If there is one thing for certain, WhatsApp Business (WAB) is here to stay!
And probably one of the most important marketing channel that you need to get ready to use for 2020.
WhatsApp ads are coming as we mentioned earlier this year.
WhatsApp is slowly opening up to new integrations.
And WhatsApp bots are slowing picking up steam within developing countries.
WhatsApp Is Still The Leading Messaging App!
Even with all the turmoil that Facebook went through this and last year, Facebook family of apps still dominate the global social media landscape.
Just look at the map below by a study done by Hootsuite:
Understanding how to use WhatsApp Business and Facebook messenger is becoming imperative for any business.
Whether you want to grow your sales.
Handle customer complaints.
Sending text reminders.
Or even handling sales through a chat, knowing how to start using these tools is quickly becoming fundamental for any small business.
And you don’t want to be left behind!
Plus,
did you know which social media platform has the most stories?
Not Snapchat!
Not Facebook!
Not even Instagram!
It’s WhatsApp!
WhatsApp has the most stories out of all the social media channels!
According to a recent study by Business Insider, WhatsApp has the largest daily audience with +450 million being shared every day.
What is WhatsApp Business (WAB)?
Some of you might not actually know, but there is a big difference between WhatsApp and Whatsapp Business (WAB).
According to the official WAB website:
WhatsApp Business is a free to download app available on Android and iPhone, and was built with the small business owner in mind.
The Android app was first introduced in early 2018 and iOS version was recently released.
WhatsApp Business allows you to have a verifiable Business Profile with all of your company’s info:
- Company Address with map
- Phone Number
- Website Like
The app also includes some pretty cool features:
- Statistics to see how many messages were successfully sent, delivered and read
- Messaging tools to automate and quickly respond
- Build a business profile so that customers can better communicate
- Have a business badge to identify an official business chat
I recorded this video to give you more info on the differences between both apps.
Here are more benefits from using WhatsApp Business:
- Focus: WA is more personal and casual-focused, while WAB is tool and business-focused towards small businesses.
- Messaging Tools can save you time and money. They are only available on the business version.
- Ads: You can launch ads to WhatsApp Business! Here’s how.
- Funneling: On WAB you can label people to locate them along your funnel.
- Broadcasting: WAB allows you to broadcast to as many people as save your number on their phone. For free.
Why use WhatsApp for Business?
Because it’s the future of commerce and digital marketing!
I’ve written about it before and I just think learning how to leverage chats will be key to any business.
And will adds massive value to your sales and marketing.
WhatsApp Business is just a more efficient way to communicate with your potential and current customers.
You have messaging tools, that will fire even if you’re sleeping and answer clients’ FAQ’s.
- You can direct people from Facebook Ads to WhatsApp.
- You can use labels to set up a funnel that can help you track how many customer you have at each stage.
- You can broadcast them for free!
- Your profile looks better and more professional.
Clients will have more confident talking to a valid WhatsApp business profile.
It also has some time-saving features that can help you boost sales.
What is difference between WhatsApp, WhatsApp business (WAB), and Whatsapp API?
WhatsApp API was specifically built for large scale enterprises.
Unlike WhatsApp Business, the API allow large customers to tailor and adapt their needs more quickly.
Companies like KLM, Uber, Cinépolis, and Aeroméxico are some of the early players who have rolled out their WhatsApp bots through WhatsApp’s API.
Here is an infographic that can help you better understand the difference between the three platforms:
Embed this infographic on your site!
<p><strong>Please include attribution to markeko.com with this graphic.</strong><br /><br /><a href=’markeko.com/whatsapp-business-ultimate-guide’><img src=” alt=’WhatsApp vs. WhatsApp Business’ width=’917′ height=’1024′ border=’0′ /></a></p>
How much does WAB cost?
Nothing. WhatsApp Business is free to download and to use.
That means messaging tools, a more detailed profile, labels, broadcasts, statistics and messaging tools are free.
If the amount of chats you’re getting is starting to get crazy, then you might consider using the WhatsApp Business API (which is free to a point) or hiring a third party service.
Both will charge you, though.
What are the advantages and benefits of WAB?
The advantage is that you won’t have to work as hard using WhatsApp Business.
Unlike customer service…
WAB will give you amazing leverage and quicker response time.
Let’s say you run your business on WAB:
You run Facebook Ads to start getting messages.
People can then message you, look at your profile, and know exactly what you do.
You can then set up automatic Welcoming Message so that you don’t have to reply manually.
If you’re sleeping or off-work, an Away Message will automatically fire.
What about frequently asked questions from your clients?
Use Quick Replies to set up predefined messages that you don’t have to retype.
These three messages are designed to move people through your sales funnel, that you’ve already built on labels.
If your contacts added your number, you can use labels to broadcast them for free.
I made a video that teaches you all about labels. Here it is:
You can also direct people to your Whatsapp Business number through a short link that you can generate on the app.
We use it on our website so that users can get our WhatsApp Business guide through chat:
That means people will click it and start new organic conversations.
Wanna try it?
Click here or just click on the image above and you will see.
Pretty cool… right?
What else can you do with WhatsApp?
Quite a lot!
Just check on the info below:
Can I use WAB for personal use?
Yes, but you should see if that’s what you really want…
Or need.
WhatsApp Business (for a normal user) can be useful if you text people the same message for their birthday or drive some business on the app…
Which is not most people.
If you only go with casual conversations, use regular WhatsApp.
If you drive some business and get a couple sales from the app, go with WhatsApp Business.
Is WhatsApp API free?
Yes and no.
WhatsApp Business’s API will cost you nothing if all you do is reply to people 24 hours after they text you.
If you want to contact people after 24 hours, then you’ll have to pay between 5 to 90 cents per message.
Can I integrate Facebook with WAB?
Yes.
Here’s how:
Why would you want to integrate your Facebook with WhatsApp Business?
Because you can now run ads on Facebook and Instagram placement to direct people to your WhatsApp.
We use it to generate leads as you can see in the ad below:
How can I launch WAB Ads within Facebook?
You can use the “Traffic” or “Messages” objective within your Ads Manager to launch a campaign.
It runs just like any other campaign within Facebook!
Once you select the traffic objective, under the ad set level, you have the following options:
- Website
- App
- Messenger
You want to select WhatsApp and then look for your Fan Page.
You should connect your WhatsApp Account with your Fan Page; otherwise, your ads won’t run.
If you are only using the normal WhatsApp app, your ads won’t run!
How can I use WhatsApp customer service?
When you do customer service, you want to be smart about how much time you really put into it.
Customers can ask a lot and drain a lot of time.
Good news is, Messaging Tools are crazy efficient.
There are three of those:
- Welcome Message (which fires automatically)
- Away message (which fires automatically on your off hours)
- Quick Replies (which you have to type “/ + keyword”
That keyword is crucial:
If you set up your FAQ’s with quick replies, then you can just type a keyword and the whole message you’ve already set will send.
It’s like copy and pasting on steroids.
How else can I learn about WhatsApp Business?
Make sure you get our Free WhatsApp Business Guide.
This guide will give you the basics to get started with your WhatsApp Business:
Also…
make sure you join our Facebook Group to get more help and support.
On it, you can ask questions, stay updated and get valuable tips for your business.
Hope that was helpful!