WhatsApp is a mobile app, owned by Facebook, which allows its users to chat, share files and images, and make video and voice calls, all for free. In regions having high SMS charges such as Mexico, India, Malaysia, South Africa, etc., this app is popular. India alone has close to 390 million people using WhatsApp and combined with Brazil and the USA, the total number of users exceeds half a billion.
WhatsApp provides an ideal channel that allows two-way online communication. Because of this feature, a marketer can directly engage with customers at the other end and this allows for brand promotion as well as direct communication with the potential users of the brand.
What are Click-to-WhatsApp Ads?
Running Click-to-WhatsApp ads is one of how you can connect with people. Starting conversations on WhatsApp to connect with a targeted audience and turning them into customers is what WhatsApp marketing is all about. Here, WhatsApp becomes your marketing channel.
Click-to-WhatsApp ads allow one to use Facebook’s ad platform and get the audience to contact you via WhatsApp. Though it has limited features, it is easy to set up. Some features of Click-to-WhatsApp ads are as follows:
It is an ad type that has a Click to WhatsApp CTA. This starts a WhatsApp conversation. However, for this, you have to connect your phone number to your FB page. The ‘WhatsApp for Business’ app is used for the setup.
Ads are placed in the FB News Feed and Marketplace, Instagram Feed and Explore, and FB and Insta stories. It is not possible to automate this action as of now.
Requirements for setting up WhatsApp ads
If you are planning to run Click-to-WhatsApp ads, you have to ensure the following two things:
- The WhatsApp Business app has to be downloaded first. Alternately, you can integrate with the Whatsapp Business API.
- You have to next connect your WhatsApp account to your Facebook Page. You also have to make yourself the admin of your FB page.
However, it is important to be aware of the fact that WhatsApp API has restricted access and therefore, it may be a good idea to download the WhatsApp Business app.
- The next thing you have to do is connect your phone number and link it to your FB page.
To get started you need to:
- First download, and then launch the WhatsApp Business app
- Next, you have to review and then accept the Terms of Service
- Register your phone number by selecting your country and proceed to verify the number
- Provide access to contacts and photos
- Add your business name, profile picture, and category to create an account
- Add your address, opening hours, etc., and build your business profile
- Start chats with your customers
The next step is to connect the WhatsApp Business account with the FB business Page. For this:
- Open your Facebook business Page.
- Click on Settings.
- On the left-hand side column, click WhatsApp.
- Choose your appropriate country code.
- Enter your WhatsApp number and click on ‘Send code’.
- Input this code and click ‘Confirm’.
As soon as these steps are completed, the next step is to create your Click-to-WhatsApp ad.
How to create Click to WhatsApp ads?
The two different methods you can use to set up Click to WhatsApp ads:
- You can promote/boost a post on your page
- Create an ad in Facebook Ads Manager
Using Facebook Ads Manager
Facebook Ads Manager gives the user more options when placing ads. You can create a new ad by going to the Facebook Ads manager. However, ensure that you choose your ad’s objective right at the beginning.
Choose ‘Ads with the Traffic, Website Conversions or Messages objectives’
When choosing this option, you should know that the Messages objective is unavailable in India and certain EU counties.
- In the Message destination section, select the WhatsApp option.
- Choose your audience, ad placements, and schedule.
- Choose images, text, and headlines for your ad.
- Click ‘Confirm’ to publish your latest Click-to-WhatsApp ad.
‘Ads with the Reach, Brand Awareness, Engagement or Video Views objectives’
- For this option choose your audience, placements, and schedule.
- Under ‘Links’, click ‘Add Website URL’.
- Add the URL of your business website.
- Under ‘Call to action’, select ‘Send WhatsApp Message’.
- Select your page with the WhatsApp number connected in the drop-down menu.
- Click Confirm to publish your Click-to-WhatsApp ad.
Different Ways To Use Click To WhatsApp Ads?
Take orders via WhatsApp
Though your prospective customers spend a lot of time on Facebook/Instagram, you may want to take food orders via WhatsApp. You can run an ad through which you can offer a discount for anyone placing an order via WhatsApp. This could be for food or any other item.
You can ask the customers to order from a menu card that you send or they can browse your food catalog. Alternately, you can send them your product catalog. The ad that you run would click into WhatsApp and you can have your conversations there. You can even give them genuine recommendations and turn them into loyal customers.
Book Appointments via WhatsApp
Whether you own a salon or you are a doctor, you may be able to widen your audience reach with a Click-to-WhatsApp ad. You can request your prospective customers to book an appointment via a WhatsApp ad.
As soon as your prospects start chatting with you on WhatsApp, then it is easy to lead them on from there. You can then get them to schedule an appointment with you after sharing the necessary details with them.
Generate more leads
If you are a business owner, Click-to-WhatsApp ads are a great way to generate more leads which could further expand your reach. It is as simple as starting a conversation and asking them to give you their email address. However, you can make an offer for each prospect that shares their email address with you. This is a great way to generate more leads.
Educational institutions can provide interesting resources so that new students can share their mail ids or real estate businesses can feature information on the best properties according to popular demand or offer spot discounts for booking, to get new leads.
Table reservations in restaurants
If you are a restaurant owner running Click-to-WhatsApp ads, it is a great way to get your clients to reserve their tables using this channel. You can prompt them to reserve their tables for a meal in your restaurant. This is akin to setting up an appointment via Click-to-WhatsApp ads. You can offer a discount for early reservations. This would make both them and you happy.
What are the Key metrics to look at from WhatsApp marketing campaigns?
Regularly monitoring your WhatsApp ads can help you to direct the resources efficiently n that direction and avoid any wastage. The metrics that you can check out are those of Performance, Engagement, Conversions, and Settings.
- Ad Performance (Reach, impressions, delivery, and others)
- Engagement (chat initiation and clicks)
- Conversions (Website views, leads and purchases)
You can even create customized metrics that suit your case. These can be drafted into reports for easy reading and understanding.
Conclusion
Businesses are increasingly turning to WhatsApp so that they can communicate easily with their existing and prospective clients. This move is further eased with the use of Click-to-WhatsApp ads by businesses.
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