WhatsApp has quickly become one of the most popular messaging apps, with over 2 billion active users worldwide. Given its massive user base, WhatsApp presents an excellent opportunity for businesses to connect with customers in a personal way through messaging. However, there are specific requirements and best practices brands should follow when using WhatsApp for marketing purposes. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know about sending marketing messages on WhatsApp.
WhatsApp’s Policies for Businesses
WhatsApp has specific rules in place for businesses using the platform. It’s important to be familiar with these policies before using WhatsApp for marketing:
– Opt-in required: Brands can only send messages to users who have explicitly opted in to receive messages from that business. You can’t randomly message people or buy lists of numbers.
– Clear opt-out process: Businesses must provide a clear and easy way for users to opt out of receiving further messages.
– No spam or unsolicited messages: WhatsApp prohibits sending any kind of spammy, automated, or unsolicited messages. All messages must be relevant and wanted by the user.
– Use for support or information: Messages should focus on providing customer support, answering questions, or sharing relevant information about your business. Direct sales pitches are prohibited.
– Identification: Businesses must clearly identify themselves in all communications on WhatsApp.
Getting User Consent
To start communicating with customers on WhatsApp, you first need to get their consent. Here are some recommended methods:
– Website or app opt-in: Allow website visitors to opt-in to receive WhatsApp updates from your business.
– In-store sign-up: Have a tablet or sign-up sheet in your retail location so customers can easily opt-in.
– Events orgiveaways: When hosting an event or promotion, ask attendees if they want WhatsApp updates.
– Social media: Promote your WhatsApp channel on social platforms and allow followers to join.
– Email list opt-in: For existing email subscribers, ask if they also want to connect on WhatsApp.
– QR codes: Print QR codes that easily allow scanning to opt-in to your WhatsApp list.
The key is giving people a clear choice to receive messages, without being pushy. WhatsApp will take action against businesses that use misleading ways to gain consent.
Best Practices for Marketing on WhatsApp
Once you have user consent, you need to follow WhatsApp’s policies and best practices when sending marketing communications:
Personalize Messages
The key benefit of WhatsApp is the ability to have personal conversations. Make sure to use each person’s name when possible and avoid overly generic messages. Personalized messages have higher open and response rates.
Focus on Value, Not Promotions
Don’t make every message a sales pitch. Instead, focus on providing exclusive information, support, or other value through your WhatsApp channel. This builds trust and loyalty. You can mix in the occasional promotion, as long as most messages are valuable content.
Keep it Conversational
WhatsApp is meant for back-and-forth conversations. Don’t just blast one-way announcements. Ask questions, request feedback, or encourage people to get in touch. Maintain a dialogue with your subscribers.
Answer Quickly
Messages on WhatsApp feel more like texting than email. Make sure to have notifications enabled and respond to questions or comments as quickly as possible. This makes the experience more conversational.
Allow Opting Out
Include clear instructions in each message for how to opt out of future communications. Something like “Reply STOP to opt out” makes it easy for people to remove themselves if they wish.
Avoid Over messaging
It’s easy to go overboard on WhatsApp, but resist the urge to message too frequently. Send updates a few times per week at most, unless delivering urgent information. Sending too many messages will cause people to opt out.
Follow Local Laws and Regulations
Be aware of any country-specific laws regarding data privacy, marketing, and WhatsApp usage when sending international messages. Follow all applicable regulations.
Test and Refine
WhatsApp is still relatively new for businesses. Test different types of messages and frequencies to see what resonates best with your subscribers. Continually refine your approach based on open rates, responses, and opt-outs.
Types of Marketing Messages on WhatsApp
Here are some examples of the types of marketing messages you can send on WhatsApp:
New Product Announcements
Give subscribers exclusive early access to new product launches or redesigns. The sneak peek makes them feel special.
Shipping and Order Updates
Send automatic or manual order confirmations, shipping updates, delivery ETAs, and other purchase-related communications.
Customer Support Messages
Move support conversations from emails or calls to WhatsApp for more personal service. Customers love the instant access and responses.
Event Reminders and Invites
Remind customers about upcoming webinars, conferences, or VIP events that they signed up for. Send invites to RSVP.
Polls and Surveys
Engage your audience by asking for quick feedback through polls and surveys in WhatsApp messages.
Contests and Promotions
Run contests, giveaways, or other promotions through WhatsApp. The call to action is right on their phone.
Behind-the-Scenes Content
Provide subscribers with exclusive behind-the-scenes content like photos, videos, interviews, production peeks, and more.
User-Generated Content
Ask customers to send in photos, videos, testimonials, or stories with your product. Then share the UGC content on WhatsApp.
Appointment Reminders
Remind customers about upcoming appointments, estimates, calls, or other calendar items to reduce no shows.
Best Practices for Designing Messages
Creating visually appealing WhatsApp messages takes some design skill. Follow these best practices:
Use High-Quality Images
Include images in your messages, but ensure they are high resolution, not blurry, compressed JPGs. PNGs with transparent backgrounds work best.
Keep Text Short
Get straight to the point with brief text. Write in a conversational tone, but avoid huge blocks of text. Break things up with images, lists, or other formatting.
Personalize with Names
Use merge tags to include each subscriber’s first name in your messages. This small personal touch makes a big difference.
Make it Scannable
Formatting like bullet points, bold text, headings, and captions make it easier to visually scan your messages.
Use Colors Strategically
Highlight key info like links, buttons, or sales using different colors, but don’t overdo it. Stick to your brand colors when possible.
Include Emojis When Appropriate
Emojis can make your messages seem more lighthearted and approachable. Just don’t go overboard using them.
Test on Mobile
Your messages need to look good on the small screen. Preview each one on an actual mobile device during design.
Insights from analytics data in a table
| Message Type | Open Rate | Click Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Promotions | 35% | 22% |
| Product Updates | 55% | 18% |
| Surveys | 62% | 31% |
Top WhatsApp Marketing Tools
Here are some of the top tools for managing WhatsApp marketing at scale:
WhatsApp Business API
The official WhatsApp Business API allows you to programmatically integrate WhatsApp into your existing systems and workflows. Required for managing large messaging volumes.
Sendlane
Sendlane offers advanced features for marketing automation, subscriber management, analytics, and multi-channel messaging. Popular WhatsApp management platform.
Chatbots
Chatbot platforms like Chatfuel allow you to set up AI chatbots to automatically respond to common questions and handle conversations at scale.
Twilio
The Twilio API powers messaging across channels like WhatsApp. Flexible platform with code-level customization options.
MessengerPeople
MessengerPeople focuses just on dialog messaging platforms. Provides automated and human support plus marketing capabilities.
MailerLite
MailerLite’s all-in-one platform offers email marketing, landing pages, forms, CRM, and WhatsApp messaging tools for small businesses.
Acquire.io
Acquire provides an omnichannel conversational messaging platform across platforms like WhatsApp, Messenger, Telegram, SMS and more.
WhatsApp Business App Features
The free WhatsApp Business app offers useful tools that help businesses manage conversations:
– Automatic greetings – Set custom welcome messages for new conversations
– Away messages – Configure out of office autoresponders when not available
– Quick replies – Write common responses to speed up communications
– Labels – Organize conversations by tags or categories for easy filtering
– Statistics – View usage metrics like number of messages sent and read
– desktop app – Access conversations easily on a computer
Top WhatsApp Business App Features
Here are some of the most useful WhatsApp Business App features for marketers:
Messaging Tools
Schedule messages, create chatbots, develop custom workflows, integrate with other software, and manage conversations at scale.
Subscriber Management
Segment contacts, tag subscribers, manage opt-ins/outs, personalize messages, and analyze list engagement.
Automated Messages
Set up automated message series, reminders, alerts, appointments, and other routines to run on autopilot.
Analytics
Track opens, clicks, responses, locations, and other metrics to optimize your approach and maximize ROI.
Multi-Channel Support
Manage seamless conversations across various channels like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, SMS, webchat, email, and more.
Omnichannel Integration
Connect WhatsApp campaigns into your existing marketing, sales, service, ERP, ecommerce, and other business systems.
Two-Way Messaging
Support real conversations, not just outbound broadcasts. Continue discussions across multiple messages.
Human + AI Hybrid
Combine automated bots with human agents to deliver more natural and effective conversational experiences.
Tips for Measuring WhatsApp Marketing Performance
It’s important to closely track the performance of your WhatsApp marketing efforts. Here are some key metrics to monitor:
Subscriber Growth
Measure the number of new subscribers joining your list over time. This indicates how well your opt-in campaigns are working.
Open Rates
WhatsApp shows when recipients open your messages. Benchmark open rates to determine message popularity.
Click-Through Rates
See what percentage of subscribers click on links in your messages. Higher CTR indicates greater interest.
Response Rates
Monitor what percent of recipients actively respond to your messages with comments or questions.
Unsubscribe Rates
Track opt-outs to see if your messaging frequency or content needs adjustment.
Content Performance
Compare open, click, and response rates across different message types to see which content resonates best.
Service Metrics
For support conversations, measure response times, resolution rates, CSAT, wait times, and similar service KPIs.
WhatsApp Marketing Checklist
Here is a handy WhatsApp marketing checklist to follow:
WhatsApp Marketing Checklist
– [ ] Research WhatsApp’s policies and regulations
– [ ] Choose an appropriate WhatsApp management platform
– [ ] Set up a WhatsApp Business Profile
– [ ] Create an opt-in process to build your subscriber list
– [ ] Segment contacts and tag subscribers
– [ ] Craft valuable, non-promotional messages
– [ ] Personalize messages with names when possible
– [ ] Test messages for mobile optimization
– [ ] Develop workflows for automating conversations
– [ ] Provide excellent customer support over WhatsApp
– [ ] Track opens, clicks, responses, and other analytics
– [ ] Continually refine your messaging strategy
WhatsApp Marketing Do’s and Don’ts
Keep these dos and don’ts in mind for WhatsApp marketing:
Do:
– Get explicit opt-in consent before messaging
– Identify your business in all messages
– Keep messages conversational
– Focus on value and exclusives
– Provide quick support responses
– Follow local laws and regulations
– Track performance and optimize
Don’t:
– Spam people or buy/rent lists
– Send frequent sales pitches or ads
– Message randomly without consent
– Impersonate users or obscure your identity
– Automate all conversations without human touch
– Ignore or delay support responses
– Violate WhatsApp policies in any way
WhatsApp Marketing FAQs
Can anyone message on WhatsApp?
No, WhatsApp has strict requirements for consent. Brands can only message users who have explicitly opted in to receive messages from that specific business. Random messaging or purchased lists are prohibited.
Is WhatsApp marketing legal?
Yes, WhatsApp marketing is legal if businesses follow WhatsApp’s policies and get proper opt-in consent from each user. Make sure to abide by local spam and advertising laws as well.
How much does WhatsApp Business cost?
The basic WhatsApp Business App is free. The advanced WhatsApp Business API has tiered pricing plans based on usage starting at $0.005 per message sent. Additional costs apply for third-party management platforms.
Can I automate WhatsApp messages?
Yes, you can use tools like Chatbots or the WhatsApp Business API to automate some conversations,but every chat must have a business purpose and you can’t fully automate all interactions. Human involvement is required.
Is WhatsApp marketing effective?
WhatsApp has very high open and response rates, especially compared to email. Done correctly, it’s extremely effective for lead generation, customer service, order updates, event promotions, and direct-selling.
Conclusion
WhatsApp provides an exciting opportunity for businesses to have meaningful conversations that build relationships with customers. Follow WhatsApp’s guidelines, get proper consent, craft valuable content, track performance, and automate judiciously. With a smart WhatsApp approach, businesses can increase loyalty, sales, and engagement. Just remember to keep the customer experience front and center.