How to Leverage WhatsApp Business and Drive More Traffic to Your Online Store
WhatsApp Business is a great tool for reaching new customers. Let’s face it, we live in the smartphone era and most people today are glued to their mobile device. Whether people are stuck in traffic, at the coffee shop, at work, or just relaxing at home, WhatsApp business allows you to get your product in front of millions of eyes with the click of a button.
In my previous article I mentioned the importance of having a professional profile on WhatsApp. Now that your E-commerce solution is all set up, you want to get more sales. In this tutorial I am going to show you how to use WhatsApp Business to attract more customers to your store.
Start by Registering a WhatsApp Business Account
Open the app store on your mobile device, if you are using an android phone you should navigate to the Google Play app. Search for WhatsApp business, and click install. Once the installation is finished, an app icon will be created on your home screen.
Once you open the app you will be asked to verify your phone number and they will send you a security code. Upon completing this step you will have an opportunity to create your profile. This includes setting your Business name, A professional profile picture, business hours and other important information for your profile.
Create Your Catalogue
Once you have completed your account registration it’s time to upload products to your catalogue. At the bottom left corner of your screen you will find a store icon . Click on the Icon and you will be directed to your marketplace dashboard.
Navigate to the catalogue and click on “add new item”. You will be asked to enter all of the information about your product. Start by uploading your product images ( you can upload more than one if you wish). Make sure that the images match those of your product on your online store.
After uploading your product images enter your product name, price and description into the fields. For the description just copy the one you have of your product on the online store and paste it into the field.
Now comes the important part, you have to copy the your product link from your online store and add it into the “link (optional)” field. This will allow people to add the item to their cart and complete the checkout after discovering it on their feed.
Once you have completed all the above steps, click “save”. It takes a while for the product to be reviewed. Once it’s live you can share the link to your contacts and groups on WhatsApp. Here is an example of what it will look like.
Join WhatsApp Marketplace Groups and Communities
Now you are all set to start marketing your products on WhatsApp. The best way to do this is to join Buy/Sell or advertisement groups. However, WhatsApp doesn’t index these groups on its app’s search engine. So how can you find groups where you can market your product?
Most people advertise their groups on Facebook. Simply open the Facebook app and type “WhatsApp Buy/Sell Groups [insert your area]” or “WhatsApp Advertisement Groups”. Check the feed for any posts where people are sharing their WhatsApp group links and join them.
To help you get started, here is a link to a WhatsApp group with almost a thousand members. Please note that only South African numbers are allowed to join this group. If you are from another country and reading my blog, don’t worry, you will be able to find many groups on Facebook/Meta.
Some groups will only have a few members while others number in the thousands. The more groups you join, the better your opportunity to reach people.
Other Marketing Options:
- Create your own marketplace group and start recruiting buyers/sellers.
- Create a broadcast on WhatsApp and add your existing clients
- Create a WhatsApp Channel and start posting your products on there.
What Happens When Someone Clicks on Your Ad?
After sharing your product link on WhatsApp there are two things that can happen when someone clicks on your advert. In the first scenario you will receive an order straight to your inbox on WhatsApp. At that point you can present your payment details, process the order and mark it as paid.
The second scenario happens when they follow your product link from the online store (which you placed in your advert) and complete the checkout. In that case you will receive an order notification in your email inbox, or a payment notification from your bank depending on how you configured your store’s payment integration.
That’s All There Is to It
Now you’re ready to drive traffic to your online store through WhatsApp business. It’s time to make some sales, I hope this tutorial was helpful. Please reach out if you have any questions or concerns.