Rejoice! Facebook has added an awesome Whatsapp feature to their ads service.
You may already be aware that Facebook owns Whatsapp (which boasts over 1 billion daily users). Although Facebook has always said it would not move to include ads within the Whatsapp service, it has not stopped them from linking it the platform directly from within its ad service.
Facebook’s latest move to attract more advertisers to its ads platform is the addition of a “Click to Whatsapp” option.
Personally, I embraced and welcomed the move. There are so many users who simply do not use Facebook’s own Messenger service in favour of Whatsapp (I am one of them) and these potential and existing customers are being missed off when creating ads that use the “Send Message” button as an example. The reason I prefer Whatsapp over Messenger is that more people I have regular contact with (personal and business) use Whatsapp – plain and simple.
Our clients are over the moon at the news and if you did not know about this golden nugget before, you can be too.
Once a personal relationship has been established, many businesses (including ourselves) choose Whatsapp to communicate with individual business contacts as an alternative to email.
Instantly receiving and being able to respond to a Whatsapp message, as a result of a paid advert, is really good news for the online marketing world as it will enable marketers to collect phone numbers for supplementary integrated marketing campaigns.
A special word of warning though; before collecting numbers and adding them to your own Whatsapp broadcast group, make sure you have a very good personal relationship with that person as you will be moving directly into their personal space. At the very least, gain their explicit permission to send them anything promo related before you do so or risk tarnishing and irritating your relationship.
I think this is a great move, however what I would also like to see is the option being made available to pages, not just paid ads. Are you reading this Zuckerberg & Co (pretty please?).
Written by Piérre Maré
I am your local digital marketing specialist (geek with uncommon interpersonal skills). I specialise in helping businesses & brands connect with their customers by enhancing their online presence through integrated marketing strategies including social media, email, mobile, content creation, paid ads & customer relationship management.
With over 12 years of sales & marketing experience built up working with blue chip organisations (whilst I resided in the UK), I love helping businesses & brands grow by leveraging ever-changing online marketing channels.
