WhatsApp Business offers powerful tools designed to enhance communication, boost customer engagement, and streamline marketing efforts. Key features include a Business Profile, which builds trust with customers, and Quick Replies and Automated Messages, which ensure efficient and consistent communication. Labels help organize customer interactions, while the Catalog allows businesses to showcase products directly within the app.
Additional features like Shopping Links and Call-to-Action Buttons guide customers smoothly through the purchasing process, while WhatsApp Web and Desktop offer greater efficiency for managing high volumes of messages. Statistics and Messaging Insights help businesses fine-tune their strategies for better results. For larger companies, the Business API offers integration with CRMs and automation for scalability.
These tools work together to improve personalization, increase productivity, and foster stronger customer relationships, making WhatsApp Business a vital platform for businesses looking to enhance their marketing efforts and grow their customer base.
Getting your opinion can also impact and facilitate the review and update of this article.
- Why do you think many business owners are not using WhatsApp Business?
- What are the challenges you face with WhatsApp Marketing?
- What are your reasons for not being effectively involved in WhatsApp marketing?
- What are the ways you can improve your involvement in WhatsApp marketing?
- Aside WhatsApp, Which Social Media platform do you use often for marketing?
Your responds to the above questions should be in the comment section before you continue.
I have personally discovered overtime as a business development service provider and and in course of my consultation practice, that most small scale businesses even in this digital age, have lost the love they had for mobile marketing when they first had their smartphone. There are so many reasons why it is so. Some of the reasons in recent times are: limited time, lack of data time (mobile subscription), fear of being mocked or judged by others who are experts, loss of faith due to poor patronage, current business history, attitude of family and friends to our business which has resulted in lack of passion. Overtime, our loss of interest and inconsistency in mobile marketing has posed a lot of danger to our business brand. The increased rise of competitors in our niche reminds us of the need to be proactive to mobile marketing and to every medium of digital marketing.
This publication is not just a regular article but a detailed training, serving as a clarion call not just to you (one person), manufacturers, vendors, and wholesalers only, but also to every marketer including the small scale retailers.
Most business owners, even in this digital age, lack the skills for effective WhatsApp marketing which is the major problem that this training will be addressing including many other constrains to why some businesses lost the love they had for mobile marketing when they first had their smartphone.
In recent times considering the urgency for brand awareness, especially during this time of intense competition, there is a need to master the use of WhatsApp for marketing. To better understand the use of WhatsApp for effective marketing, I want you to consider and understand digital marketing.
Digital Marketing
In Digital Marketing your mission is to share your products or services with others giving them the impression to buy from you rather than buying from others, convincing them with all evidence for them to patronize you. Which can be achieved using WhatsApp Business profile.
I must say, It takes being deliberate to effectively use WhatsApp for marketing.
I know and I am convinced that despite all difficulties and discouragement along the line, God will continue to make His Grace sufficient to each and every one who is willing to practice and to continually be actively involved in marketing.
Just to mention, it will do you more good if you will follow our WhatsApp Channel so you can get updates of the live presentation on this topic. The live presentation promise to be more interactive and impactful as there will be practical demonstrations on recently integrated features.Mind you the live presentation doesn't limit the benefit that this article offers; whatever you learn now can be applied to your business and you will see things turn around for your good.
WhatsApp Messenger
WhatsApp is an end-to-end platform. With its recent features we can say it has gone beyond regular messaging still, it is not generally tagged as a social platform. WhatsApp messaging platform is not social in the sense that it doesn't gather varieties of individuals but more of like-minded people. It is not like other social media (it is not like Facebook neither is it like Instagram where you go for sightseeing to feed your eyes, where you go to catch current trends in recent happenings. WhatsApp is basically an end to end encrypted messaging medium which gathers more like minded people in unique groups. If you understand the use of WhatsApp, it will save you from some scam and some kinds of troubles. I will want you to understand that with your WhatsApp Profile, you can run an effective business. That is why we encourage everybody to have a WhatsApp Business running on his or her phone. Having a business profile gives you an advantage of presenting your brand to your contact list. with that in your mind it will give you the urgency to think of how to effectively use WhatsApp for marketing.
WhatsApp promises convenience, swift, interpersonal and community conversation via texting, voice note, audio and video call with content sharing ability which makes it one of the best mediums of Marketing.
Mind you there are several types of WhatsApp on play store but our focus will be on two which are the Regular WhatsApp and WhatsApp Business as shown below.
Either of them is good and will serve for this purpose (Mobile Marketing).
Because you are able to Access this training now, it is obvious you have a device that can access and use WhatsApp either of the the Regular WhatsApp messenger or WhatsApp Business. However, it will interest you to know that just as the name implies WhatsApp business is best for business ready for marketing basically because of its advance features over the regular WhatsApp messenger.
I also want to mention that WhatsApp is a very broad application that one can not master within a short period. but God helping us we will ensure that you know how to successfully use WhatsApp for mobile marketing.
What to do immediately after installing WhatsApp:
First thing to do immediately after successfully installing any of the WhatsApp is not to initiate a chat but proper set up. We will get to chat but before then, let's go for settings to enable you manage your WhatsApp safely and effectively.
Just like it is in physical marketing practice, you will be interacting with different kinds of people with different levels of exposure, so your security is paramount.
When talking of security, I am referring to your digital security. Which is not in the scope of this training but then, we must look at it especially WhatsApp two step verification.
WhatsApp Messaging pathways
As we begin to look at the different kinds of chat or messaging functionality on WhatsApp, we will also look at their peculiarity.
WhatsApp inbuilt features help you reach your prospects globally to deliver compelling experiences at scale, showcase your products and services, increase the list of those you service or promote to and build relationships at your convenience. There are several of these tools in WhatsApp that can be used as an individual or a group to reach out to others for the purpose of marketing. But then, bear it in mind that you can only initiate a chat if you have the person’s WhatsApp number in your contact list or you have access to the person’s WhatsApp linked number from a group or by other means.
The various ways people interact on WhatsApp, including:- Direct Message/Chat
- Update (Status and Channel)
- Group
- Community
- Broadcast
- Etc.
Direct Message/Chat:
Chat is a form of messaging or communication between 1) two WhatsApp users which is referred to as one-to-one or interpersonal or private chat. 2) a group of WhatsApp users referred to as group chat., 3) a community of WhatsApp users referred to as community chat. Chat allows users to send text, voice messages and video messages, make voice and video calls, and share images, documents, user locations, and other content.
There are lots of functions and features built to enhance swift, interesting, interactive, colorful and convenient chat. Some of these functions are easy to use while others are complex to us but frequent use of WhatsApp and continued involvement in both interpersonal, group and community chat will help one learn faster than expected. Therefore, don’t let the fear of not knowing how to use WhatsApp very well kill your enthusiasm for WhatsApp marketing.
Group
WhatsApp group is a chat room where anyone can send a message or initiate a conversation, and everyone sees it at once. WhatsApp groups are a way of bringing different people together to interact, share content, and collaborate. Everyone has a fair say in a group, depending on the admins' permission
Broadcast
WhatsApp Broadcast list feature is used to send a message to several of your contacts at once. Broadcast lists are saved lists of contacts that you can repeatedly send messages to without having to select them each time. The broadcast message will appear to be an individual message from you to each of the recipients. To send and receive broadcast to and from your contacts, you and your contacts must have each other's numbers saved in your phone’s address books
Community
Communities on WhatsApp provide users with the ability to organize and bring related WhatsApp groups together under one umbrella. Community admins can reach members with important updates by sending announcements that is sent to the inbox of all community members indicating which admins sent in the message, and Community members can stay connected by exploring and chatting in groups that matter to them.
Status
Status lets you share end-to-end encrypted text, photo, video, audio and GIF updates that disappear after 24 hours of post time.To send and receive status updates to and from your contacts, you and your contacts must have each other's numbers saved in your phone’s address books.
Channel
WhatsApp Channels is one of the most recently added features to WhatsApp.By following the channels of people and organizations that interest you, you get updates like text, links to information, photos, or videos from them. channel updates are a one-way broadcast rather than a conversation. It functions less like a Facebook page, Only admins can send in post while followers can only react but can not comment.
WhatsApp message types
There are lots of functions and features built to enhance swift, interesting, interactive, colorful and convenient chat.This section describes the different forms of messages users can send within WhatsApp.
On WhatsApp, users can send a variety of message types, each serving different communication needs. Here's a breakdown of the different forms of messages available on the platform:
Text Messages:
The most basic form of communication, allowing users to send written messages. These can include plain text, emojis, and even formatting like bold or italic text. Text messaging is ideal for quick, simple communication, from casual chats to professional conversations.
Audio Messages: Voice notes or audio recordings that users can send and listen to within the chat. Audio messaging is great for when typing is inconvenient or to convey tone and emotion better than text.
Video Messages: Users can record and send short videos directly through the chat interface. Video massaging is perfect for sending quick video updates, tutorials, or visual communication when words aren’t enough.
Contact Sharing: Users can share contact information from their phonebook with others. Contact sharing is helpful for quickly exchanging or introducing contacts without needing to type out details manually.
Document Sharing: Users can send files such as PDFs, Word documents, spreadsheets, and other formats. Document sharing is commonly used for sharing professional documents, contracts, reports, or even notes in educational settings.
Location Sharing: Location sharing allows users to share their current location or a specific place from a map. Location sharing is useful for coordinating meet-ups or providing directions.
Images and Videos: Users can send photos and videos from their gallery or take new ones directly from the chat. Image and video messaging is frequently used for visual communication, sharing memories, or demonstrating something in real-time.
GIFs and Stickers: GIFs (Animated images) and Stickers (static or animated) used to express emotions or humor. They adds fun and expressiveness to conversations beyond regular emojis.
Poll Messages: A relatively newer feature, it allows users to create polls with options for group members to vote on. Poll messages are ideal for gathering opinions, making decisions, or coordinating within group chats.
Video and Voice Calls: Although not strictly a "message," users can initiate real-time video or voice calls within WhatsApp. WhatsApp calls is best for more direct communication, suitable for in-depth discussions, meetings, or catching up with friends and family.
These diverse message types make WhatsApp a versatile platform for personal, social, and business communication, allowing users to interact in the way that best fits the context.
Your Audience
Your WhatsApp audience are basically WhatsApp users in your contact list and those who may first reach out to you from time to time including those in your groups or communities.
Your audience are those you share your content with via any of the messaging pathway.
If that is the case then, don't you think the use of WhatsApp for marketing is limited?
Oh no!It may seem so but not true.
It only obeyed the rule of Charity begins at home.
Come to think of it, you can always improve on your audience list.
Note that it is important you make due with your current friends and family first before looking forward to more audience. Remember Charity begins at home.
What next: having exhausted your current contact as you thought (all thanks to God for the grace) there is a need to increase your audience.
But then separate the warm from the cold.
What to dive deep into this training? Click Here for Part 2
