5 Reasons WhatsApp Is A Great Marketing Tool

In just a few short years, WhatsApp has quickly grown into the most popular global messenger app, with a monthly active user count of approximately 1.5 billion. That makes it the third most popular global social network, behind Facebook and YouTube, respectively.

With such impressive numbers, the business world has started taking notice, prompting decision-makers of the popular app to include several tools that support companies reaching out to customers via WhatsApp.

However, despite these changes, some companies and brands are still wary of taking the full plunge into the world of WhatsApp Marketing, as it is considered by many to be unchartered territory. Here are five reasons why you should at least consider dipping your company's toes into the WhatsApp pond.

Reasons to Use WhatsApp for Marketing

• Your Customers are Likely Already Using It - One of the most important factors to any successful business campaign is reaching your target audience where they're located. A very important factor in WhatsApp's favor is that, more than likely, your target audience is already using it and is very familiar with it. This increases the likelihood of reaching many customers and potential customers.
• Higher Open Rates - Research shows that SMS text messaging, such as WhatsApp, has a 98% open rate. The reason for this is simple: Most SMS text messaging is permission-based. As in the individual has to willingly opt-in to receive messages from you by saying yes to providing their number and adding your number to their contacts. And if someone is willing to do this, more likely than not, they are they are willing to at least read your messages.
• More Intimate - WhatsApp messaging can feel more personal for a customer, allowing them to trust your company and become a more loyal customer. Whether or not the business is employing WhatsApp Groups, which includes sending a generic message to multiple numbers at once, there is something pleasantly intimate for individuals about a message coming via their private text messenger versus a response on a social media page, for example.
• Text Messages Get Read More - SMS messages aren't just opened at a significantly higher rate than email marketing messages, they are also read at a much more significant rate. Which means using WhatsApp as a marketing tool to customers ensures a very high likelihood that your message will at least be opened and read, as opposed to being quickly deleted.
• It's Free - This is probably one of the most compelling arguments for businesses to give WhatsApp marketing a chance: It requires little expense. At this time, the messaging app does not offer sponsored options like many other social media platforms. There is a WhatsApp Business app available, but it is at the moment only offered to Android users. However, that too is free. So really the cost to a business is virtually nothing.

And there you have it. Just a few reasons to consider adding WhatsApp to your marketing mix.

Digna Joseph is a content specialist/writer whose Island PR site analyzes public relations, marketing, and social media.