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If you are on this page, you are probably a business that wishes to target your customers/audience via WhatsApp Broadcast Messages.
There are so many free/paid tools out there claiming to help you create a WhatsApp broadcast list to send messages to the customers in one click, but most of them are not legit.
In this article, I’ll cover all the aspects of the WhatsApp Broadcast, and you’ll be able to figure out how to leverage WhatsApp broadcast for your business.
There are a few ways to start a WhatsApp broadcast. Let’s talk more about WhatsApp broadcast in detail.
Table of Content
What is a WhatsApp Broadcast?
If you are using WhatsApp for daily communications, you might have received a few messages like “Send This Message To 10 More People, and You’ll get good news by the evening”. These are WhatsApp broadcast messages sent to you.
A broadcast refers to sending a signal or message from a single source to multiple destinations simultaneously.
For WhatsApp broadcast, when a WhatsApp user sends a message to multiple recipients in one click, it’s called a WhatsApp broadcast message. This is because no recipients can see the other recipients of the broadcast.
Whether you use the WhatsApp messaging App or WhatsApp Business App, you can initiate a WhatsApp broadcast just by clicking on the three dots on the upper right three-dots menu on the main ‘CHATS’ window.
It’s straightforward to build a WhatsApp broadcast list on WhatsApp Business App to send the desired messages to your audience. But as the folks say, ‘Greate Power Comes With Some Sacrifices’, there are some limitations to this type of broadcast on WhatsApp.
Limitations Of WhatsApp Broadcast using the WhatsApp Business App?
1. Imagine a business with a WhatsApp number and thousands of contacts like you. Now, even if you have not added them, they are regularly spamming your inbox with promotional messages you receive on your SMS daily.
It doesn’t sound good. Does it?
To take care of this, WhatsApp Business App sends a broadcast message only to those users who have saved your number as their contact. So, you can’t send any promotional messages as broadcast. Only contacts who have added you to their phone’s address book will receive your broadcast message.
2. You can select 256 contacts to create a WhatsApp Broadcast list. As a business owner, you may have more contact details than 256. Hence, Broadcast lists on WhatsApp are useless for medium and large businesses.
3. No APIs or integration is available; businesses can’t automate themselves using their APIs and CRM.
Features Of WhatsApp Broadcast using WhatsApp Business App:
If you broadcast message on WhatsApp using WhatsApp App:
- The message is sent individually to each contact.
- You can add up to 256 contacts to your WhatsApp broadcast list.
- Communication is private. Each recipient will receive the message as a regular chat.
- Recipients are not aware that the message they received is from a broadcast. There will be no such label on the message.
- The recipient must have your number saved as a contact to receive the message.
Is WhatsApp Broadcast using App enough for your business?
It all depends upon the use case. Let me explain.
If you are a local/small business operating using the WhatsApp Business App, you’ll probably have 100-200 customers you know personally. There is also a possibility they might have saved your WhatsApp Business number on their phone.
In this scenario, you can take advantage of WhatsApp Broadcast lists using your WhatsApp business App, as most of them will likely receive the message you are willing to send.
If you are a well-established medium or large business that has more than 200 clients, you may have concluded that WhatsApp Broadcast using the regular WhatsApp Business App is not your cup of tea.
So, What’s the solution?
Well, in 2018, WhatsApp launched WhatsApp Business API. The purpose is to help SMBs to communicate with their customers on WhatsApp.
To use the WhatsApp APIs, businesses need to verify themselves to activate their Business number for WhatsApp APIs. But WhatsApp alone can’t verify every business around the globe.
To resolve this, WhatsApp provided its WhatsApp APIs to third-party service providers known as WhatsApp Business Solution Partners(BSP).
These BSPs built their systems over WhatsApp Business API to provide the businesses features like WhatsApp CRM, Contact Management, and much more.
With WhatsApp API-enabled business numbers, WATI will broadcast your WhatsApp message to thousands of your customers at the same time.
[Read] How To Create Click To WhatsApp Ads On Facebook Ads Manager
Key Features Of WATI- WhatsApp Team Inbox:
1. Contact Management (Broadcast, Custom Lists)
3. Multiple Customer Support Agent Login
4. APIs and Integration
How To Broadcast Message On WhatsApp?
You’ll need to sign up for a WATI account to send WhatsApp Broadcast Messages to your contacts list.
Assuming that you have WATI access, let’s learn how to send a broadcast message on WhatsApp:
Step 1: On the WATI Dashboard, navigate to the ‘Broadcasts’ tab.
Step 2: Click on the ‘New Broadcast’ button on the top-right side.
Step 3: Add the broadcast name, choose the template and choose the time when you want to send the message. Click on ‘Next‘.
Step 4: Choose from a list of your contacts or upload your list of contacts. Then, click on ‘Add Broadcast’.
Step 5: Track your WhatsApp broadcast status and analytics.
You can track how many users read your messages and how many replied to your messages. You can check all their replies on the ‘Team Inbox’.
You can watch this video for a more detailed walkthrough on the broadcast list on WhatsApp.
You can also broadcast WhatsApp Messages using Excel & Google Sheet.
Watch this video to understand how –
You can also send Bulk WhatsApp Messages using MS Excel.
Watch this video to understand how –
WhatsApp Broadcast With WhatsApp Business API On WATI
Advantages –
- You do not have to worry about your WhatsApp number getting banned.
- Reliable solution – can be used for automation and scheduling messages.
- Build auto-reply chatbots.
- Multiple Agents can log in and reply to customers.
- APIs can be integrated with external systems – to send transactional updates.
- Possibility of getting Green Tick Verification.
Disadvantages –
- Requires Business API approval.
- Templates must be pre-approved by WhatsApp – Promotional messages are not allowed.
- Not for personal use.
With WhatsApp APIs, you can also enable a WhatsApp Chatbot on your business number that’ll help you automate your sales and customer support.
How to apply for WhatsApp Official API?
To apply for WhatsApp Official APIs, you must have the below details –
- WhatsApp Phone Number (This number is non-transferable).
If you want to delete the WhatsApp account with your number, follow these steps. - Business Display Name (Should have a clear relationship with Business)
To know about the Display Name Guide, please click here. - Verified Facebook Business Manager ID (should be verified by uploading business documents)
If you do not have a Facebook Business, please create one by clicking here.To verify your Facebook Business, please follow Facebook Business Verification Process.
Once you have these details, you must submit these details to a WhatsApp Business Solution Provider (BSP) such as WATI. To apply with WATI, you can apply using this link.
Frequently Asked Questions
How to export WhatsApp broadcast list?
How can I add multiple contacts to the WhatsApp broadcast?
How many contacts can I add to the WhatsApp broadcast?
How does WhatsApp broadcast work?
About WATI
WATI is a product of Clare.AI and is WhatsApp’s Official API Partner.
The WATI Platform currently allows you to create a WhatsApp Chatbot without coding.
You can use the drag-and-drop chatbot builder or create a chatbot using keywords through WATI. To know more about WATI, visit the official website.
