Which is the largest social network? Facebook? Instagram? YouTube? The answer is WhatsApp! The messenger has more users than any other network, and its status even surpasses the hugely successful Instagram Stories. Here’s how you can use WhatsApp marketing for your business.
450 million people use WhatsApp Status every day, an adaptation of the popular Stories we know from Snapchat, Facebook, and Instagram. Why? Because everyone has WhatsApp and uses it to communicate. Stories are the perfect complement, because they, too, have one primary purpose: communication.
Most companies haven’t yet considered WhatsApp, even though it offers several advantages. With social media marketing, you need to carefully examine which platforms your target audiences are using. This isn’t always easy to figure out. So what if there was a network you could be sure of, one that would definitely be used by relevant target audiences?
The answer is WhatsApp. Last fall, WhatsApp even knocked its parent network, Facebook, out of its perennial first place in terms of the number of active users.
Everyone seems to be using WhatsApp. The level at which you connect with your fans and customers is still extremely personal and up close. Nevertheless, you’re probably asking yourself legitimate questions: “Why should we start using it now?” and “What am I even supposed to use it for?”
5 reasons why you should use WhatsApp marketing
WhatsApp marketing offers a wealth of benefits for businesses looking to improve their customer engagement and reach. Here are four compelling reasons why your business should consider WhatsApp marketing:
1. Direct communication and real-time interaction: WhatsApp enables direct communication with your customers in real time. You can respond quickly to inquiries, feedback, or concerns, leading to efficient customer service and satisfaction.
2. High user presence and engagement rates: Billions of people use WhatsApp daily. Therefore, the likelihood that your message will be seen by your customers is high. The platform offers high engagement rates, as most users open their messages within a short period of time.
3. Personalized customer engagement: WhatsApp allows you to send personalized messages and offers to your customers. You can send birthday wishes, personalized recommendations, and exclusive discounts directly to their phones, strengthening customer loyalty.
4. Versatile Use Cases: From product announcements and special offers to customer service and surveys, WhatsApp offers a wide range of uses. You can send newsletters, conduct surveys, accept orders, and even broadcast live events.
5. Additional reach with the WhatsApp Business API: With the WhatsApp Business API, businesses can send automated messages, process orders, and efficiently manage customer inquiries. This opens up new opportunities to scale your business and expand your reach.
WhatsApp marketing allows you to build close customer relationships, increase engagement, and take your marketing strategy to the next level.
What possibilities does WhatsApp marketing offer?
WhatsApp has long since evolved from a simple messaging app into a powerful marketing tool. Here are some of the diverse possibilities WhatsApp Marketing offers:
1. Customer communication: Use WhatsApp to communicate directly with your customers. Answer questions, offer support, and resolve issues in real time.
2. Customer Service: Offer efficient customer service via WhatsApp. Customers can ask questions, provide feedback, and report issues—all conveniently via the app.
3. Product Announcements: Share news about product releases, updates, and special offers with your customers via WhatsApp.
4. Personalized messages: Send personalized messages to build relationships with customers. Birthday wishes or thank you notes can create strong customer loyalty.
5. Send offers and discounts: Send exclusive offers, discounts, or coupons via WhatsApp to attract customers and boost sales.
6. Surveys and Feedback: Get valuable feedback from customers through surveys and ask about their preferences to improve your products and services.
7. Newsletters and updates: Keep your customers informed by regularly sharing newsletters, updates, and relevant information via WhatsApp.
8. Event invitations: Invite customers to events, webinars, or special promotions by sending them personalized invitations via WhatsApp.
9. Customer reviews and recommendations: Encourage satisfied customers to leave reviews or recommend your business to friends and family.
10. Group chats: Set up group chats to connect customers with similar interests and stimulate discussions.
11. Influencer collaborations: Collaborate with influencers to promote your products through their WhatsApp channels and achieve a wider reach.
12. Sales and Orders: Offer customers the ability to place orders via WhatsApp and purchase products directly.
13. Automated Messages: Use chatbots to send automated messages and answer customer questions around the clock.
14. Event management: Use WhatsApp to share event details, send login information, and answer attendee questions.
WhatsApp marketing offers a variety of opportunities to reach, engage, and build long-term relationships with customers. However, it’s important to ensure you comply with privacy policies and have customer consent to receive marketing messages.
But what does the GDPR say about this?
Nothing at all if you do it right. During the registration process, a dedicated WhatsApp widget is usually integrated into the website. The widget isn’t a share button, but rather serves as a way to sign up for the newsletter and can be used to obtain consent to the website’s privacy policy.
There are various ways to confirm the newsletter subscription. The number must be saved in your phone book. Whether you activate the subscription with the “Start” button or with another pre-written message is up to you.
This is the double opt-in process on WhatsApp. To stop receiving the newsletter, the “Stop” message is usually sent. But how often should you let people hear from you via WhatsApp? This is one of the few questions we can’t answer, as it’s very individual.
Generally speaking, you should post regular news to keep yourself at the top of mind. But you should also provide genuine content that’s interesting to your subscribers.
Much more important than the frequency of sending a newsletter on WhatsApp is the time of day. When do users use WhatsApp? Early in the morning, on the way home from work, and again later on the couch. You should test which time works best for you.
The day of the week can also be crucial. According to research by MessengerPeople, users are more receptive to news or tips & tricks during the week, while Saturday is clearly the day for bargains.
The tone should also be right. You should address your subscribers informally, or have you ever addressed someone formally on WhatsApp? Emojis make your messages even more personal. Plus, the media always resonates. Subscribers are very grateful for videos, images, and even podcasts.
Customer service via WhatsApp
But what if they’re so grateful that they respond to your messages? You should be prepared for this if you also use WhatsApp for customer service.
The rule here is: respond as quickly and satisfactorily as possible. This can be achieved quite well with chatbots. If you don’t use a chatbot, you should clarify who will handle these inquiries.
Your goals should be clear: customer service and customer loyalty, traffic through further distribution and shares from subscribers, who will naturally also spread your content further on WhatsApp, and, last but not least, sales, because you may also be promoting current offers.
As you can see, WhatsApp offers a great opportunity to take your marketing to the next level and reach far more people with another channel. As your messaging marketing grows, we also recommend WhatsApp Business .
If you need further support with WhatsApp marketing, we, as an online marketing agency, are happy to help. Want to acquire expert knowledge yourself? Our social media seminar will take your knowledge to the next level.