Introduction to WhatsApp for marketing

Introduction to WhatsApp for marketing

As digital marketing grew in popularity, companies started using email marketing and social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to engage with their customers. While these channels effectively reached a large audience, they lacked the immediacy and personalization of WhatsApp, which has become a powerful tool for businesses to engage with customers in real-time.

With over two billion active users, WhatsApp is the most popular messaging app and a leading B2C messaging platform. In this article, we will discuss everything you need to know about WhatsApp for marketing.

What is WhatsApp Marketing?

WhatsApp marketing is a digital marketing strategy that leverages the world’s most popular messaging app to connect with customers, promote products or services, and drive business growth. With over two billion active users worldwide, WhatsApp provides you with a powerful platform to engage with customers on a personal level, build trust and establish long-term relationships.

WhatsApp marketing involves sending messages, images, videos, and other types of content to a group of people or individual customers who have opted into your WhatsApp channel. You can effectively reach your customers and drive results by creating engaging content, using targeted messaging, and leveraging WhatsApp’s unique features such as templates and broadcast lists.

Interactive WhatsApp promotional message with emojis

WhatsApp marketing is becoming increasingly popular as businesses recognize the importance of engaging customers on their preferred messaging app. Businesses that want to scale their communications use the WhatsApp Business Platform/API, which offers businesses more advanced features such as chatbots, analytics, and automated responses. The API doesn’t have a user interface, so to use it, businesses must code it themselves or use tools like Rasayel, a customer communication platform built specially for WhatsApp.

What are the benefits of using WhatsApp for marketing?

WhatsApp is rapidly becoming a popular tool for businesses to engage with customers and drive growth. With its direct communication capabilities and high engagement rates, WhatsApp marketing offers a range of benefits to businesses looking to connect with their customers on a personal level. In addition, WhatsApp marketing is an affordable option for businesses of all sizes, eliminating the need for expensive advertising campaigns.

Some of the most desirable benefits WhatsApp has to offer include:

  1. Direct communication with customers: WhatsApp enables you to communicate with customers directly, allowing you to build stronger relationships and establish trust.
  2. Increased engagement: WhatsApp messages have a higher open rate than emails, which means you have a better chance of getting your message across to your customers.
  3. Cost-effectiveness: WhatsApp marketing is an affordable option for businesses of all sizes, eliminating the need for expensive advertising campaigns.
  4. Automation: WhatsApp marketing tools offer automation capabilities, allowing businesses to streamline customer communication and save time.
  5. Integrations: WhatsApp can be integrated with a range of other marketing and productivity tools and platforms, allowing businesses to create more cohesive and effective marketing strategies.

Is WhatsApp Marketing Effective?

Yes, WhatsApp marketing can be very effective, especially when combined with other digital marketing strategies. You can build trust and establish long-term relationships by creating engaging content and sending it directly to customers.

When appropriately executed, WhatsApp customer communications can lead to high engagement, open, and conversion rates on the one hand and reduced bounce rates on the other. The personalized nature of WhatsApp messages, along with its immediate delivery, can help you connect with your target audience and build meaningful customer relationships.

WhatsApp boasts impressive 98% open rate significantly higher than email marketing, which typically has an average open rate of around 34.5% in all industries. As a result, businesses have a greater chance of reaching their customers and delivering their messages through WhatsApp.

Since WhatsApp allows businesses to send targeted and personalized messages to their customers, it can help build stronger relationships and establish trust. This can result in higher customer retention rates and increased customer loyalty.

What converts better, email marketing or WhatsApp marketing?

WhatsApp offers a clear advantage over other digital marketing channels regarding customer engagement and retention. In a survey conducted in 2021 among consumers worldwide, over 40% of respondents reported frequently unsubscribing from brand emails. This decline in response rates and ROI on email marketing has prompted many businesses to reevaluate their strategy and shift their B2C communications to messaging apps like WhatsApp. 

The convenience of using WhatsApp to communicate with businesses makes it more likely for customers to engage with them. This leads to improved conversion, customer satisfaction, and loyalty, as customers feel their needs are being met efficiently and effectively.

Should you use the WhatsApp Business app or WhatsApp Business Platform/API for marketing?

The WhatsApp Business app is a free tool for micro-businesses, while the WhatsApp Business Platform/API is a paid service that allows businesses to scale their customer communications. Additionally, the API is ideal for businesses that want to integrate WhatsApp with their existing systems.

Overview of Rasayel’s platform and mobile app interface.

How to run a successful WhatsApp Marketing campaign?

Running a successful WhatsApp Marketing campaign requires more than just sending messages to your contact list. To truly leverage the power of WhatsApp, you need to create engaging content, segment your audience, use features like WhatsApp Broadcast and WhatsApp templates, and utilize marketing tools to track your success.

If you want to learn more about using WhatsApp for marketing in different industries, read our past articles:

What is WhatsApp Broadcast?

WhatsApp Broadcast is a feature that enables you to send messages to multiple contacts at once. It is ideal for businesses that want to send promotional messages, updates, or other types of content to a large number of people.

What is a WhatsApp Template?

A message template is a pre-approved message that can be sent to customers for a specific purpose, such as confirming a booking or providing shipping details. Templates have variables that can be filled with customer data, such as the customer’s name, order number, appointment time, or location.

Placeholders are used in templates to indicate where variables should be placed in the message. For example, a placeholder such as “{{1}}” might be used in the message to indicate where the customer’s name should be inserted. If the message contains more than one placeholder, each will be represented with a different number. When the template is used, the placeholders are automatically replaced with the customer’s data, creating a personalized message.

By using variables and placeholders, you can create more relevant and engaging messages for your customers, leading to higher engagement and conversion rates.

Before sending a WhatsApp message template, you must submit it for approval. This way WhatsApp ensures that the messaging platform is not used for spamming and the activities are not violating its policies. Typically, it takes about 24 hours for WhatsApp to approve your templates.

Feel free to steal some of our already approved message templates included in our recent post: 27 WhatsApp-Approved Message Templates to Get You Started on WhatsApp.

What is a WhatsApp Interactive Template?

A WhatsApp interactive template is a template that enables customers to respond to your messages and engage with your business. The interactive template can include a variety of interactive components such as quick reply buttons and call-to-action buttons. Customers can respond to these interactive messages directly, allowing businesses to collect valuable data and feedback.

Interactive WhatsApp message with a discount code

For example, you can use an interactive template to collect feedback from customers or provide support.

How to create engaging WhatsApp content?

To create engaging WhatsApp content that resonates with your audience, you need to follow some best practices. Let’s explore how you can create content that effectively conveys your message and encourages customers to take action:

  1. Understand your audience: You need to know what your audience wants and what content they engage with. Conduct market research, analyze your competitors, and use customer feedback to create content that resonates with your audience.
  2. Use multimedia: Mix up your content with multimedia, including images, videos, and GIFs. Multimedia content is more engaging and can help you effectively convey your message.
  3. Keep it short and sweet: WhatsApp messages are limited to 4096 characters, so you need to keep your content short and to the point. Use concise language and avoid using jargon or technical terms. Additionally, you can use emojis to make the tone lighthearted and break up large blocks of texts.
  4. Personalize your content: Personalization is key to engaging with your audience on WhatsApp. Address your customers by name, use their language and include relevant information to make your message more personal.
  5. Use a call to action: Include a call to action in your messages to encourage customers to act, such as visiting your website or purchasing.

How to generate leads with WhatsApp marketing?

To generate leads with WhatsApp marketing, you can promote your WhatsApp number on various marketing channels, provide QR codes and WhatsApp links for a more effective way to connect with your customers, send targeted messages, offer exclusive deals, and respond quickly to customer inquiries. These strategies can help you attract potential customers, engage with them, and convert them into paying customers.

How to measure the success of your WhatsApp marketing campaigns?

To effectively measure the success of your WhatsApp marketing campaigns, it’s essential to set clear goals, track relevant metrics, analyze the data, and evaluate your Return On Investment (ROI).

Measuring the success of your WhatsApp marketing campaign’s success can help you understand your messaging’s effectiveness and optimize your strategy for better results.

To effectively measure the success of your WhatsApp marketing campaigns, you need to:

  1. Set goals: Define your goals and objectives for the campaign, such as increasing sales or generating leads.
  2. Track metrics: Use WhatsApp Marketing Tools to track open, click-through, response, and conversion rates.
  3. Analyze data: Analyze the data to determine what works and what doesn’t. Use the data to refine your campaign and improve your messaging.
  4. Evaluate ROI: Calculate your Return On Investment to determine whether your campaign was successful and worth continuing.

Conclusion

WhatsApp is a powerful tool for businesses that want to engage with their customers in real-time. By understanding the benefits of WhatsApp marketing and using the right strategies and tools, you can create effective campaigns that drive engagement, generate leads, and improve your bottom line. Remember to keep your content personalized, engaging, and to the point, and continuously measure the success of your campaigns to refine your approach and achieve better 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.

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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About the author
Miodrag Magyar

Miodrag Magyar brings over 15 years of hands-on experience in content writing and marketing, with a special talent for making even the trickiest topics clear and interesting. His true 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.

@Miodrag Magyar