Is WhatsApp Marketing Worth It. Discover the Truth

The most difficult thing in social media marketing is the high cost of advertising. Along with that, there is a challenge in building trust and attention. This stops various small businesses from utilizing the full potential of social media marketing.  Associate partner at Piper Private Equity Leon Hugs stated in a Shopify Plus interview that

“some brands are experiencing a fivefold increase in ad costs to achieve the same level of traffic as before.”

What sets WhatsApp apart from other social media marketing platforms is that you can use WhatsApp marketing to promote your business on a small budget by using the right techniques and ideas. 

However, if companies see this as just another platform for running ads, they’ll reach the same spending limit and miss out on what makes WhatsApp marketing special. Thus, what step should you take?

Prior to starting your WhatsApp promotion

Before reading the rest of the post, keep in mind that WhatsApp messaging marketing is subject to certain constraints, unlike other social media platforms. 

Assuming that you have read the WhatsApp business policy to understand what we are referring to. We have included few significant ones below

• WhatsApp advertising messages delivered via the API are only available to contacts who have agreed to receive communications from you. Additionally, WhatsApp needs to approve the template in advance for these messages.
• You are only allowed to respond with a WhatsApp marketing message to a customer’s most recent message within the first 24 hours after receiving it. WhatsApp is currently working on improving the support for the messages you can send throughout this 24-hour period. 
• On WhatsApp, users can now receive personalized, non-transactional promotional messages.

What to do when promoting WhatsApp:

• Customize messages with available data

With the help of personalized data and information, you can have better, and more well received communication with your target audience.  Any collection of personal data should be done in a way that builds trust. In this way, brands can meet customer’s needs for relevant information without raising privacy concerns.

Through the eServeCloud Solutions dashboard, you can obtain exclusive reports and customer information on WhatsApp. Make more informed choices based on this data for each customer segment. 

• Maintain sending promotional messages at the right intervals.

Many business owners overreach it when it comes to their marketing messages on WhatsApp. The reality is that nobody enjoys hearing the same message over and over again. Also, it eventually sounds irritating rather than informative. 

Therefore, despite the urge to publish promotional content more frequently—especially considering WhatsApp’s enormous potential—you should stick to a moderate schedule. To fully utilize WhatsApp marketing, you should send promotional messages at intentional intervals rather than frequently. 

WhatsApp is essentially a personal messaging app, even though it’s a highly targeted and direct marketing medium. 

• Market WhatsApp on other networks

WhatsApp is not a place where customers would come to you by themselves. Customers need to know your WhatsApp number in order to get in touch with you. 

Plan a quick awareness campaign to let customers know that after your business profile is finished, you will offer customer service via the platform. This could involve updating the “Contact Us” section of your website, promoting on other social media sites, and sending emails to your current customer base.

• Get the business API for WhatsApp.

One of the most efficient way to promote your business is using the WhatsApp Business API. This free business app offers numerous options, such as a comprehensive business profile and a product catalog, in addition to all the functions found in the messaging app. It fails to recognize the potential of the API for growing businesses. 

As an example, you may submit more data for your WhatsApp marketing campaign and have more tracking options thanks to the API (more on this later). This allows for any necessary improvements to be made later. You may also set up SMS automation to help you keep your marketing activity organized.

WhatsApp Marketing: Things Not To Do

• Stay cautious of repeated social media posts.

Popular social media platforms differ across target audiences. It follows that your Instagram-following customers could not be WhatsApp users. People exchange and enjoy information and content related to a variety of hobbies using various social media platforms. You should therefore generate customized social media content for every channel. It’s not necessary to constantly come up with original material for every site. To fit the intended audience, you should adjust them for each platform. 

• Avoid having an empty product portfolio and business profile.

Make sure that customers can identify your brand and your products when sending promotional messages via the API or the free business app on WhatsApp. This includes filling out every single form in your company profile, including the product catalog section.

Every business’s ultimate goal is to increase sales, and WhatsApp’s marketing efforts are no exception. This goal has a direct connection to product visibility. Not only does WhatsApp’s product catalog increase the visibility of your products, but it also keeps customers inside the app, reducing the chance that they will be distracted by opening a browser and visiting your store’s website. A few examples of WhatsApp Promotion. 

The World Health Organization launched dedicated COVID-19 WhatsApp hotlines in seven languages to help users in March 2020 under the banner of the COVID-19 pandemic. Users can contact the hotline by texting a location-specific number in a WhatsApp message. After that, they are given other opportunities to learn more about the disease, vaccinations, and other topics. Users were able to easily navigate between self -service and live support with the help of the automated chatbot

Create a unique promotion plan for WhatsApp. 

For marketing purposes, WhatsApp can be helpful for businesses of all sizes. When used correctly, this channel can improve customer retention, build long-lasting relationships, and eventually increase sales. Fortunately, you now understand the proper way to promote WhatsApp.  It’s now time to think creatively and create original marketing plans for your WhatsApp store.