Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, even TikTok… For many companies, these platforms have become a normal tool in the marketing toolpack. Now the question is, have you already tried WhatsApp?
Email marketing data gives us an average open rate of 30% which is something many companies would be happy to receive on a daily basis. But what if I tell you that an average text message gets an open rate of 98%, not to mention that WhatsApp is – by far – the world’s most popular messaging app?
Now, you may get excited and ask where to buy ads for WhatsApp or a platform to use it effectively as a mass messaging tool. The answer unfortunately is “nowhere”. Unfortunately, WhatsApp is not a marketing tool for busy or lazy marketeers.
Mostly, WhatsApp is being used as a messaging platform for people, for families and friends to reach out to each other, to discuss personal things, to try to talk that cute person into going on a second date with you, to share pictures with your best friend, and so on.
The first thing you need to start thinking of is how you and your business can fit into these conversations. Maybe you need to customise and adapt your brand persona a bit or create a virtual person that is acting on behalf of your company. But whatever you do, since you’re trying to talk to your (potential) customers in a space they are used to informal conversations, you need to create an appealing brand persona for them to engage with.
Tickets and promo codes
Traditionally, tickets and promo codes are being sent to email from where the person needs to find them. What if the attendee of your event would instead get their QR or other ticket directly to their WhatsApp, where they are used to receive all kinds of content? What if the promo code for an online or offline store would be saved on WhatsApp instead of an email folder full of spam?
News(letters)
Newsletters are a traditional email marketing campaign that still work well today. But if you tested taking the newsletter to WhatsApp. Of course, this requires editing the format and making sure the text is user-friendly, but it is worth testing.
Similarly, all kinds of news are easily shared via Whatsapp. People are used to getting information on Whatsapp, so notifying them of changes of schedules or other important things will reach them much faster via WhatsApp than email.
Remember to take GDPR into account when implementing newsletters of any kind.
Bookings
Are bookings a part of your business? Whether in the beauty industry, taxation, or leisure, you should consider bookings via Whatsapp. We are so used to sort things out via texting on WhatsApp that the barrier to give a company a call can be high for some individuals. In addition, when operating on WhatsApp, all the information stays in the same place which makes it easy and pleasant for the customer.
Use your Whatsapp status as a marketing tool
Familiar to Instagram and Facebook stories? Great! Did you know that WhatsApp status works in a similar manner, keeping the status active for 24 hours. This is an effective marketing tool to use to reach your audience, especially when combined with other WhatsApp activities.
