hatsApp made it easy for brands to connect with customers over their favorite messaging platform. But user experience is what WhatsApp cares about the most.
So, even if you are actively using WhatsApp Business API, WhatsApp Template messages with WhatsApp bots taking full charge of your customer experience, users will always be WhatsApp’s priority.
To make sure that no business annoys users with excessive notifications and spam, WhatsApp for Business has pretty strict rules. Among these many rules, one is WhatsApp Business Opt-ins.
Now, you must be wondering what WhatsApp Business Opt-in is.
Well, that’s what this blog is about!
Read on to find out about WhatsApp Business opt-ins and the best ways to collect WhatsApp Business opt-ins.
What is WhatsApp Business Opt-in?
Simply said, a WhatsApp opt-in is the consent of customers to receive notifications from your business.
To receive notifications and alerts from a business via WhatsApp, customers have to acknowledge their interest in the product/ service and agree to receive messages from the brand in the future.
So, yes! Since WhatsApp’s core interest is in user experience, businesses cannot just send notifications to customers. Using WhatsApp for Business, if customers agree to receive notifications, only then you can send them.
Here, what we would like to suggest to you is to design a proper WhatsApp opt-in for customers to which they would agree easily. So, let’s see what are the must-include elements in a WhatsApp opt-in.
3 Must-Include WhatsApp Opt-ins Guidelines
As we said, you must collect opt-ins from customers before you can message them. This is one of the rules you must follow when using WhatsApp Business API.
But in July 2020, WhatsApp made slight amendments to this rule. According to the policy update by WhatsApp, third-party opt-in is no longer mandatory. Customers can message your support team directly via a WhatsApp thread and ask to receive notifications.
However, your responsibility to store customer opt-ins remains. Ensure that the customers you contact via WhatsApp have agreed to receive texts from you.
When designing opt-ins for customers, ensure that you follow these 3 WhatsApp opt-in guidelines:
- Mention the brand name clearly so that customers, while opting-in, know whom they’re going to receive messages from
- Clearly mention that once an individual opts-in, they will receive messages from the business via WhatsApp
- Mandatory compliance with laws that are applicable
Once you’re done with designing the WhatsApp Business opt-in, start collecting opt-ins from customers.
But, how?
No wonder, there must be several ways to collect opt-ins but we found these 5 ways to be the best of all.
Read more about WhatsApp opt-in guidelines here.
5 Best Ways to Collect WhatsApp Opt-ins
Once you have followed the WhatsApp opt-in guidelines and designed the opt-ins, you must start collecting them from your target audience.
If you are wondering where to get started, then follow the top 5 ways to gather WhatsApp opt-ins.
1. Utilize your Website
Your website is a serious customer touchpoint and one of the most valuable digital assets of your business. This platform is a great place to create opt-in opportunities.
Using your website, invite as many new and existing customers as you want to your WhatsApp Business channel. Here’s what you can do.
- Home Page
Your home page has the capability to drive conversions. Create a pop-up on your home page that shares the good news of your brand-new WhatsApp Business channel. Encourage new customers to sign-up and existing customers to switch to WhatsApp for prompt support.
- Landing pages
Design an amazing landing page for promoting your new WhatsApp business channel. Tell visitors about your new channel, your super-smart WhatsApp bot-approved WhatsApp template messages, and whatnot. Let customers drink in all the information and place a CTA that directs them to a page where they can provide their consent. Once done, appreciate their approval and say ‘Thank You'.
Note: Make your landing page responsive so that WhatsApp opt-ins can be collected quickly.
- Banners
To place banners for promoting your WhatsApp for business account, find out your web pages that attract the most visitors. This can help you reach out to a wider set of audiences for opt-ins. Place banners of your WhatsApp Business channel and encourage the audience to connect for a faster response.
2. Make Use of Third-party Channels
Your third-party channels can get the job done. So, utilize SMS, emails, website chatbots, social media platforms to share your WhatsApp Business opt-in.
To use these channels, here are a few quick strategies you can apply.
- Send customers a short SMS about your WhatsApp Business account and attach a link that takes them to the opt-in page. Convey the incentive of opting in like getting rid of these regular SMS(s).
- Emails might be old-school but they are never outdated. Use emails to share your WhatsApp opt-in. Increase open rates by choosing a catchy subject line. Pitch perfectly about why customers should choose your WhatsApp opt-in, attach gifs, images, incentivize opt-ins and use your creativity as you like it.
- Use your social media platforms – LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube to share your WhatsApp for Business channel and the WhatsApp opt-in links. You can use carousel ads to get customers to opt-in.
- What more you can do is pin the news of your WhatsApp Business account on your social media. This will let customers resolve their queries on WhatsApp rather than posting them in public.
3. Optimize Using Your Existing Channels
Besides WhatsApp for business, whatever existing channels of communication you have, put that to use for customer opt-ins.
If you already have a WhatsApp thread with a customer, you can ask them there or utilize the multiple channels and customer touchpoints like SMS, emails, website chatbots, Instagram bots, and everything that there is.
However, don’t make customers feel like they are being spammed. So, limit the frequency and check the information that you share. You can also use a standard WhatsApp opt-in form in your communication channels to promote your WhatsApp Business account.
4. Better your ‘Contact Us’ sections
We don’t mean to hurt your feelings but there are so many ‘Contact Us’ sections of many SaaS companies that are simply the worst. They make customers wait for hours or redirect them to multiple pages which is pretty annoying.
Instead, use this Contact Us section to add an opt-in for your WhatsApp Business account. Within seconds, your support agents will be able to resolve customer queries over WhatsApp. The result is satisfied customers and an improvement in sign-up conversion rates.
5. Make your Existing Flow Enriching
WhatsApp Business API is best used for sending notifications and alerts like shipping updates, order confirmations, delivery status updates, boarding passes, e-tickets, payment confirmations, etc. So, one of the best places where you can ask for an opt-in is the checkout.
Besides, a CTA for WhatsApp opt-in, you can use the checkout process. Travel, logistics, retail brands can benefit from using their check-out processes for WhatsApp opt-ins because customers already share their information during the process and WhatsApp would only strengthen the brand-customer relationship.
Build Your WhatsApp Business Account with Konverse AI
WhatsApp opt-ins come later. First, you need to build your WhatsApp Business API if you haven’t already.
To help you chalk out your WhatsApp for Business plans, we are here. Visit the Konverse AI Platform to know more about WhatsApp for Business.
Konverse AI is well-versed with WhatsApp for Business solutions. Plus, you’ll get full support from the team.
So, schedule a demo and start your shiny new WhatsApp Business API now!
Read some more on WhatsApp for Business
Automate Customer Support with WhatsApp & Conversational AI
Reasons Why You Should have a WhatsApp Chatbot if You’re an Ecommerce brand
3 Things to know About WhatsApp Template Messages
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