Why you should Consider WhatsApp Marketing for your Business
When you think of social media, sites like Facebook and Twitter probably come to mind immediately. But messenger apps have actually caught up to social networks in terms of users. And increasingly messenger apps are being used for marketing.
Why messaging apps?
In view of these developments, we can see that messaging channels are becoming essential marketing tools. Messaging services are going to establish themselves permanently as a new marketing channel because:
1. They do not depend on Google or the Facebook algorithm All subscribers can be reached via messaging services. They do not depend on an algorithm or a fee.
2. Real-time contact on the locked screen Messaging apps like WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger offer a major advantage when it comes to customer communication: Messages are displayed on the locked screen.
3. Broader target group with potential for reaching large numbers of users People from all age groups use messaging apps. Global accessibility by phone has become significantly more convenient. Smartphones are widespread and actively used by more than 2.3 billion people.
4. High open rate and click through rate (CTR)Messaging apps have an average open rate of 90% and a click through rate of 30%. Those are numbers that other channels have not been able to reach for some time.
5. Loyal subscribers Less than 1% of users unsubscribe from messenger services on average. Direct relationships with messaging app subscribers help build long-term customer loyalty.
6. Direct communication channel between customers and companies Customers can directly contact companies via messenger services without public involvement, which prevents large-scale negative response, hate speech and similar. The result: higher customer satisfaction.
7. Content finds its way into private user communication more easily Messaging apps are a simple platform for sharing content, allowing companies to quickly communicate corporate content through private user communication.
8. A new channel Companies are only just discovering the potential of messaging apps as a marketing tool. That means it is still very easy to achieve high visibility and build stable customer relationships.
Why WhatsApp?
The leader in most of the world is WhatsApp (a pun on the phrase “what’s up”), with 1.2 billion monthly active users around the world.
That kind of market penetration can’t be ignored. But how can you effectively use WhatsApp for marketing? Like all relatively unexplored frontiers, there are equal measures of risk and reward for early adopters.
Source: Forbes
With 1bn users worldwide, WhatsApp presents a massive opportunity for marketers, enabling instant customer service and highly targeted marketing.
It may be time to consider marketing on WhatsApp!
As marketers, we like to engage in platforms where our customers are active and we can standout. With numbers like this, it’s clear that WhatsApp is a contender.
As it stands, WhatsApp hasn’t given businesses many obvious ways to use their powerful platform for sales and marketing. However, this will soon change. In early 2016, Whatsapp announced they will be testing tools to help business and organizations communicate with users.
Take Customer Support to a New Level
Even though most people will feel like using WhatsApp as a marketing tool, but their are many advantages to your business if you start engaging with your clients using WhatsApp as channel to collect feedback, take surveys, and engage with them to find out their response for using your products & services.
This not only gives you the chance to engage with the end user on one to one conversation, but it also opens up a lot of opportunity to generate referrals, increase the user life cycle, increase the frequency of your clients transactions.
Capitalize on the Cross-Platform Advantage
When an app is cross-platform, it reaches social networks (and people) that aren’t currently in your social media wheelhouse. That’s great news all by itself! What makes it even better is the traffic analytics that give you insight into which networks are popular within your target audience.
WhatsApp traffic analytics are abundantly available from many third-party sources, probably because it’s been developed from the early days using open source software. This offers data that can help you tweak your social media strategy and adjust your priorities as you look for the ideal target audience.
Generate effective Leads
Now comes, the main focus that everyone these days is trying to achieve with WhatsApp.
Using it as a Lead Generation system, well coming to think of the benefits of WhatsApp vs all other mediums available via web & other social media platforms such as Google AdWords, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, SnapChat, Twitter, and rest combined.
WhatsApp is undoubtedly the most effective medium with the highest response rate in terms of the opens you get with focus & attention from all your people in your list. The reason is because other mediums are charging you advertising fees, and then you have to gain followers, likes, and fans in order to retarget them.
But, in the case of WhatsApp you simply need your prospects, and target customers & clients mobile number. And check whether they exists on WhatsApp or not to start engaging & building relationship over the long term in a more lucid way.
Create Broadcast Lists
Create lists related to specific topics, then blast one-way communications designed to increase engagement, much like you do on Twitter. For example, include links or invitations in your messages.
Source: Brandknewmag.com
Create User Loyalty
Collectively, the group lists in WhatsApp have exhibited more brand loyalty than other social media groups. Similarly, brand personas seem to have developed a good rapport with their followers. This is reinforced with the tools mentioned above, like push notifications, group chats, and broadcast lists.
Grow Community & Enhance Networking
I am sure you might already be part of your family group, your school alumni group, or may be your friends social group using WhatsApp’s group feature.
And whether that’s sharing beautiful memories & your travel trips in groups. Or you mind find people in your industry engaging view group conversations to keep up with recent changes, news & updates in your industry.
You can start engaging your industry contacts and build a brand of networking by simply combining all the people in your industry and engaging in meaningful communication via WhatsApp groups.
Source: Neilpatel blog
Okay.. So what’s new cooking in WhatsApp’s kitchen?
WhatsApp is coming soon with its 4 new features which is going to revolutionize the way it functions. WhatsApp keeps updating its features continuously and is testing the following features with a limited user in beta mode.
After the completion of testing, these features will be rolled out for all users making it more interesting.
1. Messages Recall Feature – This feature has been tested in the beta mode. The feature of message recall means you will be able to recall your sent message within a few seconds.
Sometimes we send out the wrong message to our friends which we were suppose to be sending someone else and after sending this you realize it this is the wrong person you’ve sent the message to. This recall feature will help you in this situation, it will give you 30 seconds for recalling your sent message.
2. Live Location Sharing – This new WhatsApp feature is for iOS beta users and its still not rolled out all over. This live location sharing feature will help you to share your exact location with your friends and family for 1 second, 2 seconds and for some few seconds.
3. Edit sent messages – This feature will help you to edit your sent messages instead of recalling the messages. This will help you to correct your mistakes of typing and spelling. Edit your sent messages and save yourself from some embarrassing situations.
4. YouTube Integration with the App – This feature was recently found in the iOS beta mode. This will help you to watch YouTube videos without leaving the App. The integration of YouTube videos makes it more interesting for users.
5. UPI based Money Transactions – In India, WhatsApp is trying to integrate with the government for the UPI Payments. Unified Payment Interface which will help the users to transfer their money without any trouble by using WhatsApp.
To conclude with..
It’s clear that consumers are now more willing than ever to interact with brands on messaging apps. Since chatbot technology launched on Facebook Messenger, 30,000 bots have been built for the platform, with many brands concentrating efforts in this area.
That doesn’t mean that WhatsApp should be ignored, with the previous examples showing its potential for engaging consumers in a more intimate way.
While WhatsApp remains a bot-free zone for the time being, it’s worth keeping an eye on how brands make use of the service in future.
References:
https://www.techblook.com/whatsapp-6-new-features-coming-soon/
https://econsultancy.com/blog/68695-how-brands-are-using-whatsapp-for-marketing/
14 Creative Ideas for Marketing on WhatsApp (& Improving Engagement)
https://www.whatsbroadcast.com/messenger-marketing-the-next-big-thing-2/
https://yourstory.com/read/c89d72666c-why-whatsapp-marketing
