Complete guide for WhatsApp broadcast messages
The concept of broadcast messaging is not new nor difficult to understand, it is simply the desire to get an automated message out to a large group of people in the shortest amount of time.
For businesses, the best application is for WhatsApp marketing messages and campaigns.
As messages provide a more personal touch and are more instant than emails, many marketing and customer service teams have begun to include bulk broadcast messages into their social & marketing messaging strategy in recent years.
How does a broadcast work on WhatsApp? Read further to learn more
What is WhatsApp broadcast?
When choosing the right service provider, apart from taking the price of the target audience’s commonly used platform into consideration, the sender should also be aware of whether the supplier provides encryption tools that can be used to deal with the privacy issue.
WhatsApp Broadcast is a feature that allows businesses to send a single message to multiple recipients at once, without them seeing each other in the conversation. It functions similarly to the BCC (blind carbon copy) feature in emails., maintaining the privacy of each recipient as they receive the message in a one-on-one chat.
This feature is useful for businesses to efficiently communicate promotions, updates, or alerts to a large audience.
What are the features of WhatsApp Business Broadcast by WhatsApp Business App?
With more than two billion WhatsApp users around the world, there is no doubt that WhatsApp also ranks among one of the most popular sales channels. Apart from the huge user base, here are 3 simple reasons why you (and your boss) should start converting customers on WhatsApp:
The average user checks their WhatsApp more than 23 times daily
WhatsApp processes 100 billion messages every single day
80% of all WhatsApp messages are usually read within 5 minutes
With such ingrained habits, WhatsApp can better close the distance between businesses and customers.
“Another feature I found quite impressive is the WhatsApp broadcasting function. Many of our clients are heavy WhatsApp users. It’s easier to build trust and relationships with them via WhatsApp. Traditional phone calls take way too much time while SMS blast is more like a one-time thing instead of a chatroom.”
Jeremy Tong
Lalamove Managing Director
Proactive retargeting can increase customer conversion rates by up to 113%.
Sleekhacks:
Broadcast one-off promotional codes to remind new customers of their limited-time offers to spur conversions!
Want to outcompete your peers with SleekFlow's help?
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Small businesses can get started quickly with the free WhatsApp Business App to become more familiar with it as it has the same user interface as the regular WhatsApp app. This way, they can discover the advantages of broadcasting on WhatsApp, send automated broadcast messages, and experience the benefits for their business.
There are a couple of features that set the WhatsApp Business App apart from the normal WhatsApp messaging app:
1. Verified business profile
Provides key business information such as your address, business description, email address, and website.
WhatsApp has recently changed the verification badge from a green tick to a blue tick, to keep branding consistent across Meta's services. Explore more about getting a blue tick verification for your WhatsApp Business account.
2. Labels
Allows you to organize your contacts or chats with labels, so you can easily find them again. Read on to see how should you make good use of labels.
3. Quick replies
Save and reuse messages you frequently send so that you can easily answer common questions in no time.
4. WhatsApp catalog
A WhatsApp Business catalog allows businesses to display their products or services to potential customers directly on WhatsApp.
This feature enables businesses to upload comprehensive information about their products or services, including the name, price, description, website link, and product code, facilitating in-app purchases.
There are two ways to set up a WhatsApp Business catalog: using the free WhatsApp Business App or through the WhatsApp Catalog API.
Learn more about creating it here: WhatsApp catalog for customers to browse and shop in the chat
5. Multiple user login
Although the WhatsApp Business version has more features than the regular version, when it comes to handling conversations, each business account only allows a single user to log into the app on the phone to reply to customers. Even if you use WhatsApp Web simultaneously, businesses can only have 4 linked devices logged in to the same account simultaneously.
That’s not all—any additional or even accidental logins will log out of existing users, resulting in loss of unsent messages and workflow bottlenecks.
6. Personalized messages
Send tailored messages to specific customer segments, allowing businesses to engage more effectively with their audience by addressing their unique needs and preferences.
Here's how you can send effective personalized broadcast messages:
Keep your message clear and easy to understand, avoiding jargon and focusing on the main point.
Make your call-to-action stand out, guiding your audience on what to do next with a clear and compelling directive.
Personalize your messages using customer data and segmentation to make each recipient feel valued and understood.
Send messages at optimal times to increase the likelihood of them being seen and acted upon.
Add a personal touch by referencing past interactions or preferences, making your communication feel more like a conversation.
7. Adherence to WhatsApp’s policies
Businesses must adhere to WhatsApp's guidelines and policies, which are designed to ensure responsible usage, protect user privacy, and maintain the platform’s integrity. Compliance with these regulations is essential to avoid account restrictions or penalties.
As such, larger corporations should not just stop at the WhatsApp Business App but instead seek out omnichannel messaging platforms to streamline their messaging workflow and send bulk WhatsApp messages for promotional purposes.
How to send a broadcast message on WhatsApp Business App?
If you are operating a small business with one or two staff members to answer your customers’ queries, you can begin to broadcast on WhatsApp using the WhatsApp Business App’s limited broadcast function.
1. Create a WhatsApp broadcast list
The advantage of creating a Broadcast WhatsApp List is that you can finely segment your customers and create unlimited Broadcast Lists.
What is the WhatsApp broadcast Limit?
Each WhatsApp broadcast list can only have a maximum of 256 people added. By segmenting your customers into WhatsApp broadcast lists, you can send a message to up to 256 people at once, and the recipients will receive a broadcast message that looks like a personal message from you right in their conversation log with you. However, we strongly recommend not sending many messages at once, as it might block your account.
How to create a WhatsApp broadcast list:
Tap on “Broadcast List”
Tap on “New List”
Select the customers that you want to add to the list
2. Using WhatsApp labels
Adding labels is a great way to segment your customers in WhatsApp. The best part about WhatsApp’s labels is that they can also be added to individual message bubbles. For example, you can add labels to all positive reviews and view all of them at the same time. This way, you can easily screenshot the reviews and share them on social media! Apart from that, you can also label suggestions from customers and review them all at once to make improvements.
You can also create WhatsApp broadcast lists for specific customers using labels. For example, you can label all customers who have given your business a positive review and add them to a broadcast list to send them a thank-you offer. You can also add labels to customers who have not paid and send them a payment reminder!
Step-by-step: creating broadcast lists from labels
Tap on More Options
Select Labels
Choose the Label you want to create a Broadcast List with
Tap on More Options and send Broadcast to customers
Select the green tick on the bottom right of the page and start drafting your message
Don’t know what is WhatsApp Business? Read WhatsApp Business: All You Need To Know.
Limitations of WhatsApp Business App to broadcast messages
Apart from the WhatsApp broadcast function, you can also forward messages on the WhatsApp Business App. However, each message needs to be forwarded individually. Just think about the hassle!
WhatsApp Business’s forward function, only allows you to forward a message to up to 5 recipients at any one time. Think about how many times you’ll need to repeat this copy-and-paste action for 500 customers!
Next, what if you have a thousand or even ten thousand customers? (P.S. You’ll need to manually add each contact individually before being able to forward a message to them)
Last but not least, spare a thought for your employees who might start steering clear of WhatsApp and stop replying to your WhatsApp Broadcast messages.
Although this article mentioned the broadcast lists function above, keep in mind that messages can only be broadcast to a maximum of 256 people in one go. What happens when the number of customers increases? (OS: This should be a happy problem… shouldn’t it?)
In addition, with the WhatsApp Broadcast function, everyone in your Broadcast List receives the exact same message. Thus, if you want to personalize your message a little by including their names, good luck sending out personalized texts one by one.
If you think about it, the biggest problem with the WhatsApp broadcast list function is not the cap on the number of people, but the fact that you cannot broadcast a message to someone who isn’t in your contacts. What a bummer.
That’s not all. When you try to broadcast on WhatsApp, you risk being reported by customers and blocked by WhatsApp, leaving you uncontactable. This results in tons of lost leads and gives your customers and potential leads a negative impression of your business.
Got banned on WhatsApp? It's not too late to learn how to unblock your account and avoid getting stuck again.
Solution: send WhatsApp Broadcast messages with WhatsApp API
While there are many limitations to WhatsApp Business Broadcast, there is, in fact, one simple solution - WhatsApp Business API.
To expand your business and communicate with customers more effectively, you’ll need to understand the WhatsApp Business API (Application Programming Interface) and how its practical functions work differently when broadcasting campaigns are created. This would enable your team to send WhatsApp marketing messages to clients in the most efficient way.
When you are broadcasting with your members, you can also send an important message multiple times to remind them. However, if the message is lengthy, you might face difficulty simultaneously sending the important message. So, in that scenario, you can use an online text repeater. With this, you can repeat the same text message multiple times.
Connect to WhatsApp Business API now!
Connect to WhatsApp Business API and get the first 1,000 service conversations free each month.
What is WhatsApp Business API
WhatsApp Business API is a communication tool designed for businesses to connect with their customers on the WhatsApp messaging platform. It allows businesses to send automated messages, provide customer support, and conduct transactions on the app. With WhatsApp Business API, businesses can create verified business profiles, send personalized messages, and use rich media formats such as images, videos, and audio messages. This API is typically used by large businesses and enterprises to manage customer communications at scale.
Benefits of using WhatsApp Business API
Your WhatsApp account will be shown as a Business Account.
Your customers will be able to see both your company name and logo at the top of every conversation, even if your phone number is not saved.
Users will need to opt-in to receive broadcast messages, increasing customer satisfaction when they receive personalized, relevant messages.
Apply for WhatsApp authentication to obtain the Meta verified badge (blue tick) to establish trust with both new and existing customers.
When customers click on your business account, they can quickly see your business profile and other essential information such as branch addresses and service hours.
You can use interactive WhatsApp message features such as chat buttons to increase customer engagement.
Integrations with existing CRM platforms or e-commerce stores are available to streamline your workflows.
WhatsApp Business API is not only great for marketers but also for customer support and service, as it provides more opportunities to build stronger relationships with customers through WhatsApp conversations and automation. You can send personalized messages and offers to customers at the right time, conduct short surveys, and provide instant customer support. WhatsApp broadcast automation can level up your business in different ways, as it can have many applications.
How to send a broadcast message on WhatsApp API with SleekFlow?
The larger the business, the more important it is to use the WhatsApp Business API and broadcast automation. The WhatsApp Business API can be accessed from an official WhatsApp Business Solution Provider (BSP) such as SleekFlow, making it faster and easier to publish messages while serving as an integrated Customer Relationship Management system that solves complex problems such as personal data collection.
Click here to estimate how much you are charged under the new conversation!
Compared to WhatsApp Business’s broadcast function, SleekFlow’s campaign message function allows you to do more through:
Multiple WhatsApp Business logins for simultaneous conversations
Multiple team members can log in to the same WhatsApp Business account and use the SleekFlow platform to talk to customers using the same corporate WhatsApp number.
Variables for WhatsApp personalized broadcasts
Personalize your messages in a jiffy by adding variables such as first name, birthdate, membership points, and more.
Test your campaign messages
You can send yourself a test message to ensure that the automated WhatsApp message content is showing up correctly before you broadcast it to your customers.
Broadcast WhatsApp messages at scale
By default, when using the official WhatsApp Business API, you can send up to 1,000 messages a day. However, if you send more than 500 messages within the first week, you can then increase your daily messaging limit to 10,000 messages per day with WhatsApp’s approval.
Tiers for WhatsApp messaging limits
To upgrade your WhatsApp messaging limit, you will need to keep track of the following:
Message quality rating is Medium or High
Phone number's status is connected
Total number of unique recipients across the past 7 days
By using SleekFlow’s campaign feature, you’ll not only be able to cut down on human error when copying, pasting, and editing messages but also save tons of time!
However, do note that before you broadcast automated messages using the campaign feature, you need to register your message and send it to WhatsApp for approval. This message is called a Template Message and if you don’t know how to get started, our SleekFlow team will be happy to help!
WhatsApp Business template messages
WhatsApp Template messages, as mentioned previously, are pre-approved message templates used for WhatsApp Broadcasts.
Template Messages are often utilized for:
Template Messages are also used when it has been more than 24 hours have elapsed since the user’s last response to you as any other types of messages sent outside the 24-hour window will fail to reach the user.
For WhatsApp to approve your customized Template Messages, certain rules must be followed. The correct format for each type of information inserted in the message is as follows:
Name: A message template name can only contain lowercase alphanumeric characters and underscores. No other characters or spaces are allowed.
Type: Select the appropriate template type from the drop-down list. The template type must fall under one of the template type options, e.g. appointment update, issue resolution, payment update, etc.
Translations: All message template translations must be provided by you in the format below. The element name will be the same for all translations. When sending a message template from the WhatsApp Business API, you will specify the language in which you would like the message template to be displayed by using the language field.
Variables: The correct format for variables is this string: {{#}}, where # represents the variable index. Note: variables must begin at {{1}}.
Each template message sent to WhatsApp for approval usually takes around 1 to 2 days. If you're wondering why your WhatsApp message template was rejected, check for:
Typos or grammatical errors
Misformatting of variable parameters (make sure the format is {{1}} as mentioned above), or contain special characters (i.e. #,$,%).
The selected language corresponds to the language in the content.
Submission format for testing API connection follows: Message template name: test / Content: Hello {{1}}
Shortened URL for your links or including URLs that do not belong to your business.
The category of your Template Messages (utility, authentication, or marketing conversations)
Message templates violate WhatsApp's Commerce Policy or WhatsApp's Business Policy
The best thing to do is work with a WhatsApp Business Solution Provider (BSP) like SleekFlow to ensure you get the green light quickly and start blasting as soon as possible!
Why choose an official WhatsApp Business Solution Provider (BSP) for managing business conversations
SleekFlow is a Meta-verified Business Solution Provider, a trusted platform that enables businesses to manage customer conversations securely and reliably.
Here's a diagram that quickly illustrates how customer data is handled directly between SleekFlow and WhatsApp's server without any interference from a third party.
Other benefits of SleekFlow as a WhatsApp BSP include:
Easy onboarding and support from SleekFlow
Ensure the best pricing for enterprise customers who need to manage a large volume of contacts
Be the first to experience the latest features from WhatsApp as BSPs work closely with Meta
Manage other social messaging channels, including Facebook Messenger, Instagram Direct Messages, and other channels in an omnichannel inbox
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“The only way to win is to learn faster than anyone else”
-Eric Ries, Author of The Lean Startup
WhatsApp Pricing Calculator
You can estimate how much you are charged under the new conversation-based pricing model using SleekFlow's calculator! Check how much it would cost you to send WhatsApp messages to your customers.
Calculate your WhatsApp Business messaging costs
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Use WhatsApp broadcast for your business or enterprise
WhatsApp broadcast is an amazing feature, especially for online businesses where there is a great need to send a single message to multiple recipients. It can be used to send automated messages, promo messages to your customers, company announcements for your employees, and many more.
While there are some challenges to using WhatsApp Broadcast, they can be solved with the assistance of some smart tools. For instance, you might need to get familiar with the WhatsApp rules and migrate your chat history before starting. There may also be a high chance of getting reported as spam when you overuse this feature.
Thus, learning to utilize WhatsApp Broadcast properly and effectively is essential if you plan to take advantage of this feature to scale.
Want to outcompete your peers with SleekFlow's help?
Book your personalized demo with SleekFlow today and unlock the potential of seamless communication
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