Be it a small, medium, or large enterprise, the significance of building a reliable network for your business cannot be ignored. Fortunately, with modern solutions, it’s much easier to build and expand your network of customers.
Among the popular social media messaging apps, WhatsApp, though commonly ignored in many marketing strategies, is the most frequently used by everyone with a smartphone.
With upwards of 2 billion monthly active users across 180 countries, WhatsApp is increasingly used by consumers to communicate with businesses, rather than just family and friends. You have the potential to build a strong business network through WhatsApp, as there is no limit to the number of people you can reach out to.
To help you kick off your WhatsApp marketing channel, we’ve compiled eight tips to help you grow your audience on WhatsApp.
Table of Contents
1. Creating a WhatsApp Public Group
It is easy to see how groups are more beneficial than direct messaging for businesses — you can reach a larger audience with your marketing strategy in a shorter time. The current group limit is 256 people, which is a good crowd, especially for small businesses.
Moreover, WhatsApp allows you to make other people admins, allowing them to invite people into the group by sharing the invitation link. You could also share your link on your website and social media accounts to encourage more people to join. You can simply create another group and continue building your audience whenever your group reaches the limit.
2. Broadcast Messages
WhatsApp has a broadcast messages feature that allows you to send one message to several people from your contact list. This feature could prove resourceful to your marketing campaign since it allows you to alert your closest contacts about new products, promotions, offers, and events. Similar to WhatsApp public groups, the maximum number of contacts you can share a broadcast message to is 256.
Create message broadcast lists that target a specific demographic in your audience. For instance, you could create lists based on the age of your audience if your product or service is intended for people in a specific age group. For instance, if you sell t-shirts and other age-specific fashionwear, you’ll want to ensure you do not send images of inappropriate clothing to older demographics or users under the age of 18.
3. Use WhatsApp Status
WhatsApp status is one of the most widely used features on the platform. You could tap into its popularity to expand your audiences and create new leads. Moreover, with the new WhatsApp Status Update feature, you can share your business promotion codes, which your customers can later redeem at your business.
With a location feature and instant photo elements, you can let your audience know where your business is located and your current offers or promotions. With creativity and consistency, you will likely have success with WhatsApp statuses. People are more likely to click on your video status if they enjoyed the previous one.
4. Install a WhatsApp Share Button on Your Website or Blog
Sharing your WhatsApp group’s invite link widely and on your website is one of the first steps toward building your audience. Assuming you have refined your website SEO policies and organic traffic is rising, there is no reason not to include your WhatsApp contact on your website’s contact us page.
Also, share flash sales and promotions on your landing pages and add compelling calls to action (CTAs) to create a buzz about your offer. Using a WhatsApp share button, you can allow your ardent customers to share your landing page and offer links with their family, friends, and colleagues with a simple click.
5. Paid Social Media Ads
Facebook, Instagram, and other popular social platforms provide the perfect avenue to include WhatsApp in your paid marketing campaigns. Facebook and Whatsapp are in the META platform, allowing you to create personalized Facebook ads with a click-to-WhatsApp CTA to reach a larger audience or capture a desired target group’s attention.
Instagram’s click-to-WhatsApp ads also allow you to include WhatsApp in your CTA prompts using video or photos. It’s a great way to promote your brand’s image to the public and create new leads and potential customer connections.
On the other hand, you could use influencer marketing, which is still one of the most efficient marketing strategies. Find influencers relevant to your brand and have an engaged audience to improve the chances of potential customers clicking on your WhatsApp link.
6. Content Is King
Even on WhatsApp, quality content is not a luxury. Just as you have to optimize your website’s content, your WhatsApp content should be highly optimized for your target audience.
Make it short and powerful. While you do not have to worry too much about the word count, you do have to make every word count. Your content should resonate with your audience. Highlight the benefits of your product or service to your customers.
7. Offer Customer Service Using WhatsApp
WhatsApp offers one of the best avenues to provide customer care services to your customers. This feature is particularly beneficial to small businesses as it lets your staff quickly respond to queries.
You could also help your customers navigate your products or services through your statuses, broadcast messages, and group posts using audio, video, or text. And with WhatsApp’s desktop version, you can merge your WhatsApp marketing channels to provide even faster customer assistance services.
8. Seek Feedback
Consider setting up questionnaires and surveys and sharing them with your customers on WhatsApp. Waiting for feedback is unwise since many people will simply switch to your competitors if they find your product or service wanting. Make a point to develop creative and entertaining digital questionnaires that reflect your brand’s image and are not intrusive to your customers.
Bottom Line
Building an audience is not an overnight achievement. You will have to grow your audience’s trust in your brand’s services and products. WhatsApp offers the best opportunity to present your products and service promotions to your potential customers and in person if necessary.
When pushing for more opt-ins, you should set the type of messages you’ll send and indicate the frequency. It’s also essential to offer an easy opt-out solution for audiences that wish to stop receiving messages from you. For those that would like to unsubscribe from your promotional messages, make a point to ask them why they no longer want to hear from your brand.