10 WhatsApp Marketing Strategies Every Business Should Try
5.00/5WhatsApp is as we know a popular instant messaging app from Meta, but is no longer just a place for WhatsApp chat with friends and family. It’s gradually becoming a marketing channel for businesses looking for marketing support, organizations, and companies of different sizes.
Key takeaways
- WhatsApp’s High Engagement: With 2B+ users and a 90%+ open rate, it’s more effective than email for direct communication.
- Low-Cost Marketing Channel: Free to set up and cheaper than platforms like Facebook or Google Ads.
- Profile Optimization is Key: A professional profile with a logo, catalog, description, and auto-replies builds trust.
- Personalized Messaging Boosts Results: Segment contacts by interest or purchase history to deliver relevant offers.
- Leverage Broadcasts & Status: Use broadcasts for private updates and WhatsApp Status for flash sales and teasers.
- Automate & Scale with Chatbots: WhatsApp API and chatbot tools streamline responses and improve customer experience.
With over 2 billion active users globally and an open rate of over 90%, which is even higher than traditional email marketing, this messaging app offers businesses an opportunity to connect with their ideal audience, build relationships, and get them to buy their products and services.
Imagine sending marketing messages directly to the phone of your buyer persona, where they are most active and attentive.
As a digital marketer, I have a WhatsApp business account, which I use to engage my audience and have them buy some digital products I sell.
You can do the same as a small local shop or a growing online store that wants to leverage WhatsApp to generate more leads and sales.
Have you been trying WhatsApp marketing for a while now and have no results to show?
In this post, I shared with you 10 practical WhatsApp marketing strategies that I have seen work for other businesses, which you should also try.
I aim to help you have an overhaul of your WhatsApp marketing strategy, drop those that aren’t working, and start implementing those that work.
Why Businesses Should Consider WhatsApp Marketing
The benefits of WhatsApp marketing are too numerous for any business investing in digital marketing strategies to ignore.
For example, it has a high engagement rate. Messages sent on WhatsApp have over 90% open rate. This is so because once people connect their smart devices to the internet, they immediately receive WhatsApp message notifications, and they tend to open and read them.
It means they are likely to see promotions, announcements, and updates from businesses they connected with on WhatsApp.
Its form of communication is direct. Unlike email marketing free tools, social media posts, and traditional advertisements, WhatsApp lets you speak to your audience one-on-one. You can respond to inquiries, share personalized recommendations, and even DM in real time to find out from your customers how valuable your products and services are to them.
The cost of reaching your target audience is low. Unlike Facebook and Instagram marketing, WhatsApp campaigns don’t require a big budget. Installing and setting up WhatsApp Business on your device is free. Basic marketing strategies like broadcast list and status update only cost your time and energy.
Even when you decide to up your game by investing in WhatsApp marketing campaigns or using chatbots and WhatsApp Business API, it costs less compared to other digital advertising channels like Google, YouTube, Meta, and TikTok Ads. Plus, it’s easier to maximize ROI.
Which Type of Business Benefits More From WhatsApp Marketing?
Almost any business can benefit from WhatsApp marketing. However, below are businesses that benefit the most:
Service and business solution providers like plumbers, salons, consultants, and home cleaners can use WhatsApp for appointment reminders and quick customer support. They need it for appointment reminders and quick customer support.
Ecommerce brands and Online stores – to send order updates, share exclusive discounts, handle refunds, recover abandoned carts, and provide post-purchase services.
Event planners and organizers – to share event plans, last-minute updates, and special invitations
Small businesses – to stay connected with local customers, increase customer engagement, build stronger relationships, and have them refer new customers to you.
Let’s now look at the 10 WhatsApp marketing strategies every business should try.
1. Optimize Your WhatsApp Business Profile
It isn’t enough to have a Meta business account and create a professional WhatsApp Business profile. You need to optimize it to create a good impression when an audience visits to check your business properly. A well-optimized profile shows you’re a reliable brand. Pair it with expert help from a branding agency to strengthen your business identity and credibility.
You don’t need to be a marketing guru to do it. Start by filling in your business profile appropriately using keywords, text and images, and graphics that tell a potential customer about your business.
Upload a business logo. You can create one using free tools like Canva. A simple and clear logo makes you look legit and easier to identify.
Write a short business description using keywords relevant to your products and services, and include the exact product or service you sell and why you are better than your competitors.
Add your physical address if you have one. This is important for local businesses, as some potential customers may like to visit to learn more about your products and services.
Fill your catalogue with high-quality and appealing images that showcase your products and services. You can even add user-generated content, like a screenshot of customers deriving value from your products and services. This builds credibility, clears all the doubts a potential customer may have about what you sell, and prompts them to take a desired action.
Add business hours. This shows professionalism and tells your audience when you are available for business.
And don’t forget to set up an auto-reply to keep a lead engaged when they contact you for the first time or when you’re away.
Below is an example of an optimized WhatsApp business profile:
2. Build and Segment Your Contact List
As you build contacts on your WhatsApp business, also segment them based on interest, location, and purchase history to boost user engagement. Not every contact you have on WhatsApp Business is a potential customer.
One of the ways to build contact ethically is by website opt-in forms and in-store sign-ups during checkout. That way, you are sure of collecting WhatsApp phone numbers of the audience who are genuinely interested in what you sell.
Regarding contact list segmentation, use WhatsApp labels or CRM integrations to sort contacts so you can send them personalized messages instead of generic broadcasts.
Let’s assume you’re a fashion brand on WhatsApp.
With contact list segmentation, a customer who is interested in women’s shoes won’t get promotions about men’s shoes.
The idea of contact list segmentation is to ensure every promotion a contact receives is personalized and tailored to their needs and interests, which increases the chances of having them make a purchase.
3. Share Valuable Content (Not Promotion, Always)
I have exited several WhatsApp business groups because of excessive promotion. Imagine getting a contact in your WhatsApp business today and blasting them with promotions the following day. That’s the fastest way to force a target customer to exit and even block you.
Share valuable content to warm up your audience. It could be as simple as telling about the benefits of your products and services and why you are better than your competitors.
Or a helpful tip like the one you see in the screenshot below from a wellness and fitness coach:
I have also seen businesses share behind-the-scenes stories of how their products and services are made. It could also be user-generated content, like testimonials and reviews from your previous customers.
This content can be in texts, voice notes, short videos, memes, infographics, and images. Let them be relevant, concise, and served in a manner that will capture and retain the attention of your audience once they click them.
4. Use WhatsApp Business API and Chatbot Builders
As your business grows, and WhatsApp contacts increase, responding to messages manually becomes tedious and time-consuming, that you can miss replies easily. This is where using tools like WhatsApp Business API and chatbot builders becomes helpful.
WhatsApp Business API supports you to send tailored messages to thousands of users in your contact list and automate replies to FAQs about your products and services. This simply means you can message and respond to DMs quickly, even during busy business hours, without having a support and marketing team.
Integrate WhatsApp Business with chatbots like Twilo, SendPulse, and BotPress so they can handle tasks like collecting customer details, sharing product catalog, tracking orders, and engaging customers in real-time, which creates a great customer experience. SendPulse, in addition to the WhatsApp chatbot itself, also comes with a WhatsApp CRM integration for better customer data management.
5. Leverage WhatsApp Broadcast List
With WhatsApp broadcast, you can send the same message, promotions, and updates to every contact in your list, and they will see it as a private message. It keeps WhatsApp conversations private and personal, and replies come back to you as a DM.
As a business, it’s best for new product updates, exclusive promotions, seasonal updates, and event invites.
While a broadcast list is an easy way to reach all your contacts and sell to them personally, don’t send marketing messages frequently to avoid spamming.
Send messages to contacts who have opted for them. Ensure every message adds value, even as you want to sell your products.
Balance the frequency at which you broadcast messages to your list. Too much of it can be a turn-off.
6. Create an Exclusive WhatsApp Group
If you have a few loyal high-ticket customers on your list, it’s time to create an exclusive WhatsApp group for them.
These customers are the backbone of your business and deserve an exclusive WhatsApp group where you give them special attention.
You can even turn it into a vibrant community by engaging them consistently, offering them special discounts and deals, and providing fast customer support to earn customer loyalty.
7. Make the Best Of WhatsApp Status
Just like you post pictures and videos on your personal WhatsApp, you also share updates of your business on the status of your WhatsApp business.
Flash sales, product teasers, testimonials, reviews, and user-generated content, even though they disappear after 24 hours, should always be on your status as a business. They help keep your business fresh in the minds of your target customers who may not have time to check their DMs or even the content you shared in a group.
8. Collect and Show User Generated Content
User-generated content is like your customers telling potential customers who are skeptical of your products and services what they are missing.
“Nothing is more fulfilling in digital marketing than your satisfied customers spreading the good news about your business,” says Alex Vasylenko, Founder of Digital Business Card
As a brand, it’s your duty to collect those UGC and share them with your contacts on WhatsApp to boost conversion. UGC, like photos of customers using your products, testimonials, and reviews, moves the needle faster. You aren’t the one telling how good your products and services are; your happy customers are the ones doing it for you.
9. Keep Tabs on Latest Features
WhatsApp Business launches new features often to help businesses reach a larger audience, generate more sales, and keep their accounts safe.
Make it a duty to check out these features and how they work so you can use them to your advantage.
For example, it recently launched a new feature that helps businesses turn Google searches into instant chat.
I got the notification on my WhatsApp Business, and watched the 5-second video that showed me how to link my WhatsApp Business to Google so customers who found me on Google can easily start a chat with me on WhatsApp with a single tap.
10. Follow The Rules and Respect Privacy
While you want to make more sales using WhatsApp, it’s important you follow WhatsApp Business rules and also respect the privacy of your customers.
I have seen businesses that make 5 figures monthly on WhatsApp Business get banned. The reason has always been violating the rules and regulations. Avoid excessive multimedia messaging, handle customer data with care, give your audience the option to opt out, and always get opt-in consent.
Doing these will protect your business on WhatsApp and also build long-lasting relationships with your audience.
Final Thoughts
WhatsApp has become a powerful channel for many businesses to create a personalized experience and boost conversion rates. It’s no longer just an instant marketing app we knew it to be years ago.
It has evolved with powerful features you can use to grow your contacts, send targeted messages, build relationships and trust, sell to them, and even have them spread the good news about your products and services to families and friends.
I have shared with you 10 WhatsApp marketing strategies that work, some of which I implement.
Starting from optimizing your WhatsApp business profile, building and segmenting your contact list to following the rules and respecting privacy, you now have all the strategies and hacks you need to sell more of your products and services to your audience on WhatsApp.
