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WhatsApp for Marketing v.1 Nov, 2018

People’suseofmobilemessagingappshasbeenonameteoricrise.Bytheendof2018,78%oftheworld’ssmartphoneuserswillmessageeverymonth.

Thegrowthisonlyexpectedtocontinue:By2021,it’spredictedthattheglobaluserbaseformobilemessagingappswillhaverisenbyafurther23%.

eMarketerMessagingAppsandMarketing2018

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Introduction.................................................................................................................................................3

WhatLimitationIshouldbeAwareof?........................................................................................................4

Aretherecasestudiesavailableforbrands?...............................................................................................5

WhatsAppbrandActivationIdeas................................................................................................................6

ArethereanyWhatsAppmarketingtools?..................................................................................................8

WhatsAppBusinessApp......................................................................................................................8

ClicktoChat/InviteonWhatsApp........................................................................................................8

*AlertNote!3rdPartyWhatsAppMarketingTools............................................................................10

CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................................11

Resources...................................................................................................................................................12

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Introduction

A huge majority of sharing —84 percent—now takes place on private channels like messaging apps, so even if you’re not using WhatsApp to market your business, your prospects are likely using it to extend your content’s reach already.

MessageCreatively!

Playtopeople’svisualexpectations,expressyourbrand’spersonalityviaemoji’s,enticingimageryandimmersiveaugmentedrealityexperiences.Afterall,thepathtopurchaseisincreasinglypavedwithvisuals.

WhatsAppforBusiness2018

1. Users of WhatsApp and similar messaging services are willing to engage with businesses. According to Nielsen’s Facebook Messaging Survey, 67 % of mobile messaging app users said they expect to use chat more for communicating with businesses over the next two years. What’s more, 53 percent of respondents say they’re more likely to shop with a business they can message directly.

2. Research tells us that 7 in 10 businesses surveyed think they are communicating effectively with customers – yet just 2 in 10 consumers surveyed agree. But messaging is increasingly helping to bridge the communication gap.

3. Since your brand is targeting millennials, they are likely to be comfortable using messaging apps for their day-to-day communication. In a study by Pew Research 42% of smartphone owners aged between 18 and 29 years choose messaging apps as their favorite communication channel.

4. WhatsApp has amazing engagement rate: 98% of messages are opened and read, with 90% of them getting opened within three seconds of being received.

5. WhatsApp is probably a keyway for your brand audience to share content via dark social – a term to describe when people choose to share content private

Similar to exploratory marketing channels, there are risks and benefits for early channel adopters. Here we list some key facts pertaining to the use of WhatsApp for Marketing given its widespread adoption in Egypt, as a top messaging app in the country.

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WhatLimitationIshouldbeAwareof?

• There is no business account! if your brand is to create an account it will face the same limitations as any other user.

• Since each WhatsApp account is coupled to a single mobile phone number—and you can only message with up to 256 WhatsApp users at once—it isn’t a good choice for large-scale, one-to-many marketing.

• Tostartengagingwithusers,youneedtohavethemaddyournumbertotheirphone’scontactlist.

• Mobile phones are more personal to us than other devices, marketing efforts should reflect and respect personal space. It is therefore important for users to not feel as though their privacy has been invaded.

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Aretherecasestudiesavailableforbrands?

• CaseStudyofthefirstWhatsAppcampaigntocommunicatetheexclusiveAbsolutUniquelaunchpartyinArgentina.

• CaseStudyofWhatsCook.ThefirstliverecipeserviceviaWhatsApp,Hellmann'sbrandactivation.Analternativerecipestorytellingthroughaservicethatconnectsrealpeopletorealchefs.

• CaseStudyofCafeTCLiquorTicker-TheWorld'sFirstAdTickeronWhatsApp

• CaseStudyofBurgerKing-ForitsHalloweencampaign,BurgerKingaskedtheirfanstosendWhatsappaudioswiththeirbestparanormalstoriesinordertowinfreeWhoppersiftheircasesresultedtobereal.

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WhatsAppbrandActivationIdeas

InspiredbycasestudiesaboveparticularlyinSouthAmerica,hereisalistofbrandactivationideas.

1. Create a brand persona to build up for an event and create an online buzz.

FortheupcomingflagshipLaunchevents:Hostanexclusiveparty.5Invitationswillbemadeavailabletothepublic.ThosewhowishtowintheseticketshavetouseWhatsApptocontactanimaginarypersonaandconvincethemthroughaudiofiles,videosand/orphotostoletthemgo.Theoutput:engagementwiththecommunityandonlinebuzz.

2. Offer one-on-one tutoring to inspire new uses for a product

Toinspiremillennialstousetheircamerasaspros.Fansonsocialmediagetinvitedtotosubmittheirphonenumbers,apictureoftheirownandarequesttoturnitintoaprofessionalone.TheywillbeconnectedthroughWhatsAppwithrealprofessionalmobilephotographers,whowillguidethemonWhatsAppthroughtext,videoandpicsonhowtoturntheirpicturestopro.

3. VIP clients – sneak peak, Invites…exclusivity.

Highvalueclients,canoptintoreceiveWhatsAppmessagesinformingthemofnewlaunches,eventinvites,etc.orrespondtoinquiries.

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4. Personal Shopper

WhatsAppuserscouldinviteapersonalshopperintoagroupconversationwiththeirpartnertodiscusswhattheywantedforChristmasand/orNewYear’s.

5. Challenge Achallengeduringfootballseasonwillasksocialmediauserstoenterachallengetowinagrandprix,thischallengewillinvolvemulti-steps,startingwithonlinesign-up,predictingscoreofcertainmatchesandfinally,gettodareafootballstaronWhatsApptoanswerquestionsrelatedtothegame.

6. Exclusive Group

Fanswhoaresomuchintotechnicaldetails,canbeinvitedtoanexclusiveclub,wheretheygettoknowearlierreleasedate,info,etc.thatarenotavailableonotherplatforms.Userscanalsoshareinsights,andopinionsabouttheirfavoritefeatures,andwhattheywishyourbrandcanoffer,thiscanbepassedonsoyouletyourmostadvanceduserschoosethefeaturesofe.g.acomingrelease.Customerswillfeelempoweredandtheywon’tfeelthattheyarejustpartofanautomatedpushmessagingcampaign.

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ArethereanyWhatsAppmarketingtools?WhatsAppBusinessApp

Yes!WhatsApphasaBusinessApptheysaywas“builtwiththesmallbusinessownerinmind.”Theappisfreetodownload,andcurrentlyonlyavailableforAndroiddevices.Itallowsbusinessestoeasilyinteractwithcustomersbyusingtoolstoautomate,sort,andquicklyrespondtomessages.

- Saveandreusemessagesyoufrequentlysend,anduse“quickreplies”- Setanawaymessage- Setupagreetingmessage- Sharedocuments

Wherecanuseit?In-Store,eventsbuildup.

ClicktoChat/InviteonWhatsApp

SinceWhatsAppdoesn’tofferanylarge-scalebusinesstoolsoranAPIyet,small-scaletargetedcampaignsliketheexamplesabovearethebeststrategy.

WhatsAppdoesprovideawaytoaddaclick-to-chatlinktoyourwebsite,emailsignature,orsocialmediapagesthatmakesiteasyforpeopletostartaconversationwithyourbrand.

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Figure1:InviteFriendstolikeyourBusinessPage

Figure2:ConnectWhatsAppNumbertoYourPage

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*AlertNote!3rdPartyWhatsAppMarketingToolsTherearethird-partyWhatsAppmarketingtoolsandservicesofferingtosetupmultipleWhatsAppaccountsandgroupsformarketers,butusingthemcanleadtoyoubeingblockedtemporarilyorbannedentirelyfromtheservice.Plus,massmessaginginthistypeofenvironmentcandoalotofdamagetoyourbrand.

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CONCLUSION

WhileWhatsAppisn’tasmarketerfriendlyasFacebookMessenger,itismovinginthatdirection.

MarketerscanworkwithWhatsAppuniquefeatureswillhaveanearlyadopteradvantage.

WhenthinkingWhatsAppStrategy,thesefactorscomefirstandforemost.BrandPersona,exclusivity,VIPserviceandChallenges.

MessagingAppsareslowlybutsurelyover-takingregularsocialmediaplatforms,sogettheballrollingassoonasyoucan.

Creativity,respecttocustomer’sprivacyandbuildingbridgesoftrustwiththecustomersarethenameofthegame.

ThelackofadvertisingandcorporatepresenceonWhatsAppmeansthat—ifyoudoitright,yourbrandwillstandout.

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ResourcesNielsenFacebookMessagingSurvey

Whatsapp.com

Hootsuite

BridgingthecommunicationDividebyLawlessResearch

MessagingAppsandMarketing2018

FacebookforBusiness