Why YOU Should be Marketing on WhatsApp

Since January 2018, Meta has offered the WhatsApp Business Platform for enterprise brands. Many companies large and small have adopted WhatsApp as a channel to engage with their customers. The future of marketing is conversational, and WhatsApp is an integral tool for brands to have a conversation with their customers. So…should YOU be marketing on WhatsApp?

Marketers and companies continue to debate which platforms are the right ones to reach their target audiences. WhatsApp should, at the very least, be one of those tools up for consideration. It often tops the list for marketers and businesses who want to begin or continue their conversational marketing journeys and generate new revenue streams.

In this blog, we answer your questions about which businesses are the right fit for marketing on WhatsApp, highlight interesting data points about WhatsApp Business, and share further thoughts that will help you decide if marketing through WhatsApp Business is the right fit for your brand.

Do my customers use WhatsApp?

Yes, customers are using WhatsApp, and more than you might realize! With approximately 2.78 billion unique active users worldwide, there’s a good chance your customers are already on WhatsApp.

Even more, the number of WhatsApp users is growing. Worldwide, WhatsApp monthly users increased by 12% between June 2022 and June 2023, and it’s predicted to keep growing.

This WhatsApp boom is happening in the US too, with 98 million people in the US now using WhatsApp, growing at a whopping 10% YoY. Over 25% of 35-44 year olds in the US own a WhatsApp account while 33% of 18-34 year olds have one.

Are other brands marketing on WhatsApp?

Yes, businesses are using WhatsApp, and it’s in the millions. As of June 2023, there were 200 million business users on WhatsApp, up from 50 million in 2020.

WhatsApp sees the potential for businesses to connect with their customers, so they’ve built two tools to help brands build relationships: the WhatsApp Business Platform and the WhatsApp Business App. The WhatsApp Business Platform is geared towards medium and enterprise businesses while the Business App is focused on small to medium businesses.

The tools are there, millions of businesses are using them, and people are communicating with brands on WhatsApp. The volume of daily conversations between people and businesses grew over 50% between 2021 and 2022.

What kinds of businesses is WhatsApp marketing best for?

WhatsApp marketing can be used by just about any business. Specifically, WhatsApp has a commerce policy that highlights the types of businesses that cannot use WhatsApp for business marketing. For example, the policy indicates that product marketing and sales of highly regulated businesses like tobacco, firearms, and adult content are prohibited.

If your business doesn’t fall into those categories, WhatsApp marketing is for you! Businesses in any industry that want to have a conversation with their customers will benefit from using it.

Retail is one of the top industries for using WhatsApp marketing messages due to the large customer base, eagerness in the industry to adopt innovative tools, and customers with high expectations. Other top industries for WhatsApp include finance, telecommunications, non-profit, grocery, and direct-to-consumer.

Is WhatsApp marketing effective?

WhatsApp marketing is effective in meeting customer expectations, driving engagement, and generating high ROI.

The interaction between brand and customer is now expected or preferred to be a conversational experience. According to WhatsApp, Globally, 66% of online adults surveyed agree that messaging is their preferred way of communicating with a business, with that number growing to 72% among 18-34 year olds. WhatsApp is a conversation-first channel, so building a dialogue is inherent in the technology.

With an average 98% open rate of WhatsApp messages, it has one of the highest engagement rates of any channel. This almost guarantees your message will be viewed and exponentially increases the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns. For example, travel brand HolidayPirates saw 10x subscriber engagement when compared to email.

Brands are also seeing massive returns on their efforts. For example, retail brand SNOCKS saw a 586% return on their campaign spend in just 6 months where they generated more than €1m in revenue through WhatsApp.

Where does WhatsApp fit into the marketing funnel?

WhatsApp views the marketing funnel from a full-funnel perspective. They’ve built their product with the three main stages of the funnel cycle in mind:

Top of funnel - send media-rich messages to customers to help engage and drive product awareness

Middle of funnel - message customers with unique offers and personalized messages to nurture and convert

Bottom of funnel - send helpful reminders when a customer has abandoned their cart and create re-marketing ads that send customers to a WhatsApp conversation

Similar to how marketers are solving for their own funnels, WhatsApp has built a comprehensive tool addressing all phases of the customer lifecycle. Collecting opt-ins, driving customer awareness, newsletters, new product launches, returning to abandoned carts, and other marketing campaigns can all be done via WhatsApp marketing.

When should I start marketing on WhatsApp?

Long story short, start marketing on WhatsApp as soon as possible. View WhatsApp as a new opportunity to directly speak with your customers and have a conversation using their preferred method of communication.

WhatsApp is a less saturated conversation channel when compared to the busy email inbox or the noisy SMS space, making it a channel for you to stand out, easily connect with your customers, and get the benefits of a first mover.

The United States is the fastest-growing market for WhatsApp for both business and personal messaging. The adoption of WhatsApp increases every year meaning more opportunities for businesses and brands to use WhatsApp for their marketing conversations.

Want to begin sending messages to your customers using WhatsApp? Now is the perfect time to start. We’re also available to help you begin exploring WhatsApp, so connect with us to get started.