When you’re thinking about different cost effective marketing channels to talk and engage with your ideal customers, what is the first thing that comes to mind? Is it Facebook with 2.16 billion users or maybe Instagram with its 800 million users or probably Twitter with its 330 million users? Maybe LinkedIn with  310 million users? But what if we would tell you there is another platform out there, it is text-based, has more users than Instagram and LinkedIn combined. It’s called WhatsApp Marketing.

What is WhatsApp Marketing?

WhatsApp marketing is nothing but promoting your products/services and engaging with your audience through the popular messenger app “WhatsApp”. We widely use WhatsApp to communicate with our friends and family on a regular basis.

Thus, when you use this app to market/promote your products and reply to your consumers’ queries, it becomes the most cost effective and personalized form of communication and shopping experience.

But then, how do you differentiate between personal and official? Here’s the catch! WhatsApp has introduced the feature WhatsApp for Business for meeting this need of the customers.

·     Use the WhatsApp for Business app instead of the normal WhatsApp app

Since the beginning of 2018, WhatsApp released a new application called WhatsApp for Business-available for both Android and IOS. Businesses can interact with their customers efficiently by using tools to automate, sort and quickly responds to messages.

Some Cool Features Offered Through WhatsApp Marketing

• Business Profiles; Create a business profile with helpful information for your customers.
• Quick Replies; Use quick replies to save and re-use the message you frequently need to send.
• Automated Messages; Just like chatbots, you can set automated messages to create a welcome message to introduce potential customers to your business.
• Message Statistics; Get useful insights such as how many of your messages were successfully sent, delivered, and read.
• Hassle-Free Payments – Generate a lead, convert them into a consumer and receive payments all through your WhatsApp Business app. How cool is that?
• It’s free! –  Small business owners are always tight on their budgets. WhatsApp Business app is completely free just like the regular WhatsApp application.

6 Cost Effective WhatsApp Marketing Tips for 2023

A well-made strategy underlies the effectiveness of every marketing channel. Here are a bunch of cost effective tips to help you craft your WhatsApp marketing strategy and get great results.

1. Define your goals and KPIs
2. Pin down your target audience
3. Create a brand persona
4. Build a contact list
5. Design your communication
6. Deliver great customer service

• Define your goals and KPIs

You can start by determining your marketing goals and objectives in terms of WhatsApp marketing . Pinpoint the KPIs that will help you understand whether you have met these goals.

Here is an example to help you: If your business has issues with retaining customers, you can tackle them by sending promotional messages through WhatsApp. In this case, your KPIs might be clicks, engagement, and customer retention rates.

• Pin down your target audience.

Knowing your target audience is the most important of all your marketing efforts that defines your success. Determine your target audience through customer profile creation.

• Create a brand persona.

People prefer to communicate with other people, not an impersonal business. To undertake successful WhatsApp marketing, you need to form your brand persona. A brand persona is a kit of traits, attitudes, and values your brand shares. Create a feeling that your customers are dealing with a person. Try to use a person’s name as a signature; it works better than a company’s name.

For instance, Apple appears to be creative and intellectual, Fanta – jolly and easy-going, Nike – passionate and vigorous. Your brand probably also has some personality; try to explore it and spot the most meaningful traits. This persona will underlie your tone of voice and communications with prospects on WhatsApp.

• Create a contact list.

If you’re going to use WhatsApp as more than a customer support channel, you need a contact list. The best way to get one and grab new contacts is to use subscription forms. Place them on different pages of your website and offer a lead – magnet, such as an eBook or discount.

Consider going for multichannel forms – this move lets you communicate with customers through the channels they prefer – via email, WhatsApp, Facebook messenger, and so on.. In turn, such an approach creates higher engagement and boosts conversions. To create multichannel forms in two clicks, try Teemify.

• Design your communication well.

WhatsApp messages have impressive open rates in comparison with other channels. So, remember to segment your audience to send the most relevant campaigns and deliver personalized experiences.

Try not to limit yourself to only promotional messages; remember to entertain and educate your audience. Keep your communications short and sweet – remember, people often check WhatsApp on the go and have no time to read long messages.

Reinforce your messages with multimedia files, such as videos, animations, or pictures. Emoji are also appropriate in WhatsApp marketing. If you want to play around them, choose smiley faces or people rather than business-themed objects.

Another point to consider is message frequency. If you bombard your readers with messages, chances are it will make them annoyed with your brand. Therefore, stick to the commonly used practice of sending 5-10 messages weekly.

• Deliver great customer service.

WhatsApp allows your brand to get queries immediately and provide customers with real-time support. This provides for great customer experience and customer loyalty.

Keeping such a pace seems hard, but WhatsApp allows you to provide customer support round the clock. All you need is to employ a Teemify chatbot and feed it with typical questions and answers to them. Such an approach may help you cut customer support costs by 40%.

Summary

To sum it up, creating a cost effective WhatsApp marketing strategy encompasses setting goals, exploring your audience, delivering great content, and maintaining good relationships with your customers. Some brands have mastered these techniques flawlessly. You could be the next !