How to grow your WhatsApp broadcast list

Miodrag Magyar
Published May 30, 2023
Last updated July 20, 2023
How to grow your WhatsApp broadcast list

Table of contents



When it comes to communicating with customers, businesses have a variety of options at their disposal, from email to social media ads. However, WhatsApp stands out as a highly effective tool for personalized communication. In fact, studies have shown that messages sent on WhatsApp have an open rate above 90% in most countries, indicating that customers are highly engaged with the platform.

WhatsApp broadcast lists are an excellent tool for quickly and efficiently sending bulk messages. With just a few clicks, you can send a message to everyone on your list, whether it’s an announcement, a reminder, or a quick update. However, building your broadcast list can often be a challenging and time-consuming task.

Before diving into specific strategies for growing your broadcast list, it’s important to note that the WhatsApp broadcast feature is available in both the WhatsApp Business app and the WhatsApp Business Platform/API. Let’s explore the differences between them.

WhatsApp broadcast with the WhatsApp Business app

The WhatsApp Business app is free, and it offers basic features such as creating a business profile, integrating a product catalog, automating welcome and away messages, saving replies for quick communication, and using the broadcast feature to send messages to up to 256 contacts at once.

The messages sent with the WhatsApp Business app can only be received by the contacts who have saved your phone number in their address book. This means that if you haven’t been added to someone’s contact list, they will not receive your broadcast messages. Plus, when you send bulk messages using the WhatsApp Business app, there is no way to personalize them for each client.

Despite these limitations, the broadcast feature is still useful for micro-businesses to reach out to their customers and share important information or promotions.

WhatsApp broadcast with the WhatsApp Business Platform/API

The WhatsApp Business Platform/API is a paid service designed for businesses to communicate with their customers at scale. It offers advanced features such as integrations, automating messages with chatbots, sending bulk messages to millions of customers at once, etc.

The broadcast feature in the WhatsApp Business Platform/API allows you to send messages to both saved and unsaved contacts by using message templates. These pre-approved message formats provide a structured and consistent format and are designed to improve the customer experience by providing personalized communication and relevant and timely information.

Rasayel offers a comprehensive solution enabling you to efficiently create and manage WhatsApp broadcast lists. By utilizing the WhatsApp Business Platform/API, Rasayel allows you to segment your customer base, organize contacts, and send targeted messages to specific groups or individuals.

Creating WhatsApp campaigns in Rasayel

WhatsApp template is a customizable message that you can create to initiate a conversation with your customers. These templates include placeholders and variables that your customer communication platform will automatically replace with customer data. For example, a shipping status message might look like the following:

Hello {{1}}, your order number {{2}} has been prepared for shipment. You will receive your item within the next {{3}} days.

You may track your order status here: {{4}}

Thank you for your purchase! 😊

The processed message that a customer named Jennifer will receive will look like this:

WhatsApp shipping status message

Message templates can have interactive features like buttons, allowing customers to engage with the message and take specific actions easily. For example, you can use an interactive message template to send an order confirmation to a customer, which includes a button that allows the customer to track their delivery status.

Interactive WhatsApp message

If you want to learn more about interactive message templates, read our recent post, All About Interactive WhatsApp Message Templates.

Useful tips for growing your WhatsApp Broadcast list

Building a strong and engaged community on your broadcast list takes effort and strategy because you need to provide value to your subscribers, communicate with them effectively, and keep them engaged over time. Here are some key strategies that can help:

Promote your WhatsApp Business account

Promoting your WhatsApp Business account is key to growing your broadcast list. You can promote your account by including a link to it in your email signature, on your website or blog, and in your social media profiles. You can also include a call-to-action in your marketing materials and encourage your customers to join your broadcast list.

Website promoting WhatsApp Business details.

Additionally, you can use paid advertising or influencer marketing to reach a wider audience and attract more subscribers.

Adding a WhatsApp widget or chat link to your website or blog can make it easier for people to join your broadcast list. You can add a chat link that directs people to your WhatsApp account, where they can join your broadcast list with a single click. This makes it easy for people to join your list without having to search for it.

Example of a WhatsApp widget on a website.

If you want to create a widget, use our free WhatsApp Chat Widget Generator.

To generate a WhatsApp link or generate a QR code, use our free WhatsApp Chat Link Generator.

Display a QR code

QR codes can be an effective way to promote your broadcast list offline. You can create a QR code that directs people to your WhatsApp account, where they can join your broadcast list. You can place the QR code on your business cards, flyers, or even in your brick-and-mortar store.

QR code linked to WhatsApp

Encourage subscribers to share your message with others

This is an effective way to grow your broadcast list. You can incentivize them by offering exclusive content, discounts, or promotions only available to subscribers who refer their friends. You can also include a call-to-action in your messages that encourages them to share your messages with their contacts.

Communicate effectively

Effective communication is key to building a strong and engaged community on your WhatsApp broadcast list. Make sure your messages are clear, concise, and easy to understand. Use visuals such as images or videos to make your messages more engaging. Also, be sure to use appropriate language for your target audience and avoid jargon or technical terms that may confuse them.

Make sure that you’re providing valuable content

Providing valuable content is essential to keeping your subscribers engaged and interested in your broadcast list. You can provide value by sharing exclusive content, offering discounts, or providing informative content that is relevant to your subscribers. Make sure that the content you share is of high quality and provides value to your subscribers.

Use social media to promote your broadcast list

Social media can be a powerful tool to promote your broadcast list and reach a wider audience. You can use social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to promote your account and encourage your followers to join your broadcast list. Use a clear call-to-action and provide a link to your account in your social media profiles.

Social media post promoting a WhatsApp account.

Offer exclusive content or promotions

Offering exclusive content or promotions is a great way to attract new subscribers and keep your existing subscribers engaged. You can offer exclusive discounts, early access to new products, or other perks that are only available to your broadcast list subscribers.

WhatsApp message offering a discount.

This can help you build a loyal customer base and increase sales.

Provide excellent customer service

Providing excellent customer service is essential to building a strong and engaged community on your WhatsApp broadcast list. Respond to messages promptly, answer questions, and solve any problems your subscribers may have. You can build trust and loyalty with your subscribers by providing excellent customer service.

By using a chatbot, you can streamline the process of answering common queries and addressing repetitive concerns. The chatbot can be programmed to recognize and respond to specific keywords or phrases, ensuring accurate and prompt replies. This not only saves time for your subscribers but also reduces the workload for your customer service team.

Our chatbot builder requires no coding skills, and designing a custom chatbot is easy as building a Lego set.

Rasayel’s chatbot builder.

Additionally, the chatbot can be designed to handle simple tasks, such as updating contact details, managing subscriptions, or initiating basic transactions. By empowering subscribers to perform these actions through the chatbot, you enhance the overall self-service capabilities and convenience of your WhatsApp broadcast list.

Partner with other businesses to promote each other’s broadcast lists

Partnering with other businesses in your niche can effectively promote each other’s broadcast lists and reach a wider audience. You can collaborate on joint marketing campaigns, cross-promote each other’s accounts, or offer joint discounts or promotions. This can help you attract new subscribers and build relationships with other businesses in your industry.

Leverage your existing channels

Leveraging your existing channels is key to growing your broadcast list. You can use your existing marketing channels, such as email marketing or SMS marketing, to promote your WhatsApp broadcast list.

Use a clear call-to-action and provide a link to your account in your marketing messages. Additionally, you can use your website, blog, or other online channels to promote your WhatsApp account and encourage your audience to join your broadcast list. By leveraging your existing channels, you can reach a wider audience and attract more subscribers to your WhatsApp broadcast list.

Inviting website visitors to connect with a business over WhatsApp

Conclusion

WhatsApp Broadcast is a powerful tool that can help businesses communicate with their customers in a personalized way. By using the WhatsApp Business API connected to a customer communication platform like Rasayel, you can take your WhatsApp communication to the next level.

In this article, I have provided a few key tips that can help you build a loyal customer base and drive business growth. It’s important to regularly analyze your sales and customer data to identify areas where you can improve and optimize your strategies for success. By taking a multifaceted approach to building your customer base, you can maximize your growth potential and stay ahead of the competition.

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.

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:

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