishandling it can damage your brand’s reputation. Avoid sharing sensitive customer information or distributing personal data without consent. Make sure to comply with data protection regulations and provide transparent opt-out options to give customers control over their data.
Don’t ignore customer feedback
WhatsApp provides an excellent opportunity to receive feedback directly from your customers. Ignoring or dismissing feedback can harm your relationship with them. Encourage customers to share their thoughts, respond promptly, and consider their suggestions.
Actively listening to your audience can help you improve your products, services, and overall customer experience.
A screenshot from a WhatsApp conversation in Rasayel.
Don’t oversell
While WhatsApp marketing can be an effective sales tool, avoid overselling or constantly bombarding customers with promotional messages. Instead, focus on building relationships, providing value, and nurturing long-term customer loyalty.
Find a balance between sales-driven messages and content that educates, entertains, or inspires your audience.
Don’t neglect analytics
Measure and analyze your WhatsApp marketing efforts to gain insights into their effectiveness. Pay attention to metrics such as message open rates, click-through rates, and response rates.
WhatsApp Business Platform/API provides you with all important metrics that you can access through your customer communication platform. These metrics can help you identify the weaknesses and strengths of your customer journey funnel to optimize your customer communications.
Rasayel’s analytics feature lets you see campaign results, who clicked on what buttons, answered your message, or didn’t do anything. Plus, you can export the detail of your campaign results in one click!
Use this data to refine your messaging strategy, identify areas for improvement, and optimize your campaigns.
In a nutshell
WhatsApp marketing can potentially revolutionize how you engage with your customers. By following the dos and avoiding don’ts of WhatsApp marketing, you can unlock the platform’s full potential and achieve your marketing goals. Remember to obtain consent, personalize messages, provide valuable content, use automation wisely, and leverage multimedia to create engaging experiences.
On the flip side, be cautious about spamming, prioritize privacy and data protection, actively listen to customer feedback, avoid overselling, and utilize analytics to measure and optimize your efforts. By adhering to these best practices, businesses can build stronger relationships with their customers, drive conversions, and create a positive brand image.
Remember, WhatsApp is a platform for direct and personal communication, so treat it as such. Respect your customers’ time, preferences, and privacy, and focus on delivering value at every touchpoint. With a thoughtful and strategic approach to WhatsApp marketing, businesses can harness the power of this popular messaging platform and achieve remarkable results.
Learn more
If you'd like to learn more about how WhatsApp can help you grow your business, please reach out to us on WhatsApp at +13024070488 (Click to chat now).
We also offer a free consultation session where we review your use case, answer any questions about WhatsApp, and help you build a strategy to make the best out of the platform. Book a call with us here. We'd love to speak with you:
Miodrag brings over 15 years of hands-on experience in content writing and marketing, with a talent for making even the trickiest topics clear and interesting. His passion lies in guiding businesses to effectively utilize WhatsApp to build stronger customer relationships and drive results. With an eye for detail and a heart for storytelling, he’s here to show how effective WhatsApp communication can boost sales and enhance customer engagement.
