Meltwater BV

02/26/2021 | News release | Archived content

WhatsApp and Messenger Apps as a Marketing Tool

The personal messenger is the new marketing tool. With that being said, it is not surprising that marketers are quickly jumping into the messaging domain to roll out their new campaigns. It would be unwise not to capture this relatively untapped market.

There are a countless number of messaging apps out there operating in the Android and iOS architectures. To name a few - WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Viber, WeChat, LINE, Telegram, the list goes on.

Just to highlight a fact - WhatsApp has almost 2 billion users in its database. Imagine the WhatsApp marketing possibilities that are available to you! Multiply that with the various messaging apps in the ecosystem, reaching the extreme ends of the marketing spectrum and the other side of the world.

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Is WhatsApp Social Media?

This is a tricky question mainly because it is primarily a telecommunications function where people send text messages. However through innovative developments and improvements in iterations, messaging apps such as WhatsApp have taken on a whole different dimension.

It is of no surprise that social media giant Facebook acquired the messaging app in 2014 at the price of US$19 billion to bolster its stable of products. With the acquisition, Facebook undoubtedly will incorporate the messaging app into its social media infrastructure as well as develop a WhatsApp marketing strategy.

And with other messaging apps such as Facebook's proprietary messaging app Messenger - which now has been merged with Instagram's direct messaging - the main reason why people use them is to send a message or SMS across to their contacts. This shows that personal messaging apps have become relatively social.

To further highlight, Chinese market-focused messaging app WeChat started as a personal messaging service for people to communicate. Over time, the app evolved into a super app which incorporated functions such as blogging, commerce, money transfers and even concierge services. This projects a developmental plan for other personal messaging apps such as WhatsApp to implement in the future.

Ways to Make WhatsApp Marketing Work For You

A brilliant aspect of WhatsApp Marketing is that messaging apps are personal in its creation. Marketing professionals will definitely benefit from the directness of their messages to their customer base. Campaigns can be specifically curated for the audience and message targeting is highly optimised for each customer base.

The best part about using personal messaging apps such as WhatsApp? Most of them are free to download and use, thus the high user rates. Leveraging on the ease of access and low barrier of entry, brands can almost immediately begin to roll out their campaigns upon activation.

Another benefit of using personal messaging apps as a marketing tool is that due to its primary function of a direct communication service, users are highly likely to open and read your messages. Compared to other outreach modes of communication, users have a higher tendency to interact with messages in personal communication apps such as WhatsApp.

More than 90 per cent of messages are opened by its users in WhatsApp and marketers can expect similar rates in other personal messenger apps. This excellent interaction rate for launching a marketing campaign should not be missed by companies and brands. By including a Call To Action (CTA) function to that campaign, it would definitely boost leads and revenue streams.

Personal messaging apps also support various multimedia collateral. Sharing of campaign collateral is important to marketers because it represents a recommendation through 'word-of-mouth'. Posters, brochures and links to websites are handy for customers to get their information on new products and services while videos instantaneously grab the attention of the consumer.

However, sharing of videos with customers can be data-heavy and it might deter them from watching it. To counter that problem, personal messaging apps such as WhatsApp, a user does not have to leave the app to watch YouTube videos. The app has an in-built pop-up YouTube viewer thus making it easier to access to your marketing video. So sharing can be so much easier and truly go viral through messaging apps.

And this brings us to an important point of using messaging apps as a marketing tool - the speed at which messages are sent and how quickly they can be reciprocated with an answer. These direct messengers are a strong connector between a brand and their customers and marketers have to acknowledge that people relate to that.

Even though there are limitations of running a campaign in personal messaging apps such as lack of tangible measurements, algorithms and scope of distribution, customers gravitate towards messengers because they are personal in nature and ultra-responsive. Marketing specific services by messaging apps such as WhatsApp for Business are really helpful for businesses to implement these messaging architectures to suit their needs. For more on this, you can also read our other article here.

A summary of why you should use personal messaging apps like WhatsApp as a marketing tool

  • Personal messaging is personal so customers can relate better
  • It is free for people to use
  • Higher rate of customer reading messages and interacting with your brand
  • Simplicity of sharing your campaign collateral
  • Quickness in replying to your messages

WhatsApp Marketing Software

The incredibly massive user database in personal messaging apps is a big draw for marketers. There are also a slew of WhatsApp marketing software for you to utilize to accelerate your business. This represents a huge opportunity for new customers and reaching out to those who are already using your products.

There are great WhatsApp marketing software out there to help you start in your WhatsApp marketing strategy. From messaging automation, cross-channel communication, mass texting, and campaign analytics. Here are several options for WhatsApp marketing software and their main functions.

SalesPanda

A marketing automation software which also incorporates many other functions such as lead scoring, social marketing, landing pages / web forms and hosting content platform.

Twillio

Using a single API, its software connects the brand with customers across the messaging functions of SMS, WhatsApp, and chat.

WhatSo

This software is able to import contacts from WhatsApp and is the only one with an anti-blocking feature to ensure your messages get across to the desired audience.

User.com

This is a full-stack marketing automation software dedicated to deliver messaging campaigns and customer relations. The software also has essential metrics to evaluate the success of the WhatsApp marketing campaigns.

WebEngage

This software is cloud-based and manages cross-channel communication. The platform allows brands to deploy mobile push notification, in-app messaging, send emails and implementing WhatsApp marketing campaign optimally.

Successful WhatsApp Marketing Campaigns & Other Apps

QR Codes

The wide-scale use of the ubiquitous QR code is another innovative way of encouraging customers to access information on your brand. Most messaging apps have code scanners built into them and this makes it simpler for people to read about a new campaign or interact with the brand. WhatsApp recently promoted this function to initiate chats between customers and brands. With a WhatsApp marketing campaign, collaterals can also be shared through the scanning of QR codes through the app.

Coca Cola & WhatsApp

Launched in Australia, the beverage company promoted a digital initiative to Share A Coke through a WhatsApp marketing campaign. Encouraging interaction between consumers, an individual could send a virtual Coke bottle digitally engraved with the recipient's name. Using APIs, the campaign proved to be a hit with the consumers. The campaign was then converted into a full-fledged marketing drive and further expanded internationally. This showed the potential of launching a mini campaign within a messenger app to test the market and see the reaction under controlled conditions.

Burberry & WeChat

Last year, esteemed British fashion label Burberry launched a marketing campaign for the Chinese market through personal messaging app WeChat. The messenger televised Burberry's London runway show through the app and featured commentary by Chinese celebrities. With the pandemic halting physical events, the live virtual interaction provided the brand a platform to connect with its customers. Special items were also created for the event such as collectable digital stickers emblazoned with names of customers that interacted with the brand in WeChat.

With the countless options available on messaging apps, brands and companies can reach out to their audience much faster with a more personalized touch. Messaging apps such as WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger are great for your next campaign and brands should not miss out in using them as a marketing tool.