uppose you are in a business meeting where marketing and promotion of the brand are being discussed. What’s the first thing that comes to mind when someone asks you about different marketing channels?
Facebook? Instagram? Twitter? LinkedIn?
We thought of going through some statistics to see how many users you can reach through these channels.
Here’s what we found:Facebook has 2.7 billion active users monthly followed by Instagram that has 1 billion monthly active users. Coming to Twitter has 353.1 million monthly active users and LinkedIn has 303 million users in a month.
Now, what you missed out on is WhatsApp!
WhatsApp is the favourite messaging app of millions. Monthly, 2 billion active people are on WhatsApp alone. Over the last 4 years, WhatsApp has added 1 million new users and if we look at its user growth, it’s a whopping 365% increase since 2014.
With this user growth, no wonder, you have understood what we are pointing towards. Yes! We are hinting at WhatsApp as the new marketing channel for business.
WhatsApp Business API has brought the platform to the marketing game. If you play well, you’re bound to witness a surge in leads, better customer support and more satisfied customers.
But how to start with WhatsApp marketing strategy?
That’s what we’ll tell you about in this blog. So, read on to know more about WhatsApp marketing.
Does WhatsApp Marketing Work?
If you have second thoughts about WhatsApp marketing, then let us tell you that WhatsApp is no more a platform that has too much manual work like before. Of course, there is work like setting up the WhatsApp Business API account, WhatsApp template approval etc. but now, WhatsApp also has easy-to-integrate AI Chatbots which automates a lot of stuff.
So, if you are in doubt regarding WhatsApp Marketing, then here’s a list of reasons why you should include WhatsApp marketing in your marketing strategy list.
- Millions of people using WhatsApp daily
- High user engagement
- WhatsApp Marketing is permission-based (you can be sure of not spamming customers)
- WhatsApp Chatbots can be integrated for automation in the marketing process
- Allows personalization
What are Click-to-WhatsApp ads?
Click-to-WhatsApp ads are the ones that you can often find on the Facebook platform. Anything you recall?
Click-to-WhatsApp ads allow you to use the Facebook platform for promotion and to connect people to you over your WhatsApp Business API channel. Click-to-WhatsApp ads come with a WhatsApp CTA which takes customers directly to your WhatsApp channel.
Click-to-WhatsApp ads have limited features but are great WhatsApp Marketing tools to get prospects and customers to connect to you easily over WhatsApp.
Here are a few aspects of Click-to-WhatsApp ads that you must know:
- These ads contain a WhatsApp CTA to kickstart a WhatsApp conversation
- This is done through WhatsApp Business API
- For Click-through-ads you must connect your Facebook page to your contact number to set up.
- You can place these ads on Facebook news feed & Marketplace, Instagram Feed & Explore, Facebook and Instagram stories
How to Create Click-to-WhatsApp ads?
To get started with click-to-WhatsApp ads, there are two things that you must do initially:
- Get your WhatsApp Business API to get access to a verified account
- Connect your WhatsApp for Business to your existing Facebook page
If you have already started thinking about how to get WhatsApp Business API for your business, then we suggest going with the easier solution. Choose a platform that provides WhatsApp for Business solutions. Konverse AI is one such platform that provides you with easy and quick WhatsApp for Business solutions. Trust our words and take a tour of the Konverse AI Platform.
Once you are done with setting up the WhatsApp Business API and linking your contact to Facebook, there are two ways in which you can create Click-to-WhatsApp ads:
- Promote your brand through Facebook Posts
- Use Facebook Ads Manager to create the ads
Using Facebook Ads Manager is a better option since you can use advanced targeting methods and techniques of optimization.
Once you land on the Facebook Ads Manager page, you’ll get two objectives for advertising. Here are the options, what you need to do and how.
1. Traffic Objective – Ads for Website Conversions
If you choose this objective, here are the steps you need to follow:
- Firstly, select WhatsApp as your message destination
- Proceed to select your target audience, placements and the schedules you want
- Create your ad. Choose images, headlines and a copy of your ad.
- Lastly, click on ‘Confirm’ and your Click-to-WhatsApp ad will be published.
2. Brand Awareness Objective – Ads for Reach, Video Views, Engagement
Choosing the brand awareness objective has slightly different steps. Here’s what you need to do:
- First, select your schedule, target audience and placements
- Find the ‘Links’ option and select ‘Add Website URL’ under ‘links’
- Enter the URL of your brand website
- Find the “Call-to-action” option and choose “Send WhatsApp message”
- Then, open the menu and choose the Facebook page that you have integrated into your WhatsApp Business API.
- Lastly, click on ‘Confirm’ and get your ad published.
Once you have published your click-to-WhatsApp ad, all your traffic will be directed to your WhatsApp for Business account.
To ensure fast and easy handling of the traffic you can build your bot and integrate it with WhatsApp. These WhatsApp chatbots can manage all your conversations 24*7.
All theories are done and we hope you have got an idea about setting up click-to-WhatsApp ads. However, unless we give you some examples, you won’t get an inspiration to get started with WhatsApp marketing.
5 Strategies of Click-to-WhatsApp Ads You Can Try
1. Discounted Prices Can Work Magic
Customers love discounts! So, show them some love by offering your products at discounted prices. Run these discount ad programs on social platforms like Instagram and Facebook using Click-to-WhatsApp ads and take your orders directly on WhatsApp.
Start-ups use this method a lot, especially restaurants or fashion brands.
Restaurants put up an ad with yummy pictures of the dish available at a discounted price and take orders directly on WhatsApp using their WhatsApp Chatbots.
2. Coupons and Promo Codes Never Fail to Excite Customers
This is a WhatsApp marketing strategy that can help you connect with customers over WhatsApp. Using these ads, brands simply ask people to chat with them on WhatsApp to get a promo code or a discount coupon. The coupon details are provided over the WhatsApp channel.
So, while the WhatsApp Chatbots handle the conversations, more and more people are connected to the brand without much effort.
3. One-to-One Consultations can Attract Leads
This tactic of promoting your brand is quite effective. Use the click-to-WhatsApp ads to provide advice or consultation, especially if you are a healthcare brand or a clothing brand.
For example, if you’re a healthcare brand, you can run your click-to-WhatsApp ad on Facebook and Instagram feeds and stories. Once you run your ad, the leads will be directed to your WhatsApp channel. From there your WhatsApp bot can provide them with the necessary information and also schedule appointments for patient consultations.
Similarly, if you’re a fashion brand, provide the services of one-to-one styling. Once your leads are directed to your WhatsApp channel through the click-to-WhatsApp ads, let your bot converse, ask for customer information, and offer product recommendations based on the customer details.
4. Ask Customers for E-mail IDs to Send them Offers
Customers are in love with coupons and discounts, gifts and offers. So, entice them to share their email IDs.
Run a click-to-WhatsApp ad and when the conversations get started over WhatsApp, get the customer details like name, contact, email address. Then, draft a cool personalized email to share an exclusive offer with them. A good way to boost conversions, right?
5. Promise Customers Instant Answers to Anything They Ask
WhatsApp bots are amazingly fast at responding to any of your questions. So, ask customers or prospects to resolve any queries over WhatsApp using click-to-WhatsApp ads.
Your WhatsApp bots can immediately respond to these queries and qualify leads as well. This method of lead generation goes well with educational institutes.
For example, run an educational click-to-WhatsApp ad on Facebook and Instagram feed and stories and direct the leads to WhatsApp for resolving queries about the new educational course or the institute.
Start Your WhatsApp Marketing Journey with Konverse AI
WhatsApp marketing is the future. With the easy integration of chatbots with WhatsApp Business API, handling customers has become easier.
We think Click-to-WhatsApp ads are going to be the next big thing in social media marketing. Not many businesses have started it, but in the times to come, brands are going to flood people’s feeds with click-to-WhatsApp ads.
So, embark on your WhatsApp marketing journey soon and boost customer experiences by manifolds. Schedule a demo with Konverse AI to get hold of your WhatsApp Business API and WhatsApp Chatbot integration. To know more about our services in detail, visit our Help Center.