WhatsApp Broadcast vs. Group: choosing the best for your business

WhatsApp, founded in 2009, quickly became a household name as a convenient and cost-effective way to exchange text messages, multimedia, and calls. What started as a simple messaging platform soon evolved into a comprehensive ecosystem catering to personal, social, and increasingly, business communication needs.

WhatsApp Business emerged in response to the growing demand for a dedicated platform that empowers businesses to communicate effectively with their customers. With over 283.5 million downloads as of 2022, businesses across the spectrum are embracing WhatsApp Business as a powerful tool to connect with their audience in a more personalized and effective manner.

As businesses increasingly recognize the effect of WhatsApp Business, they began to explore innovative ways to integrate WhatsApp tools such as WhatsApp Broadcast and WhatsApp Groups into their communication strategies. These tools help businesses connect better with customers and share information more effectively.

What is WhatsApp Broadcast?

WhatsApp Broadcast is a feature that allows your message to reach multiple recipients by creating a broadcast list. Imagine you want to tell a group of friends about a party you're hosting, but you don't want them all to know who else you invited. 

WhatsApp Broadcast is like sending a private message to each friend separately, but you only have to write the message once. It's a way to talk to many people individually without them knowing who else received the message. It's helpful for sharing news, updates, or announcements with a bunch of people at the same time while keeping each conversation private.

Sending WhatsApp Broadcast messages:

1. Begin by creating a broadcast list from your WhatsApp contacts. This list will include all the recipients you want to send your message to, limited to 256 contacts.

2. Compose your message just like you would for any other WhatsApp message or you can include variables such as first name, birthdays, and more for a personal touch.

3. Instead of selecting an individual contact, select the broadcast list from your contacts or recipient list and click the send button.

4. Each recipient will receive the message as if it was sent to them individually. They won't be able to see other recipients' names or replies.

What is WhatsApp Group?

A WhatsApp Group is a chat room where you can communicate with multiple people simultaneously. Think of it as a virtual hangout room where you and a group of friends, family members, or colleagues can chat together. 

WhatsApp Group also works as a shared space for everyone to share pictures, videos, and even documents. When you send a message in the group, everyone in the group can see it and reply to it. It's great for discussing plans, organizing events, or having conversations with many people in one place. Similar to a real hangout, you can invite people to join the group by sharing a link and they can leave the group whenever they want.

Creating a WhatsApp Group:

1. Open WhatsApp: Launch the WhatsApp application on your smartphone.

2. Access Groups: Select the menu icon and choose “New group”.

3. Select members: You can then select contacts from your address book to add. The maximum number of members in a WhatsApp group is 1024.

4. Group name and photo: Choose a name and a profile photo for the group. The group name and photo will be visible to all members of the group.

5. Create group: After selecting members and customizing the group settings, tap on the "Create" button to create the group.

Advantages and disadvantages of WhatsApp Broadcast

Advantages of WhatsApp Broadcast

• Privacy of recipients maintained: Recipients of broadcast messages are unaware of who else received the message. This adds an element of exclusivity and nobody can see each other's responses which ensures individual privacy.

• Efficient for one-way communication: Broadcast is effective for sending information, updates, announcements, etc., to a large audience simultaneously.

• No spammy feel: As you can personalize your broadcast messages using variables, they would appear as personal messages to recipients and it reduces the perception of spam.

• Target audience: Before you can send out a broadcast message, you have to ensure that your customers have already opted-in to receive messages from your business. By doing so, you would be able to reach your target audience whenever you wish to promote a product or send out announcements.

Disadvantages of WhatsApp Broadcast

• Limited contacts: WhatsApp does not limit the number of broadcast lists that you can create. However, it does limit the number of recipients per list. You can only add up to 256 contacts per list and if you wish to broadcast to more, you will have to create multiple lists. 

• Template message: If the recipients do not reply within 24 hours, you can only reach out to them again with a pre-approved template message. This limits the flexibility of direct communication.

• Saved contact requirement: You can only send out broadcast messages to people who have saved your business number. If they have not, then the message will not be delivered to them.

On the free WhatsApp Business App, you can only send broadcast messages to those who have saved your number. On the other hand, if you’re using the WhatsApp Business API solution, you can send WhatsApp Broadcast to anyone, as long as your Template Message is approved by Meta.

Find out more about WhatsApp Template Messages from our blog guide.

Pros and cons of WhatsApp Group

Pros of using WhatsApp Groups

• Engagement and participation: Group members can actively engage, contribute ideas, share reviews, and react to messages that foster a sense of community.

• Shared media and resources: Groups allow members to easily share photos, videos, documents, and links, facilitating information exchange.

• Privacy and flexibility: Groups can be set as private or public, allowing you to control who can join and participate. Admins can also moderate content and conversations.

• Large capacity: You can add up to 1024 members per group which allows you to reach out to a large audience. 

Cons of using WhatsApp Groups

• Overwhelming notifications: Active group chats can generate a high volume of notifications, leading to potential distraction and notification fatigue.

• Unwanted participation: Not all members may be interested in being in the group. Admins can add members as long as they have their contact details. This can cause involuntary participation and be problematic as they receive irrelevant messages.

• Lack of privacy: All group members can see each other's messages and profiles, which might be uncomfortable in certain contexts or for sharing sensitive information.

How to use WhatsApp Broadcast

Promotional messaging campaigns

WhatsApp Broadcasts can be an effective tool for businesses to run promotional campaigns. You can send out exclusive offers, discounts, new product announcements, or limited-time deals to your customer base. Since the messages appear as personal messages to recipients, they are more likely to be noticed and engaged with.

Event updates or delivery reminders

When you're organizing an event or running a delivery service, keeping participants or customers informed is crucial. WhatsApp Broadcasts allow you to send timely updates, event reminders, location details, schedule changes, or delivery tracking information to a wide audience without the complexity of managing a group chat.

Abandoned cart reminders to recover lost sales

For e-commerce businesses, abandoned carts represent lost sales opportunities. WhatsApp Broadcasts can be used to send tailored reminders to users who added items to their cart but didn't complete the purchase. This can help recover potential sales by gently nudging customers to complete their transactions.

CSAT surveys for customer service

After interacting with a customer, businesses can use WhatsApp Broadcasts to send Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) surveys. This allows customers to provide feedback on their experience. Since the survey is sent directly to their chat, it's convenient for customers to respond and share their opinions by clicking on the interactive chat buttons.

A lot of people prefer being contacted via their mobiles over email. We have seen a better open rate with SleekFlow Broadcasting and a really good return on Broadcasting messages.

Kate Kikano

Founder of TKD Lingerie

Check out the full success story of TKD Lingerie and see how they use WhatsApp Broadcast for 40X ROAS.

What to use WhatsApp Groups for

Team communication

WhatsApp Groups offer a quick and convenient way for teams to collaborate. Project discussions, sharing files, and quick updates can take place in real-time, regardless of team members' locations. Undoubtedly, having everyone in a WhatsApp Group can improve efficiency and keep everyone in sync, especially when working on time-sensitive tasks.

Customer support

WhatsApp Groups provide a direct channel for customer support. Businesses can create groups where customers can ask questions, report issues, or seek assistance. This fosters a sense of community support and allows customers to help each other in addition to receiving help from the company's support team.

Community building

Creating a community-oriented WhatsApp Group can help businesses foster a sense of belonging among their customers. Customers can interact with each other, share experiences, and even offer advice to each other which can in turn lead to brand loyalty and advocacy.

Marketing and promotion

WhatsApp Groups serve as a targeted marketing tool. By creating groups with customers who have opted in, businesses can share exclusive offers, discounts, and promotions directly with interested parties. 

WhatsApp Broadcast vs. Group: at a glance

Interested in WhatsApp Channels instead? Check out our blog.

WhatsApp Broadcast vs. Group: how to choose the best

The decision between using WhatsApp Broadcasts or groups boils down to how you plan to incorporate them for your business’s marketing purpose. If you're aiming to send out messages to a larger audience without revealing recipients to each other, WhatsApp Broadcasts are the way to go. This is particularly beneficial for promotional messages, updates, and exclusive offers, as it maintains a personal touch while reaching a larger audience.

On the flip side, if you want a more interactive platform for discussions among a group, then WhatsApp Group is your best bet. Nevertheless, your choice should align with your business's communication style, audience size, and engagement objectives. By considering these factors, you can effectively make use of the capabilities of either WhatsApp Broadcasts or Groups to boost your business communication and marketing strategy.