Marketing on WhatsApp may not be the first idea that comes to mind when exploring ways to expand your brand, and you may be surprised to learn that it is fast becoming a major competitor to email and SMS marketing. That's because WhatsApp not only extends your reach across a global audience of over 2 billion active users, but it can also track marketing campaign metrics in a similar way to email.

But the average WhatsApp app won't work, as it is most commonly used for personal messages between individuals. Fortunately, WhatsApp offers business options to leverage its reach with the free WhatsApp Business app and the advanced paid WhatsApp Business API option.

So how effective is WhatsApp in terms of marketing?

Let's find out!

Top 5 benefits of WhatsApp marketing you need to know about

From showcasing catalogues to sending thousands of messages without any hassle, these are the top 5 benefits of promoting your brand through WhatsApp.

Broadcast messages

With the right version of WhatsApp, you can send thousands of messages a day legally and without getting your number banned. And no, we're not talking about browser plugins or third-party apps. These features are provided to any company that gets approval to use the WhatsApp API.

Here's a quick summary of the message limitations for each version of WhatsApp:

WhatsApp regular forwarding limit: up to 5 contacts at a time

Forwarding limit for the WhatsApp Business application: up to 256 contacts at a time

WhatsApp Business API transmission range: up to 1000 contacts at a time for a potentially unlimited number of contacts depending on the messaging level.

Being able to broadcast messages on a large scale is one of WhatsApp's most powerful marketing features and is what helped this sports company generate 20 % more traffic to its website.

WhatsApp can integrate with e-commerce and social media platforms

The WhatsApp Business API can be integrated with e-commerce platforms such as Shopify to greatly simplify selling, order tracking and sending reminders. Since Meta is the parent company of WhatsApp, you can also integrate with Facebook Messenger and Instagram to receive messages directly from both platforms.

You may be wondering whether the regular WhatsApp app or the WhatsApp Business app allows these integrations and unfortunately the answer is no. You can't fully unlock the marketing potential of WhatsApp except through the WhatsApp Business API. You cannot fully unlock the marketing potential of WhatsApp except through the WhatsApp Business API. If you have an established business, you can easily submit your application through an official WhatsApp Business Solutions Partner. Once you get approval, you can enjoy a host of benefits, such as:

WhatsApp has more than 2 billion active users

WhatsApp is a major messaging platform with over 2 billion active monthly users, so you can imagine the kind of reach it will have once it is approved for marketing. However, it is important to note that, as a business, there are some conditions before you can send messages, namely:

You must receive confirmation of subscription from your customers or prospects before you can send them a message.

You can send messages to prospects who contact you first

There are many ways you can get prospects to subscribe, such as sharing your WhatsApp link on social media, through integrations with Facebook Messenger or by embedding a WhatsApp chatbot on your website. Each of these methods allows prospects to contact you and from there you can add them to your list.

Most WhatsApp messages are opened and read quickly

The beauty behind WhatsApp is that over 90 % of messages are opened and read within 24 hours. It's hard to reach those kinds of numbers even with email or SMS marketing and, as a result, you can guarantee higher engagement with your offers and brands if you target the right audience.

But how do you know how many of your messages are delivered, opened and read? Your official WhatsApp business partner should have analytics as a key part of their platform. Businesses can track metrics in real time, such as:

Delivery charge

Response rate

Campaign ROI

Trolley recovery

You can use templates and automation to sell on WhatsApp.

There are many types of messages that a company will have to send regularly to customers, and it would take countless hours to prepare each one individually for thousands or even hundreds of customers. That's why you can use a library of templates for each specific scenario, such as:

• A thank you message for when a customer places an order
• A reminder message for when a customer abandons their cart
• An order update for when a product is shipped to a customer.

And many other types of messages you can find easily available as templates. Customer details such as names, phone numbers, addresses and tracking numbers can be automatically added to the templates, saving you hundreds of hours of manually filling in the details.

These are the top 5 benefits of WhatsApp marketing to give you an idea of its incredible potential.

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