WhatsApp is one of the most popular messaging apps in the world, with over 2 billion active users. Given its huge user base, many businesses are exploring WhatsApp as a marketing and customer engagement channel. But is WhatsApp actually effective for marketing? Here we’ll examine the pros and cons of using WhatsApp for business.
The reach of WhatsApp
WhatsApp’s biggest strength as a marketing platform is its enormous global user base. With over 2 billion active users, WhatsApp presents a huge potential audience for businesses to connect with. Some key stats on WhatsApp’s reach:
- WhatsApp is the most popular messaging app worldwide, with approximately 98% market share
- It’s available in over 180 countries and supports over 60 languages
- It has 1.6 billion users in India alone – India is WhatsApp’s biggest market
- There are over 100 million WhatsApp users in Brazil, WhatsApp’s second largest market
- 93% of Indonesian internet users use WhatsApp
In many countries, WhatsApp is the primary mode of online communication for a majority of the population. This means businesses have an opportunity to reach a very wide audience, even consumers who may not use other social media platforms.
Engaging existing customers
While reaching new audiences is important, WhatsApp can also be very effective for engaging your existing customers. Many people have a habit of checking WhatsApp regularly throughout the day. This means it’s a great channel for ongoing conversations with customers.
You can encourage customers to message your business on WhatsApp with questions or feedback. This can help strengthen your relationship with them. You can also send helpful notifications like order updates, delivery alerts, promotions and more. These messages are likely to be opened and read when sent via WhatsApp.
Lead generation
WhatsApp can be used to generate new sales leads more effectively compared to other methods like cold calling or sending emails. Many consumers are more likely to respond to a WhatsApp message than other outreach methods.
You can get phone numbers of potential customers through ads, website sign-ups, surverys etc. and then message them on WhatsApp with relevant offers and information about your business. The personal nature of WhatsApp makes it great for initiating conversations with prospects.
WhatsApp for customer support
Using WhatsApp for customer service and support is very popular, especially in industries like ecommerce and finance. Customers enjoy the convenience of connecting with businesses via WhatsApp for resolving issues and queries.
By providing customer support over WhatsApp, you can provide a smoother experience and improve customer satisfaction. Make sure to set up processes to provide timely responses over WhatsApp for customer questions.
Broadcast messages
While one-to-one messaging is great, WhatsApp also enables broadcast messaging to a list of hundreds or thousands of contacts. This can be used to send out newsletters, promotions, event invites and other mass messages.
You can categorize your contacts into different lists like customers, subscribers etc. and send targeted broadcasts. However, you can only send 256 contacts a single broadcast message at once. For larger lists, third-party tools like WhatsApp Business API are required.
Challenges with WhatsApp marketing
While WhatsApp has lots of benefits, marketers need to be aware of some key challenges and limitations to use it effectively:
No chatbots
Unlike other platforms like Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp does not allow chatbots for automatic conversations. All messaging needs manual effort which may not scale well.
Limited analytics
WhatsApp has very limited analytics capabilities for businesses. You don’t get detailed insights on deliverability, opens, clicks etc. Making it hard to gauge campaign performance.
No targeted ads
WhatsApp does not have a native advertising platform. So you cannot run targeted ads like on Facebook or Instagram. WhatsApp strictly limits commercial messaging, so scaling reach requires getting users to opt-in to receive messages.
Restrictions on broadcasts
As mentioned, there are significant restrictions around how many users you can message at once. Also, users can easily opt out of broadcast lists which leads to dropping reach over time.
No direct linking
You cannot include clickable links in your WhatsApp messages. Any links need to be typed out fully, which results in lower clicks. However, there are workarounds like using link shortening services.
Best practices for WhatsApp marketing
If you do decide to use WhatsApp for marketing, here are some tips to use it effectively and comply with regulations:
- Only message users who have opted in to receive messages
- Honor opt-out requests immediately
- Keep messages relevant and avoid spamming
- Use a dedicated business number instead of personal number
- Leverage WhatsApp Business API for large messaging
- Automate messages when possible for one-to-one conversations
- Make conversations two-way – allow users to respond
WhatsApp Business App
WhatsApp offers a separate business app for, well, businesses. The WhatsApp Business App provides some useful features not available on the standard WhatsApp messaging app. Key features include:
- Business profile with business info, email, store address etc.
- Smart messaging tools like quick replies, greeting messages etc.
- Stats on messages delivered and read
- Labels to categorize and prioritize conversations
The business app makes WhatsApp a bit more marketing friendly. But it’s mainly useful for customer interactions at relatively small scale. For larger marketing campaigns, businesses need the WhatsApp Business API.
WhatsApp Business API
The WhatsApp Business API is what enables large businesses to manage WhatsApp communication at scale. With the API, you can:
- Integrate WhatsApp with your CRM system
- Programmatically send thousands of messages
- Automate conversational workflows
- Assign conversations to agents
- Quickly respond to messages
The WhatsApp Business API opens up more advanced use cases like automated customer service, order notifications, appointment reminders and product catalogs. Most large brands that use WhatsApp at scale leverage the Business API.
Is the WhatsApp Business API free?
No, access to the WhatsApp Business API is paid. There are two pricing models:
- Per-message pricing – Charged per message sent
- Package pricing – Pre-negotiated packages for high volume businesses
For most small businesses, the free WhatsApp Business App should suffice. The Business API is meant for large enterprises needing advanced API capabilities at huge scale.
WhatsApp privacy policy
When using WhatsApp for marketing, you need to comply with their privacy policy and terms of service. Some key points:
- Get explicit opt-in consent before messaging users
- Only message users who have contacted you first
- Honor opt-out requests immediately
- Don’t spam or send unsolicited promotional content
- Don’t share user data with third parties without consent
Make sure you have a clear opt-in process and consent policy before collecting user phone numbers and adding them to WhatsApp. Failing to follow WhatsApp’s policies can lead to your account being banned.
Messenger apps versus social media
How does WhatsApp marketing compare versus social media marketing on platforms like Facebook or Instagram? Here are some key differences:
| Messenger Apps | Social Media |
|---|---|
| More personal communication | More broadcasting to general audience |
| Can message users directly | Need users to follower/like page first |
| Higher open and response rates | Organic reach can be very low |
| Restrictions around commercial messaging | Ads are native and highly targeted |
In general, messenger apps tend to enable more direct, personal conversations with customers. Social media provides a broader audience, but organic reach is diminishing. Many businesses find the best results by leveraging both channels.
Conclusion
WhatsApp provides an enormous potential audience and high user engagement if leveraged effectively. However, there are significant limits around how you can message at scale. For larger businesses, the WhatsApp Business API unlocks more advanced messaging capabilities.
Keep in mind WhatsApp has strong restrictions against spam and unsolicited messaging. Focus first on providing value for users rather than promoting. With the right approach, adding WhatsApp as an additional marketing channel can deliver great results.