WhatsApp status, introduced in 2017 allows users to share updates, photos and videos that disappear after 24 hours. However, this has evolved into a powerful marketing tool for businesses. This feature serves as a way to engage with the audience in a casual yet impactful way. Therefore, this article will focus on how this feature can be leveraged by businesses to promote their products or services, increase engagement and drive sales.

How to effectively use WhatsApp status for business promotion

Although the WhatsApp status is mostly used by individuals to share photos and videos—even memes. It isn’t the same for business owners. The WhatsApp status feature has created a way for businesses to showcase their products to their contacts. Let’s look at how to effectively use this feature to promote your business.

1. Introduce your business on your WhatsApp status

Because this app is mostly used by friends and family members to chat, it’s important that you introduce your business before any other thing.  In addition, doing this helps you create awareness about your brand and what they should expect from you from then henceforth.

2. Share relevant content

You can share relevant content in the following ways.

a. Product showcase

Showcase your new products on your status, detailing their unique benefits and how they can serve your audience. Likewise, you can showcase limited products, urging your status viewers to feed their eyes and shop from you.

b. Post behind-the-scene shots

Give your audience a peek into your business operations. It could be your market day, or your waybill day. Or how you package their products. This helps to build brand trust and authenticity.

c. Customer testimonials

You can also drop screenshot of satisfied customer reviews. Doing this helps to create more awareness for your business. Additionally, people love to hear from others before they get a new product. Therefore, posting your customer reviews helps you attract more potential customers to your business.

2. Share tips and tutorials on your WhatsApp status

You can create little e-books or short videos and upload them on your WhatsApp status. This helps to position your business as a go-to when it comes to your industry. Creating tutorials for your WhatsApp audience also helps to increase brand advocacy, as your audience will appreciate the value you share.

3. Promote special offers and discounts

You can use your WhatsApp status to promote special offers and discounts. For instance, many brands are running their December flash sales on their WhatsApp status. Selling your product for a limited time, on sales, increases customer acquisition and retention.

Moreover, customers love it when businesses run sales. You can promote early bird access, where you offer exclusive deals or gifts to the first 10 people who shop from you.

4. Run contests and giveaways

Who doesn’t love a good contest or giveaway. You can use contests and giveaways to build excitement and engagement on your WhatsApp. However, it is important to put certain things in place before you run a contest or giveaway.

a. Set clear rules

Clearly outline the rules of the game and the eligibility criteria. For instance, it could be buyers who have shopped from you before or people who shopped from you that month.

b. Encourage participation

Sometimes, your WhatsApp customers might look at your contest or giveaway as a waste of time. You need to encourage participation by highlighting the benefits that come with being the winner. It could be a gift from your brand or the chance to pick whatever they want from your store.

All in all, running contests or giveaways especially during festive periods helps you gain traction as your customers would want to introduce their friends too.

Tips for effective WhatsApp status marketing

There are a number of rules to keep in place when promoting your business with your WhatsApp status. These includes the following

Keep it short and simple

When using your WhatsApp status to promote your business, it’s important to put out content that is easy to digest. This tends to determine if your audience will keep on viewing your status updates or not.

Use eye stopping visuals

You can use Canva to create visuals that will stun your audience. This should be used when trying to run flash sales or limited time offers.

Be consistent

By posting regularly, you can stay top of mind when it comes to your industry.

Choose a posting time

As a business trying to grow on WhatsApp, it is crucial that you choose posting times for your brand. This helps to reduce putting out content every single hour of the day.

Use humor and emotion

You should tap into the casual nature of WhatsApp when trying to promote your products or services. Tell stories about how you started. Share stories of how your product has helped someone greatly. People love stories, therefore you can use it to hook your audience to always come back for more.

Use strong and clear call to actions

Always tell your audience what you want them to do next when promoting your business on your status. It could be to join your WhatsApp group or check out your website or invite their friends. Whatever it is, it is always crucial to let your audience know the next step you want them to take.

Benefits of using WhatsApp status for business growth

There are lots of benefits attached to promoting your business on your WhatsApp status. Let’s take a look at some of them.

Huge user base

This popular messaging app has about 2 billion users worldwide and it’s used by people of all demographics. Therefore, you can include your WhatsApp link on your social media platforms or your website, encouraging potential customers to click on the link in order to have direct access to you.

Cost-effective

WhatsApp is a free messaging app that top brands use to communicate with their audience through groups or their WhatsApp status.

Increased engagement

Due to the casual nature of WhatsApp, it’s open rate is usually high. This is same with its conversion rate.

Real-time feedback from your WhatsApp status

Your customers can message you directly from your status updates, giving you feedback about your products and being satisfied at the fact that the message will get directly to you.

Personal touch to your brand

WhatsApp is a messaging app where people can communicate with you mostly by having your number. Therefore, when a potential customer becomes a WhatsApp member, it adds a personal touch to the business-customer relationship and makes the customer feel like they know you.

Conclusion

Generally speaking, WhatsApp is an amazing tool for business growth. However, the WhatsApp status has added the icing on the cake needed for businesses to showcase their products without spamming their customers.
Therefore, you are encouraged to read the article and pick out key points that will help you improve your marketing game.