Your practical guide to WhatsApp campaigns that convert

The open rate of WhatsApp campaigns is unmatched by any other channel; in fact, it’s usually over 70%, 10X higher than SMS and email.

WhatsApp offers an excellent open rate but doesn’t guarantee conversions; it’s up to marketers to create campaigns that will make the prospects convert.

Here’s a practical guide on how to optimize the conversion of your WhatsApp Marketing Campaigns.

These recommendations are based on our analysis of thousands of campaigns launched on the Kartly Platform.

Audience

A campaign that drives conversions is one sent to the right segment with the right message at the right time. The first step when planning a campaign is to segment and clearly define your audience.

We recommend these segmentation metrics:

• Customer journey: includes new leads, repeat customers, and churners. Consider the different stages as well; awareness, consideration, and decision.
• Demographics: includes age, gender, location, income level…
• Product Interest: which product are customers most interested in based on search history and last purchase.
  

->Pro Tip: Sending a campaign to all your database should be the exception; selecting a specific audience for your campaign should be the norm.

Offer

Theoretically, your campaigns can be one of the below types of campaigns

• Seasonal or promotional: there are countless retail seasons that you can leverage to send out mass advertising messages. Examples: Black Friday, national holidays, and personal occasions.
• Engagement: provide social proof and share UGC with the relevant audience to drive engagement and spike conversations. This type of content yields trust.  
• Entertainment and education: provide fun content and tips every once in a while to grab people’s attention and build a loyal community around your brand.

Statistically, customers engage much more when the campaign includes a promotion, gift, promo code, etc.  Customers need to feel like they are making an exclusive deal every time.

-> Pro Tip: promotional messages with exclusive offers yield the highest conversions.

Now that you know which types of content convert the most, here is a list of suggestions to enhance the quality of your campaigns:

Exclusivity

• Include a promo code: promotional codes drive more conversions. Include campaign-specific coupons, especially to reward repeat and loyal customers.
  

->Be strategic in using promo codes; use them sporadically.

->Be precise about whether it’s a one-time or ongoing code.

->Specify which products are included in the discount.

• Offer free shipping or freebies: offering freebies will entice people to return to your brand and create a buzz. Also, 80% of people expect free shipping when hitting a certain order value; it’s a good tactic to drive returning and new customers.
  

Time sensitivity

Offers must be time bound because urgency drives conversions. Use words like limited stock, ends at + time, a 3 days offer, etc.

Product choice

• Hero product: use your best seller to introduce your brand to leads. Leverage the product’s reviews and reputation to drive more sales.
• New product: promotional messages should include new products as these are usually highly anticipated and sought after.
• Products below 50 USD: items under $50 are more likely to be bought on the spot, especially if they are discounted.

-> Pro Tip:  Time-sensitive and exclusive offers drive more conversions and revenue.  

Campaign Copy

The copy of your message will make or break your campaign. Consider the following best practices when writing your copy:

check these Automated messages library or customer support messages library for inspiration.

Personalize your message

You must make your message as personal as possible.  

• Use custom and dynamic fields to address people by name.
• Personalize your offer.
  

Keep your message concise

People have short attention spans, so it’s highly important that you keep your message concise.

• Standard WhatsApp API limit: 1024 characters per template message.
• The optimal message limit: 160 characters.
• Avoid meaningless drivel
  

Use emojis and capitalization as a tool

Using emojis in your message is a best practice for better communication. Emojis have taken over verbal communication in certain instances. Ensure you make your audience feel like one of them and talk the way they do.

• Use emojis strategically and sparingly, and keep them expressive.
• A/B test first and track reactions if you have a diverse audience.
• Capitalize product label, launch day, and offer.
• Do not capitalize all words.
  

Include pricing and format it clearly

Failure to mention the price in your campaign is one of the reasons your messages don’t convert. People need to be well-informed to be able to make quick decisions.

Use one of these format examples:

• [Product] for just [Price] ([% Discount] off) + shipping!
• [Product] for just [Price] (saving you [$ Amount]) plus shipping!

Speak their language

The copy should speak the audience's language and use their preferred tone of voice.

• Include emotional triggers: excitement, hope, and belonging.
• Use humor appropriately when you feel it will help engage your audience.
• Speak with empathy to connect with people.
  

-> Pro Tip: Replicate your customer’s tone of voice using their vocabulary and terminology, and make your copy exciting. And make it quick, no more than 160 characters.  

Campaign Design

Visual marketing messages are more likely to grab attention and drive interactions. The header of the message template can include a video, an image, or a document.

Consider the following best practices:

• The artwork must be expressive, not simply glittering, to catch the eye.
• Share real, high-quality images representing some of your product's features.
• Ensure that the product is visible as a whole.
• Use gifs and videos instead of static images.
• Do not zoom in too much to highlight one part and risk obscuring the essence of the item.

-> Pro Tip: Use high-quality images that can trigger the prospects’ emotions and aspirations.

CTA

A call to action should be the most visible part of your message. A CTA must be as frictionless as possible. It can be a product catalog, website page, phone call, or an agent conversation.

Choosing quick reply buttons or CTA buttons will depend on your campaign goal and how you would want to guide your audience.

• Provide a clear and concise call to action.
• Use UTMs and coupon codes to track ROI.
• Do not confuse your audience with multiple choices.
  

-> Pro Tip: using the buttons of WhatsApp as a CTA to route the customer to your WhatsApp catalog or to an agent on WhatsApp is a best practice but never forget to add a UTM to track the performance of your campaign if you decide to route the customer to your website.

Campaigns Frequency

Determining which time is best and how many times to send out campaigns depends on your audience, their lifestyles, and weekly behaviors.

Overall, you can rely on the following best practices to send your campaigns.

• Marketing messages frequency: we recommend 8 messages per month.
• The optimal time to send a message: CTRs usually increase during the afternoon, after 1 pm, and during the night after 6 pm.
• The optimal days to send a message: weekend campaigns yield high CTRs, but messages sent on weekdays yield higher revenues.
  

-> Pro Tip: the best timing and frequency will depend on the type of product you sell, but one single message is not enough most of the time.

Opt out path

The customer should always have the option to give you feedback or tell you that he’s no longer interested in your offer; that’s why you must always include a clear path to opt out of your WhatsApp Campaigns.

The alternative for the customer is blocking your business on WhatsApp, which will badly and negatively impact your ability to send campaigns on this channel.

-> Pro Tip: Having an opt-out route is a must for every single campaign.