The LimeChat Guide on using Click to WhatsApp ads for Ecommerce

In the quest for innovative ways of digital marketing, messaging apps have become a go-to channel for many marketers.

With instant messaging, no other platform comes close to WhatsApp’s popularity. With over 1 billion everyday users, WhatsApp has an immense potential to connect businesses with customers.

From offering shopping assistance to running broadcast promotions, WhatsApp business API offers rich, real-time interactions between consumers and brands.

Running promotions on WhatsApp even got increased traction after Meta launched ‘click to WhatsApp ads’ on its platform. Instead of a landing page, these ads send the prospects straight to a WhatsApp conversation with a digital store assistant.

However, as it is a fairly recent addition to the world of digital marketing, most of its potential remains untapped.

In this article, we will break down the concept of ‘click to WhatsApp’ ads to help you reap its benefits.

What are ‘click to WhatsApp’ ads?

Click to WhatsApp ads are a type of Facebook and Instagram paid campaign to get viewers to connect with brands on WhatsApp directly.

These ads show a “Send WhatsApp Message” or “Message us on WhatsApp” button. Once the user clicks on it, they are sent to the brand’s WhatsApp business chat instead of a website landing page.

This format of ads is getting popular among marketers because they offer convenience to customers. Prospective buyers can instantly start a conversation with your brand after seeing your products — just like they would in a real-life store.

Why should you use ‘click to WhatsApp’ ads?

From building a wider customer base to standing out in the crows, there are multifaceted benefits of click to WhatsApp ads. Here are a few of them:

Provides convenience

In the fast-paced digital world, shoppers look for convenience. No matter how good your products are, nobody wants to browse through complicated catalogues on websites — unless it’s Amazon or Flipkart.

Reports state that, with an option of interaction on messaging apps, over 55% of people feel more connected to a brand. Click to WhatsApp ads allows your customers to interact with your business on their favourite messaging app.

Customers don’t have to go through your website to find the right product. They get the required assistance with a single tap on the click to WhatsApp. This provides a significant level of convenience, boosting sales.

Cuts through the noise

Different brands have crowded social media platforms showcasing their products and services. Contrary to that, WhatsApp has fewer ads.

With fewer ads to distract them, consumers can focus on your products. This increases potential sales by helping you stand out among the plethora of different brands.  

Offers real-life interactions

Consumers are more likely to opt for your services if you offer a personalised, two-way interactive experience.

By running click to WhatsApp ads, you nudge them to your WhatsApp chat page and offer guidance on your products. It’s similar to them walking into a store and seeking recommendations from a salesperson about products.

It also enables your consumers to contact you whenever they want and get an immediate response.

To put it simply, clicking on WhatsApp ads makes it easier for businesses to incorporate a conversational experience into their digital marketing strategy.

Cost-effective

With click to WhatsApp ads, marketing costs are much lower and you can bring better ROI. You can generate leads and provide real-time support without a landing page or a mobile app. This cuts down the expenses of hiring a developer and other website building costs.

Scales the customer base

Using click to WhatsApp ads drives traffic to your WhatsApp business account. Thanks to its global user base, WhatsApp lets brands tap into a vast audience and turn them into customers.

Unlike direct CTAs to websites, WhatsApp advertising campaigns offer a softer and more contextual nudge. ‘Send a message’ encourages customers to simply start a conversation and explore your brand. This tones down the sales element of advertising and increases the chances of leads turning into customers.

Through these ads, you get to capture‌ the name and phone number of an interested individual and deliver personalised follow-ups. This also contributes to scaling your consumer base. It increases overall sales by boosting first-time and repeat purchases through product recommendations and retargeting your customers on their mobile.

Different ways to use click to WhatsApp ads

There are several ways you can use click to WhatsApp ads and boost sales. Here are some formats you can use while running your own ads:

1. Take orders and booking on WhatsApp

To leverage WhatsApp business API, keep a catalogue in place with your business profile, displaying your products. You can promote this catalogue in your ads. This way, you can take orders and book products easily once the consumers connect with you through ‘click to WhatsApp’.

You can also take pre-bookings through click to WhatsApp ads if you are launching a new range or limited edition products. You can capture consumer intent by sharing details of the same. This promotes your chance of securing the sale through conversations.

2. Recover abandoned carts

Retargeting ads are necessary to direct customer interest on the products they selected by didn’t purchase. Click on WhatsApp eliminates the need to nudge them to your website and allows you to start a conversation instead. It is a more subtle way of understanding cart abandoners, sending product recommendations and offering necessary help.

3. Provide shopping assistance

You can use click to WhatsApp ads to help customers make informed purchases. If you have a new product or a service that requires guidance, you can promote them through these ads.

Direct the interested audience to your WhatsApp chat window through ‘click to WhatsApp’ and offer help on options, sizes, fits, etc. You have a better chance of closing the sales once you provide them the information on WhatsApp.

4. Take customisation requests

If your products are customisation-friendly, running ‘click to WhatsApp’ ads and starting a conversation can lead to increased conversions.

Instead of leaving them on their own to explore different customisation options, you can lead the conversation with pointed questions and choices through interactive messages. This way you can deliver better customisation services and turn a lead into a customer.

5. Gather information on customers

You can leverage click-to-chat ads to understand your customers better. Once you have their contact, you can run surveys, gather data and offer personalised deals on WhatsApp. You can ask for their date of birth and location and send exclusive and relevant vouchers on their birthdays.

You can also run dedicated click to WhatsApp ads to collect feedback and target existing customers

Requirements to fulfil before setting up click to WhatsApp ads

To run ads that click to WhatsApp, you need to fulfil a couple of requirements first. Here is how you do it:

Set up a WhatsApp business account

You can’t run a WhatsApp advertising campaign using your regular number. For that, you need a dedicated business account using WhatsApp Business App. You can also opt for a WhatsApp Business API solution provider for a more streamlined process.

Your business account on WhatsApp includes details of your brand. It should include a description, your business email and contact number, and your website URL. A WhatsApp business account also showcases your logo and catalogues.

Add a WhatsApp business number to your Facebook page

Once you create your WhatsApp business account, and it gets verified, promptly connect it to your Facebook account. Adding it to Facebook will automatically connect it to your brand’s Instagram page.

It is a mandatory step to run click to WhatsApp ads and you can complete it from your business page settings.

First, go to your Facebook business page and click on “Settings”. Click on the WhatsApp options from the menu on the left. Now, choose your country code, enter your WhatsApp number and click on “send code”. Next, you need to input the generated OTP and confirm your number.  

How to create click to WhatsApp ads?

Now that you have a WhatsApp business profile, you can begin setting up WhatsApp ads on Facebook and WhatsApp ads on Instagram. Here is a guide on how to run WhatsApp ads:

Define your goal

Before running ‘click to WhatsApp’ ads, you must have a clear idea of what you want to achieve through it.

Different brands have different business objectives to reach via WhatsApp marketing campaigns. Conduct thorough audits to gain insight into what needs improvement in your marketing strategy. You can use click-to-chat ads to improve product awareness, collect customer feedback, boost engagement, increase sales, and more.

Whatever your goal may be, having a clear idea will help you direct efforts in the right place and get desired outcomes.

Understand ad placements

Meta allows brands to run ‘click to WhatsApp’ ads on Facebook and Instagram stories and newsfeeds, Instagram explore pages and Facebook marketplace. To ensure maximum visibility, be careful about your ad placements.

Examine how your copy and graphics will appear to the audience. This way, you can optimise the visual experience of your WhatsApp advertising campaigns and drive better engagement.

For instance, you will need longer images for running click to WhatsApp ads on stories. For your newsfeed, a smaller picture would do.

Curate ad copy and graphics

Once you understand the ideal ad placement, the next step is to create ad copies and graphics accordingly. Here you need to prevent ad exhaustion by creating at least two to three versions of your ad campaign. This way, you can keep them fresh and avoid stagnation of the conversion rate.

Create comprehensible ad copies. Use simple words. Keep it brief, targeted and interesting. Make sure your graphic designs are eye-catching and on-brand.  

Set up your ad in Facebook Ads manager

Once you get all the elements ready, it is time to head to the Facebook ads manager and put the click to WhatsApp ads in place. Follow the below-mentioned steps to create your click-to-WhatsApp ads:

• Go to your Facebook business page
• Go to the “Ad Creation” option in the Ads Manager
• Choose your ad objective
• Set up your budget for the campaign
• Click on “Ad Type” and select “Click to Message”
• Select WhatsApp from the Messaging Apps section
• Select your audience, placements, schedule and budget
• Select your ad format
• Follow the guidance and complete the ad set-up
• Once the set-up is complete, publish your ad

Put WhatsApp automation in place

With click to WhatsApp ads, broadcasts and other promotions on the platform, you will eventually have to handle a lot of conversations. Your WhatsApp advertising campaign will render ineffective without proper WhatsApp automation in place.

To streamline the process, it’s better to opt for an effective WhatsApp business API solution provider like LimeChat. You can automate several workflows and deal with multiple conversations with utmost efficiency.

Consider automation workflows like welcome greetings, FAQs, customer support and recovery of abandoned carts. Platforms like LimeChat offer pre-built workflows and chatbots without compromising on the personal touch.

Go live and optimise

After you take care of all the above steps, your click to WhatsApp is all set to run. However, your work doesn’t end here. To ensure you yield the best outcomes, it is crucial to examine how your ads are performing. This will help you build a perspective of your future goals and what changes you need to make over time to optimise the process.

Monitor reach and cost per message. Apart from that, keep track of metrics like initiated conversations, average conversation length, conversation-to-conversion rate and actual sales.  

How to optimise click to WhatsApp ads for higher conversions

The following are a few ways to optimise click to WhatsApp and increase the conversion rate:

Set up an automated welcome message

Carefully curate your welcome message and automate them. This will keep them from walking away by starting conversations quickly. Your welcome message should reinforce your click to WhatsApp ad’s topic to establish credibility.

The welcome message should use simple words and convey the purpose of your products. It should also encourage users to ask questions they may have regarding your services.

For example, it can say, “Hello! Thank you for joining us via WhatsApp. We are here to assist you 24X7. Please reach out with your queries.”

Use interactive messages

To scale and hold on to a sustainable customer base, brands must focus on the buying journey they deliver. Through interactive messages, you can leverage the familiarity WhatsApp provides and increase engagement. This will help you create a personalised customer experience.

Interactive messages combined with automation increase conversion rates significantly. A conversational buying experience enables your customers to respond to your messages directly.

By embedding buttons in the messages, you can help them navigate through the catalogues. This eases their buying process and helps them find products they are interested in.

Send automated follow-ups

To reap the best possible benefits of click to WhatsApp ads, send follow-up messages on WhatsApp. It will help you redirect customers to your products.

Even after follow-ups, if a customer doesn’t purchase your products, the effort doesn’t go in vain. It reflects that they are interested in your services and you can convert them in future through targeted follow-ups. You can also use automated follow-ups to address any anxiety or queries they might have.

Bring telesales into the picture

While a fairly traditional approach, telesales and WhatsApp marketing together can significantly increase your conversion rate.

Your click to WhatsApp ads can bring traffic to your business account. You can use personalised messages to inform them about your products and answer their queries. This helps you begin your sales process with a human touch.

Once you establish a connection, taking orders over the phone will make your brand stand out. This is also an opportunity for you to cross-sell or upsell other products and increase the average order value.

Use broadcast messages to keep them engaged

Broadcast messages on WhatsApp are a time-saving and very useful tactic for increasing engagement. They take very little effort and can be highly effective in refreshing customer interests.

You can schedule a one-time or recurring bulk message broadcast campaign on your WhatsApp business account. These messages would be delivered as individual texts to each customer and let them respond directly.

You can use this feature to share any exciting news about your brand, promote sales and new launches, or give out exclusive deals.

Keep an eye out for ad exhaustion

Using the same click to WhatsApp ad can create ad exhaustion among your audience. This can be a roadblock to scaling your customer base, turning your WhatsApp marketing ineffective.

To prevent that, look out for ad exhaustion in limited intervals. While preparing a campaign, make it a point to create at least two to three variations of ad copies and graphics. This will keep your WhatsApp advertisement campaign from being repetitive and bring a consistent flow of traffic to your WhatsApp.

Conclusion  

Click to WhatsApp campaigns brings positive and tangible business outcomes. However, running it regularly demands proactive efforts.

You can set up campaigns and run WhatsApp ads through Facebook. But to reap the benefits properly, opting for a WhatsApp business API provider is the smarter way to go.

LimeChat’s industry-best features will make your conversion rates soar high in no time. With dedicated retention campaigns, automated customer support and conversational campaigning, it turns your click to WhatsApp ads into successful marketing efforts.

Ready to run high-converting click to WhatsApp ads?

Book a demo of LimeChat today to explore WhatsApp commerce.