Kicking off the WhatsApp AMA

First question for you @lexiehaggerty1, how can a brand tell if it’s ready to add WhatsApp into its existing customer engagement toolkit?

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lexiehaggerty1

There are no hard and fast rules. We see brands at all stages of their customer engagement journey adding WhatsApp to their marketing mix. That said, I would start by asking these three questions:

Where are your customers? If a significant chunk of your audience is in regions where WhatsApp has high penetration rates and usage, like Latin America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, then adding the channel to your mix is a no-brainer. After all, the first step to building better customer relationships is meeting them where they are.
Do you need a way to drive deeper engagement with your customers? WhatsApp is a personal channel, in part because so many people use it daily to communicate with friends and family. That makes it ideal for 1:1, personalized communications with your high-value customers. The channel also offers robust capabilities like rich media support and quick reply buttons, making it a perfect way for brands to have more meaningful, interactive conversations with their customers.
Does your current mobile marketing strategy need a boost? In-product channels like Content Cards and in-app messages are great for connecting with users while they’re in your app. Out-of-product channels like push are ideal for communicating short, quick bits of information. But if you need a direct, out-of-product channel that can capture greater attention and engagement, it might be time to add WhatsApp. Brands are seeing WhatsApp as a top-performing marketing channel that is effective at driving more sessions, purchases, better retention rates, and higher LTV.

Charys

What are the main benefits of using WhatsApp over push or SMS?

lexiehaggerty1

Hi Charys! Here is some general guidance:

Using SMS vs WhatsApp is largely a decision based on where your end-users are and which channel is more popular in those regions. SMS is more prevalent in the US, whereas WhatsApp is more popular in Latin America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.

Push and WhatsApp, on the other hand, serve different purposes. Push is a lower cost, lower engagement channel that you can use for quick updates to your Push Subscribed audience. WhatsApp is a higher cost, higher engagement channel to send more 1:1, personalized messages to your high-value customers.

TaniaCR7

@lexiehaggerty1could you please kindly tell us in which countries WhatsApp brings a relevant revenue? Is possible to identify industries where WhatsApp is the most popular channel?

TaniaCR7

@lexiehaggerty1 when we are talking about implementing WhatsApp from scratch in Braze, what’s the average implementation time for an audience of 100K in one country?

TaniaCR7

@lexiehaggerty1 when we are comparing RCS vs WhatsApp, which are the main advantages and disadvantages between them?

TaniaCR7

@lexiehaggerty1 what are the expectations on WhatsApp in the income 5 years?

TaniaCR7

@lexiehaggerty1as WhatsApp might be seeing as a 1:1 channel, how to accommodate a bulk messaging strategy via this channel without loosing the 1:1 feeling?

lexiehaggerty1

Hi Tania!

WhatsApp is popular outside of the US in the following regions: Latin America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.

WhatsApp is popular across a variety of industries, but we’re seeing particularly strong usage in financial services, restaurants & delivery apps, and retail & eCommerce. For financial services and restaurants & delivery, WhatsApp is a powerful channel because of its high engagement rates. If you need to make sure your message gets seen by users, WhatsApp is a top channel to use. For retail & eCommerce, the channel’s rich media support like high-resolution images and videos make it a no-brainer. We’re also seeing a lot of use from travel brands, media companies, and health & lifestyle brands, who are able to build deeper relationships with their customers through more personalized, concierge-type experiences and robust two-way messaging.

lexiehaggerty1

Hi Tania!

Our fast and direct WhatsApp integration allows you to integrate and scale quickly and easily. However, specific implementation time varies by customer depending on your resources and overall strategy. Please reach out to your account team for more detailed information relevant to your brand.

lexiehaggerty1

Great question. RCS is a newer, emerging channel similar to SMS, but with more rich capabilities like WhatsApp, including support for a variety of message types, rich media, and interactive features.

US consumers may be more receptive to marketing messaging on RCS, because it gets delivered on their native messaging app (iMessage for iPhones or Google Messages for Android), just like SMS.

Global audiences outside of the US may be more receptive to WhatsApp as it is likely their primary messaging app for chatting with family and friends.

lexiehaggerty1

I think WhatsApp will start to become a channel where consumers can complete a variety of end-to-end experiences, such as signing up for a brand’s loyalty program, exploring products and making purchases, booking appointments or services, and more—all without leaving the WhatsApp thread. Meta is releasing a lot of exciting functionality to make these experiences possible, like WhatsApp Flows and WhatsApp Commerce, which are on the Braze roadmap. Stay tuned for more!

lexiehaggerty1

Great question! There are ways to make your communications feel like 1:1 messages, while still sending at scale to a large audience. Here are some tips:

Create personalized WhatsApp campaigns by leveraging your first-party customer data. Include content that reflects their preferences and behaviors. Think recommendations, dynamic promotions, loyalty points, alerts, and more.

Connect in the moments that matter by triggering campaigns and user journeys based on real-time customer behaviors, campaign interactions, and backend updates. This will make your messages feel more authentic, and you’ll see more engagement.

Remember to fine-tune your audiences. Target customers who are most likely to convert with real-time granular segments and filters. Consider using WhatsApp to communicate with your most valuable customers—for example, loyalty program members or those with a high LTV.