Friday, July 5, 2019

Whatsapp Marketing with Whatsapp Business app

Whatsapp Business is ideal for small businesses or single departments because it can help to speed up the process of basic communication with customers. For instance, Whatsapp Business offers features like basic automation and shortcut responses. However, to be clear, although these features lighten work, working with Whatsapp Business is still largely manual which is unlikely to make it ideal for large businesses or otherwise complex operations.

Special Uses & Benefits
  • Given the fact that people are near their telephones (even more so than their email accounts when they actually use email), Whatsapp marketing offers promise for successfully reaching a target market.
  • You can set up a profile with more information than is possible with a personal-use Whatsapp account.
  • Basic automated responses. For instance, you can set Whatsapp Business to greet first-time visitors with a special message or to tell mention a promotion to everyone or only certain persons.
  • Shortcut responses allow you to send pre-drafted responses rather than having to type out the entire response every time you need to apply it. This feature is most useful for responding to frequently asked questions (FAQs), directing discussions.  
  • Statistics. This allows you to get analytics information regarding the number of responses, messages read and so on.
  • You can generate a WhatsApp 'Click to Chat' short link. This feature allows anyone with the link to begin chatting with the owner of an active WhatsApp account, without having that number in their phone's address book. When customers click the link, the chat will automatically open with the owner (on the caller's phone or computer). See how below.
  • Broadcast messages. This works quite like the personal version of Whatsapp.
  • Since Whatsapp Business requires its own telephone number, you can have personal and business Whatsapp apps with separate numbers on a single telephone.

SETUP WHATSAPP BUSINESS ON A DESKTOP COMPUTER
Unlike the case of a mobile phone which requires the download of WhatsApp Business software (from Google Play) and then associating a telephone number, using WhatsApp Business onto desktop computers only requires you to associate a mobile phone to a WhatsApp Business webpage via a QR code. In other words, you only need to load the WhatsApp Business webpage into your a browser window and then link scan that

  1. (Optional) If another account was already setup in your current primary browser like Brave, you will need to log out of that account first. (If you want to have a second WhatsApp account on a single computer, assign that other WhatsApp Business account to a secondary browser like Firefox, Chrome, etc).
  2. Have a mobile telephone already setup with WhatsApp Business.
  3. In the browser of a desktop computer; load the WhatsApp Business webpage. This page will display a generic QR code.
  4. Use your mobile phone to scan this QR code. To do this; do the following
    1. Open WhatsApp Business on your mobile phone
    2. Click the menu at the top right corner (with 3 vertically aligned dots) > Settings > Click the QR code icon to the right of your profile avatar. > 'Scan Code' tab (This will automatically turn on your camera to detect a QR code)
      1. If you get a message asking for permissions to turn on your phone like "To add a contact via QR code, allow WhatsApp access to your camera. Tap Settings > Permissions, and turn Camera on.", follow the instructions.
      2. (The camera will automatically come on with square brackets to scan the QR code on the screen.) 
    3. Aim the camera at the computer screen > OK
  5. Your chats, contacts and so on should appear on your desktop computer screen. 


DOs & DON'Ts
  • Include the business logo and, for the sake of being easily remembered and recognized amidst the numerous other images associated with your customers' contacts, never change it.
  • Complete ALL of the profile details. Example(s):
    • Create a business description that also includes your business' unique value proposition. Without being pushy with an outright call-to-action (CTA), provide sufficient information that will allow make it easy for leads to convert to the next step through the sales funnel. For instance, if you mention that customers can buy online, state "(link below)" and include the links in the field for links.
    • Links. Include the link for your online store(s), Facebook, etc. 
    • Business Schedule. Setting this up is somewhat counter-intuitive in that the only way you can show any day open, you must first select 'always open' before then closing each individual day and or changing the hours.
  • Create segments.
  • Use labels for updating sales pipeline stages for each customer.
    • (In the top right corner of your screen,) click the line of 3 vertical dots 
    • Labels
    • Click the 'add' icon (a green + symbol in the bottom right corner of the screen)
  • Use special formatting like bold print as a form of call-to-action (CTA) on the highlighted text (like qualification questions). Formatting techniques include the following. NB these commands work ONLY if the symbol touches the start and end of the end of phrases to be affected. 
    • BOLD: When typing a message, place asterisks [*] immediately before and after the text to be highlighted as follows. The asterisks will not appear in the final message. 
Hello, bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla. *Please specify the type of product x that you need?* bla bla bla bla bla bla.
    • STRIKETHROUGH: This may be useful for price reductions. Enter a tilde on either side of the text to be struck through.
The price was ~$20.00~. The current sale price is $15.00.
      • ITALICS: Place underscores [_] directly before and after the text to be italicized.
    *Read more about our _MAP_ pricing policy.*
    Alternatively, 
    • Type the entire message 
    • select the text to be edited. (Options will appear, among which include three dots) 
    • Click the '3 dots' icon. This will display a drop down menu of options that include bold, italics, etc. 
    • select the editing option (bold, italics, etc)
    • Consider using WhatsApp on your computer. Visit https://web.whatsapp.com/ from which point you will be required to scan a QR code with your telephone. This may be useful for team members using the same business account.  
    • If your business involves meeting with new people in (public) places where they may become lost, consider using live location sharing with them.
      • Within the regular speech bubble, click the attachment icon (an image of a paperclip)
      • Click the 'location' icon. 
      • Allow Whatsapp to access your device's location.
      • Select the location, whether it is your precise ('send your current location' or a list of nearby locations that have already been placed on Google's map.
    • Hold Whatsapp group calls (audio or video). This involves attendees including each new attendee at a time after the initial 2-person call has begun using a + icon within the call.
      • Call the first person
      • Click the 'add attendees' icon (a + sign over an image of people). 
      • Search your address book for the new icon and select
    • Create a customer message 'Click to Chat' shortcut link, ie pre-drafted messages from which customers can use for contacting you via their Whatsapp phone or computer. Place the links into campaigns on Facebook, Instagram, auto-signatures at the bottom of emails, etc. Messages have a fixed format that can allow you to create new messages from old ones. After your telephone number, the words are separated by a word-spacing code (%20). You can change the text according to your desired messaging. Alternatively, the link can generate a blank message.
      • (In the top right corner of your screen,) click the line of 3 vertical dots 
      • Short link
      • For a pre-drafted message, adjust the slider in the 'create a default message' section. Otherwise, leave that section turned off to create a blank message.
      • In the 'Default message' section, click the pencil icon to edit the message.
      • Click 'OK'
      • In the top section, copy and share the web address (URL) that appears in green in the top section of the screen.
    Pre-drafted text message: https://wa.me/234567890?text=Please%20send%20your%20product%20linesheet.
    Blank message: https://wa.me/234567890 
    NB. Omit any international formatting elements like zeroes, brackets or dashes before the telephone number. Read more about this. https://wa.me/+001-(123)45678900 
    https://wa.me/12345678900  (US telephone number) 
    https://wa.me/50312345678  (non-US, 8-digit telephone number, imagining the country code is '503' before the 8-digit number)

     


      Automated Response to First-Time Contact
      Consider using this first-time response not only to say, thanks for making contact but to create a call-to-action in the form of a qualification question.
      • (In the top right corner of your screen,) click the line of 3 vertical dots 
      • Settings
      • Business Settings
      • (In the lower section of the screen labelled 'Messaging Tools',) select 'Greeting Message'
      • In the section 'Send greeting message', move the slider to the right to activate this feature.
      • In the section 'Greeting message', click the pencil icon to edit the default message or draft a new one. When done, click 'OK' (below the display of the draft of the message). Example(s).
      Thank you for contacting [YOUR COMPANY NAME -- or --] [BRANDNAME, the newest brand by YOUR COMPANY NAME].Your telephone number has been automatically saved. Are you interested in 1) buying wholesale, 2) consuming our products and or 3) another matter? Please provide details.     Hover here to see default message
      • In the section 'Recipients', click the screen and select among the options, in this case, 'everyone not in address book'. (Other options include everyone, everyone except and only send to...)
      • Click 'Save' (in the top right corner of the screen).

      Automated Away Message Response
      'Away' messages are sent only when the phone has an active internet connection.
      • (In the top right corner of your screen,) click the line of 3 vertical dots in the top right corner of your screen
      • Settings
      • Business Settings
      • (In the lower section of the screen labelled 'Messaging Tools',) select 'Away Message'
      • In the section 'Send away message', move the slider to the right to activate this feature.
      • In the section 'Away message', click the pencil icon to edit the default message or draft a new one. When done, click 'OK' (below the display of the draft of the message). Example(s):
      Thank you for your message. Apologies as we are unavailable right now, but will respond as soon as possible (usually within 6 business hours).
      • In the section 'Schedule', click the screen and select among the options. Options include 'always send', 'custom schedule' (which allows you to set a range of time between 2 fixed times and dates) and 'outside of business hours'.
      • In the section 'Recipients', click the screen and select among the options, in this case, 'everyone not in address book'. (Other options include everyone, everyone except and only send to...)
      • Click 'Save' (in the top right corner of the screen).



      Quick Replies in WhatsApp Business
      Quick replies or shortcuts are time savers. They are commonly used pre-drafted messages that can be quickly inserted into dialog with the short process of finding the shortcut (like WhatsApp's pre-loaded default '/thanks' shortcut) and then selecting it during a conversation.
      • (In the top right corner of your screen,) click the line of 3 vertical dots in the top right corner of your screen
      • Settings
      • Business Settings
      • (In the lower section of the screen labelled 'Messaging Tools',) select 'Quick replies'
      • (In the bottom right corner of the screen,) click the green '+' icon 
      • (In the 'Message' section,) type the message that will appear to customers. An image icon exists next to the empty message field that also allows you to respond with an image. Example(s):
      Hello, How can I help?
      [product images, testimonial videos]
      • In the section 'Shortcut', click the empty field and begin to type after the backslash (/). Example(s): If you use multiple languagey distinguish between the options with 'US' for US English and 'SP' for Spanish.
      /hi_US
      • In the section 'keyword', click the empty field and begin to type short keywords. 
      hi_US
        • Click 'Save' (in the top right corner of the screen).

         Considerations for WhatsApp Business regarding Connectivity and Distance Between Devices
        • WhatsApp Business for computers can work only if your telephone's internet connection remains uninterrupted. The phone and computer mirror each other even to the extent that your computer's version will show a notification when your phone's battery is running dangerously low. In order to (re)initialize the connection between your telephone and computer, your telephone must be connected.
        • The distance between devices (telephone and computer) using the same account does not matter, as long as the internet connection of both remains uninterrupted.
        CONTENT RELATED TO WHATSAPP BUSINESS (FOR SMALL BUSINESSES)
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