WhatsApp has proven to be effective by delivering high open and click-through rates. But with the increasing noise on the platform now, you need to opt for a more targeted approach to your campaigns to see the best results.
So here are some of the best tips to run targeted WhatsApp marketing campaigns.
Tips to run a targeted WhatsApp marketing campaign
Here are a few tips on setting up and running targeted WhatsApp marketing campaigns effectively:
1. Setting up your WhatsApp Business Account
Here are some tips to create an impactful WhatsApp Business account:
1. Start by adding your business name, business category and a professional, recognizable profile picture. For categories, you can choose up to three that are relevant to your business.
2. Write a compelling and clear business description.
3. Set up your business’ WhatsApp operational hours to let customers know when to reach out to you.
4. Add legitimacy to your business by setting up your WhatsApp Business address or location.
5. Add business contact information such as business email, alternate phone number etc.
6. Create a WhatsApp Business product catalog with clear product titles, pricing, description, website link etc. These catalog URLs can be easily shared with customers on demand.
2. Identifying your target audience
Here are some ways in which you can refind your target audience:
1. Understand customer personas: You can use customer preferences, purchase history, demographic information, online behavior etc. to develop detailed buyer personas for better understanding.
2. Analyze customer data: CRM tools or WhatsApp Analytics can be very effective when it comes to identifying trends, customer preferences and patterns among your existing audience, thus enabling you to better understand and predict their needs and demands.
3. Segment the audience: You can group your audience into different lists based on their interests, age, location, stage in their purchase journey etc. and use this to share messages that are highly targeted.
4. Carry out polls and surveys: You can directly run polls or surveys on WhatsApp itself to collect customer insights on their needs and preferences, and then use this to improve your targeted WhatsApp marketing efforts.
5. Use insights from past campaigns: Go back to your previous campaigns and review the data to understand which segments of your audience respond better to your marketing campaigns, thus revealing what factors work.
6. Address customer pain points: Recognize the challenges or pain points that your audience is facing. This helps you better tailor your campaigns in a way that adequately addresses these problems.
3. Crafting effective marketing messages
Once you have data on your target audience, here’s how to create campaign messages that convert:
1. Start with a hook: Your messages are as effective as their starting line so use a clever, attention-grabbing opening, which can engage customers instantly.
2. Keep it concise: Your audience values their time, so to respect this, your messages must be short, clear and to the point, thus enhancing readability.
3. Personalize: Use the recipient’s name when addressing them and whenever applicable refer to their past interactions or interests to personalize the conversation.
4. Highlight benefits: The benefits of the product or service should be clearly conveyed in the message. Try to emphasize what problem it solves or what need it can fulfil.
5. Add clear CTA: Your Call-to-Action can have clear steps such as “Shop Now”, “Learn More”, “Claim Offer Now” etc. to nudge customers towards these desired actions.
6. Use Emojis: Use emojis wisely to add personality to your messages while making them visually stand out. Be sure to use it the right amount as too many emojis can have a negative impact.
7. Test different formats: To find what works best, try out different texts, images, videos or audio in your messages and see what resonates best with the audience.
8. Maintain brand voice: Your tone and style should align consistently with your brand theme and its overall persona. This ensures that each message reinforces your brand identity in the audiences’ minds.
9. Add a sense of urgency: Incorporate urgency in your messages by using phrases such as “selling out fast”, “limited-time deal” etc. to encourage immediate action from customers.
4. Leveraging WhatsApp features for marketing
To ensure your campaigns run effectively, here are some features to use:
1. Broadcast lists: You can use the broadcast messaging features to share promotional messages or updates to multiple users simultaneously without having to create groups.
2. Quick replies: You can set up predefined answers for frequent queries, as quick replies, thus freeing up more time.
3. Rich media messaging: Make your WhatsApp marketing messages engaging by incorporating rich media such as images, videos, audio, GIFs, documents etc.
4. Catalog sharing: Use the WhatsApp catalog feature to showcase your products/services directly from the app.
5. Click-to-chat links: By adding clickable WhatsApp links to your website, ads, or social media pages, you can make it easier for prospective buyers to initiate conversation with you.
6. Automated messaging: This feature can help you automatically share timely greetings and away messages to customers, ensuring that they are appropriately acknowledged.
7. Interactive buttons: Having buttons like “Buy Now”, “Visit Website” etc. can help in creating a more streamlined experience.
8. WhatsApp groups: You can foster a sense of community and share exclusive deals and discounts with your loyal customers through exclusive groups.
9. Integrate CRM tools: By tracking customer interactions through CRM, you gain better insights that can be used for follow-ups and effective targeting.
10. Monitor analytics: You can measure your WhatsApp marketing campaign performance, response times, and open rates using WhatsApp Business analytics.
Best practices to run targeted WhatsApp Marketing Campaigns
When you’re getting started with WhatsApp marketing campaigns, we recommend following these best practices:
1. Define campaign goals: Define the specific goals for the campaign, to ensure that the marketing messages align with the outcomes you desire from the campaign.
2. Build seamless opt-in: Have a seamless and easy opt-in mechanism in place to ensure that your marketing messages are compliant with policies and regulations while being engaging.
3. Segment your audience: Leverage audience segmentation to ensure that the messages are targeted, personalized and relevant to the receiver.
4. Keep it clear: Make sure that the messaging is clear and concise by using clear, direct language, so as to respect the customers’ time.
5. Incorporate visual content: Create visual appeal and boost engagement by using visual content such as images, GIFs and videos.
6. Add strong CTAs: Have clear and impactful Call-to-Actions for driving users effectively towards desired actions.
7. Schedule messages strategically: Schedule your messages so that they are sent to customers at the most optimum timing, ensuring maximum reach and response rates.
8. Use automation: Leverage automation features using a WhatsApp Business API solution like Interakt for answering FAQs, sharing follow-ups or greeting new customers.
9. Monitor campaign analytics: Measure the effectiveness of your campaigns and refine your WhatsApp marketing strategies by monitoring campaign analytics.
10. Ensure compliance: Follow regulations such as GDPR, TCPA or other regional regulations to ensure customer data privacy and security.
11. Leverage media and interactive features: Experiment by using rich media as well as interactive elements in messages to create engaging and impactful campaigns.
12. Provide value-driven content: Share content that can solve a problem, inform customers, or provide them with tips regarding products.
Conclusion
Timeliness and proper customer segmentation are crucial for running targeted WhatsApp marketing campaigns and seeing ideal results.
This is where API tools like Interakt can help with its advanced set of marketing-first features.
