Guide to WhatsApp marketing campaigns and benefits

With the rise of conversational marketing, WhatsApp Business Platform has become increasingly popular for businesses to send promotional messages and nurture leads to purchase.

In this blog we explain why you should join the bandwagon and include WhatsApp in your marketing efforts and how to stand out with a WhatsApp marketing strategy that delivers real results.

With WhatsApp’s rich message types including media, buttons, carousels, and CTAs, proactive marketing messages can be used for highly personalized communication about new products or services, cart abandonment notifications, specialized offers, and many more use cases. 

Until recently, WhatsApp’s high regulations regarding messages that can be sent to customers didn’t limit the number of messages a customer could receive. 

However, as of February 2024, Meta implemented a new set of advanced measurement mechanisms, limiting the number of marketing conversations a customer receives from any business in a specific time frame, and all other marketing messages beyond that limit will be blocked. 

Here’s a breakdown of how frequency capping works:

So, what do businesses need to do to ensure they respect these new limits and still run successful marketing campaigns on WhatsApp? 

So, let’s walk through how your brand can achieve this along with high ROIs on marketing campaigns, and boost engagement with customers over WhatsApp – even with messaging limits.  

Check out what our partners at Hagens, a leading martech company in Brazil, have to say about WhatsApp for conversational marketing and how to make an impact with customers: 

So, what features and capabilities should businesses use for marketing over WhatsApp? Let’s break down the most important ones and how to use them to your advantage. 

Once the ad is launched on Facebook Ad Manager and connected to WhatsApp, your business can access specific data on how many conversations were initiated and behavioral data such as conversion tracking on websites or mobile apps, post-purchase experiences, abandoned cart recovery, and the end-to-end marketing funnel from the number of impressions in the Facebook feed to the number of conversions and ROAS for each campaign. 

It can be used for any stage of the journey, from initial discovery of your brand, to targeted re-engagement, making conversational marketing a breeze. 

But this is just scratching the surface of the many benefits from using Click to WhatsApp ads, learn more here: 

A major benefit of using a conversational channel like WhatsApp is keeping the user experience seamless, easy, and of course, within the channel. WhatsApp Flows is designed to help improve customer experience over WhatsApp by simplifying use cases that would otherwise require switching to a third-party website or app. It enables businesses to build and offer an end-to-end journey all within WhatsApp.  

Check out how you can generate leads and collect subscriptions within WhatsApp with Flows:

WhatsApp Flows is ideal for lead generation forms, appointment booking, satisfaction surveys, and more. Learn more about Flows here: 

This feature enables you to add up to 30 products with photos and detailed descriptions that customers can browse from within the WhatsApp chat. This feature is also available to integrate via API. When a person wants to purchase an item, they can either make a payment within WhatsApp, or click through to your website’s checkout page complete the transaction. This allows customers to transition from each stage of the journey seamlessly by remaining within the WhatsApp conversation. 

Get the most out of one message with carousels. Carousels allow you to include up to 10 cards to promote products, discounted offers, items left in carts, highlighting travel destinations, and anything else your brand wants to advertise.  

Carousels are easy to use with their scrolling feature and make shopping and exploring your offers more engaging to your customers. You can add any call-to-action to your carousel, from click to call buttons, URLs, or quick replies.

Time sensitive offers are sometimes difficult to promote as customers skim messages, and don’t always realize the offer expires soon. With Limited Time Offer messages on WhatsApp, you can display expiration dates and count downs making it obvious and easy to understand that the offer has a time limit, helping you improve conversion rates. When the timer expires, so does the coupon, the code becomes inactive, and customers can no longer use it.

If your conversational marketing flows have been successful, and your customer has reached the end of the funnel, don’t redirect them to a new channel – keep everything within WhatsApp by enabling payments on WhatsApp. For the time being, this feature is only available in India and Brazil, but WhatsApp will expand this offer to other regions in the future. Get prepared and learn more about how to use payments in this blog: 

So, you’re starting to understand why WhatsApp is perfect for marketing, and how to get the most out of the channel – but how do you put it all together to build a successful strategy? 

Here’s a quick checklist of all the steps you will need to build a winning WhatsApp marketing strategy:

Depending on the size of your business and the marketing use cases you want to cover, you can use the WhatsApp Business App or the WhatsApp Business Platform. 

At a very high level the app is better suited to smaller businesses while larger enterprise businesses will get more benefit from the WhatsApp Business Platform due to its scalability and automation options.  

To help you decide, you should read our useful guide on the differences between the WhatsApp Business App and WhatsApp Business Platform.  

Here’s a quick comparison to help you determine which would work best for your business: 

We’ve touched on opt-ins via Click to chat ads above, but there are multiple ways you can collect opt-ins. 

Opt-ins must be collected before you message a customer using WhatsApp. If a customer completes a consent form, or if they initiate the conversation, you have collected their opt-in for receiving messages over WhatsApp. Your business is responsible for storing opt-ins (aka customer consent to receive messages from your brand). 

When collecting opt-ins, you must: 

You can then consider how you will maximize opt-ins:

Look at your current marketing strategy and funnel and determine where you can best use WhatsApp to boost engagement. Perhaps you struggle with lead generation, or your conversion rate is low. 

Part of this process should be to identify the types of messages that you will use, for example: 

The people that you send marketing messages to on WhatsApp will be a subset of your total customer database – meaning they must be users of the app and must have opted in to receiving messages. Beyond those commonalities they will be as diverse and different in their expectations and requirements. Take time to determine who you are targeting, what their needs are and how you can use WhatsApp to help them meet those needs. 

A customer data platform will help you collect data on customers and store it in one place. Then you can create detailed customer profiles that will help you determine what personas you are targeting and how to effectively segment your audiences before communicating with them. 

Outline measurable KPIs that will help you track progress once you include WhatsApp in your strategy. This could include conversion rate, cost per conversion, or click rates on campaigns. Setting clear and measurable marketing goals will help you understand the impact that WhatsApp is having on achieving your business goals. 

People use WhatsApp to connect with friends and family to have personal conversations. When using the app to interact with a brand, they expect the same type of experience. Make sure that your brand persona and tone of voice can be properly conveyed through the chat app. 

It is a good opportunity to show your brand’s playful and human side, which makes for more engaging marketing interactions. WhatsApp is not the right channel for boring and robotic conversations.  

Building out your workflows is key to delivering the right message, to the right person, at the right time. Using an omnichannel customer engagement solution can help you design and launch interactions with engaging message types over WhatsApp. 

Checkout a list of use cases and what rich message types from WhatsApp that would make your messages stand out: 

You’ve crafted the perfect WhatsApp marketing strategy, your messages are reaching your audience, and customers are engaging with your brand. But how do you know if it’s truly working?  In this section, we’ll dive deep into the key metrics that will reveal the true impact of your WhatsApp campaigns and show you how to use data to optimize for even better results.

Each new subscriber represents a potential customer who has actively chosen to hear from you. A growing subscriber list is a strong indicator of increasing brand interest and provides a larger pool of engaged individuals for your campaigns.

Monitoring subscriber growth is straightforward. You can keep a record of new opt-ins over time, and tools like WhatsApp Business Manager and other analytics platforms provide detailed data on subscriber growth trends.

Consistent growth in your subscriber base is a positive sign. It shows that your opt-in strategies are effective and that your brand is resonating with your target audience. However, if you notice that subscriber growth is stagnating or declining, it’s a signal to re-evaluate your approach. Perhaps your opt-in incentives need refreshing, or maybe your call-to-action isn’t compelling enough.

Actively analyzing key metrics is crucial for understanding what resonates with your audience, what drives conversions, and how to optimize your campaigns for better results. Here are some key metrics to track:

Message open rates reveal the percentage of your audience that actually opens and views your WhatsApp messages. It’s a quick indicator of how effectively you’re grabbing your audience’s attention.

Conversion rates calculate the percentage of recipients who complete a desired goal, such as making a purchase, leaving their details in the chat, visiting your website, or signing up for an event, after interacting with your message.

Click-through rate (CTR) is a metric that measures how many people click on a specific link, button, or call to action (CTA) in your marketing materials after being exposed to it.

It’s usually presented as a percentage and is calculated by dividing the number of clicks by the number of impressions (the number of times the link/button/CTA was shown).

Our platform includes a built-in URL shortener and tracker that allows you to monitor clicks on CTA buttons within your WhatsApp messages. This granular data empowers you to understand which CTAs are performing best, optimize your message design, and ultimately drive more traffic to your desired destinations.

A high click rate demonstrates that your messages are not only capturing attention but also compelling recipients to take the next step. However, if your rates are lower than expected, it’s a signal to refine your approach. Experiment with different messaging strategies, test the clarity and appeal of your offers, and ensure your call-to-actions are clear, concise, and compelling.

When customers feel valued and heard, they’re more likely to become repeat customers, stick with your brand over the long haul, and even become advocates.

WhatsApp itself provides a direct line to your customers, making it an ideal platform for gathering feedback. You can conduct short and snappy surveys to get quick insights, engage in direct conversations to gather more detailed feedback, or even monitor customer reviews and mentions in groups or other online platforms. Pay close attention to the feedback you receive, identify any recurring pain points or areas of improvement, and take proactive steps to enhance customer experience.

Since every investment needs to demonstrate its value, a strong ROI proves that your WhatsApp marketing efforts are not just a cost but a revenue-generating engine for your business. A healthy ROI also provides a compelling argument for continued investment and expansion of your WhatsApp marketing strategies.

To determine your ROI, you’ll need to track the revenue generated directly from your WhatsApp campaigns. This might include sales, lead generation, or any other measurable outcome tied to your WhatsApp efforts. Then, compare this revenue to the costs associated with running your campaigns, including platform fees, messaging costs, and any other related marketing expenses.

Looking at what your competitors are doing provides valuable context for your own results. It helps you understand where you excel, where you have room for improvement, and what strategies might be working well for others. Are your open rates higher? Are your conversions lagging? Think of it as a reality check – it keeps you grounded and prevents you from operating in a vacuum.

While you won’t have access to your competitors’ private data, there’s still a wealth of information available. Start by researching industry benchmarks and reports to get a sense of average performance metrics. You can also analyze publicly available data from competitor campaigns, such as their messaging frequency, content strategies, and engagement rates on public posts or groups.

It takes more than just sending messages to take full advantage of what WhatsApp has to offer – you need the right tools and resources to create, manage, and optimize successful campaigns. This section explores the essential elements that can empower you to achieve your WhatsApp marketing goals, from powerful APIs and insightful analytics to valuable educational resources and supportive CX experts.

Simple use cases and intuitive tools can transform your customer interactions from day one.

Scale your business with advanced features: The WhatsApp Business Platform provides the tools and flexibility for businesses with high-volume messaging needs. Integrate WhatsApp Business Platform with your CRM, marketing automation tools, and customer support systems to create seamless customer journeys, automate conversations with intelligent chatbots, and deliver personalized messages to a massive audience.

Knowledge is power: Analytics tools provide a gold mine of insights into your WhatsApp campaign performance, including open rates, click-through rates, and conversions. Use this data to track progress, identify areas for improvement, and make data-driven decisions to maximize your ROI.

Don’t be shy and ask for help: Sometimes, you need more than just tools and resources—you need expert advice. Consider consulting with experienced CX professionals who can provide personalized advice and support tailored to your specific needs and challenges. Infobip’s Professional Services and CX Consultancy teams have a proven track record and can guide you on your journey to WhatsApp marketing success.

A leading auto tech company in India thrives on helping customers find the perfect car. They were looking for a way to advertise deals to their customers with the best visibility and to improve conversion rates. CarDekho decided to use WhatsApp to send alerts to perspective buyers that fit their criteria. The campaign saw 15,000 conversions per day, and a total of 2 million sessions throughout the campaign – a major win for the car gurus.  

One of the world’s largest consumer goods corporations was looking for a new and unique way to promote new products for their fabric softener brand, Comfort. They decided to launch a WhatsApp campaign that encouraged customers to reach out on their WhatsApp channel, where they could interact with the chatbot MadameBot who gave advice on how to take care of their clothing and receive a 50% off coupon. Unilever saw a 14x increase in sales and 145,000 messages exchanged during the campaign- far exceeding the expected number of interactions of only 600.  

Retail and eCommerce

Banking and finance

Telecommunications

WhatsApp Business Platform messaging is a powerful and wide-reaching communication platform that can help you create meaningful connections with your customers. That’s why a WhatsApp marketing strategy is a key part of your marketing arsenal, supporting your customer experience goals and helping to add value at critical moments in the customer journey.