Introduction
WhatsApp broadcast may seem a modest feature to connect with your close community of friends. But, when used strategically, it can be used by businesses to create quick announcements or share updates with a large audience base.
It has unique features that cater to the requirements of companies in reaching out to users yet maintain their privacy.
As broadcast messages are delivered to each recipient as a separate chat, it is ideal to maintain privacy as recipients are unaware of each other contacts.
In this blog, we will explore how to create a broadcast group in WhatsApp, the need to do a WhatsApp broadcast, and the best practices for using a WhatsApp broadcast.
Understanding WhatsApp broadcast
WhatsApp broadcast is a unique feature that allows users to connect with hundreds of recipients through a single message. With a single click, users can send a single message to hundreds of recipients.
Imagine if you want to send morning greetings to your friends; you need not type the message for each of your friends. Instead, with a WhatsApp broadcast, you can send a single greeting message to all your friends without spending much time typing messages.
Data reveal that approximately 40 million users view the WhatsApp business catalog monthly to discover products and services. It offers a promising opportunity for businesses to connect with their users and build lasting relationships.
WhatsApp broadcast is a safe way to do so as each recipient receives the broadcast as a separate chat and is unaware of who else got the broadcast message. WhatsApp broadcast ensures that the communication between the sender and the receiver is private.
Why should you use WhatsApp broadcast?
WhatsApp broadcast can be a time-saving feature for businesses as a single message can be sent to hundreds of users in a single click.
For businesses, this means streamlined customer support, faster announcements, and follow-ups. Some noteworthy uses of WhatsApp broadcasts are;
• Consistent messaging to a specific group of people
• Share promotional info, announcements, or important reminders.
• Support customer support teams with specific queries in bulk.
• Send customer survey forms or questionnaires at large.
How to create a broadcast group in WhatApp?
If you haven’t tried the WhatsApp broadcast feature before, then in this section you will find detailed steps to create a broadcast group.
1. Navigate to the chats tab on your WhatsApp account.
Open WhatsApp on your phone and go to the “chats” tab in your account. This is where all of your chats will be visible.
2. Go to the broadcast feature
• If you’re using an Android phone, click on the three dots in the right upper corner to find the “New broadcast” option in the drop-down.
• In iOS phones, the “Broadcast list” option is at the top of your chats tab; click on it to proceed to the next step for selecting the recipients.
3. Select broadcast recipients
• Select the recipients you wish to broadcast your message to by tapping on the contacts.
• Once you have selected the recipients, click the “Green tick” on the lower right side to create your broadcast list.
- *Note: that in a single broadcast list, you can add only 256 contacts. You need to create multiple broadcast lists to send broadcasts to more than 256 recipients.
4. Create a message and send
• You can create the message that you wish to send to your recipients. You can use text, media, or documents to create your message.
• Each recipient will receive your message in a separate chat. It will make them more likely to engage with your message.
5. Manage broadcast list for future
• Your broadcast list is saved for further use, and you can edit it by adding or removing any recipients.
• Companies can segregate their users into different broadcast lists to send them specific messages, which allows them to communicate precisely.
Best practices of using WhatsApp broadcast
WhatsApp broadcast is more than just sending messages; it is more about building relationships with your users and ensuring a good brand reputation among your audience.
Engaging content sent responsibly will encourage more users to open your message and spend time to reply.
1. Obtain permission
Since WhatsApp broadcasts can be sent to recipients who have saved your contact, It is essential to get their consent and request to save your contact on their phone.
You can request users to share consent to your promotional messages by sending them emails, promoting on your website, or notifying them while checking out.
Ensure you maintain transparent communication and mention the purpose of your messages. It will ensure user trust in your brand.
2. Personalize messages
It is your chance to build a relationship and tailor the content as much as possible. Personalized content generates curiosity and engages the audience throughout subsequent messages.
3. Consider appropriate messaging time:
Sending messages at the right time is crucial as this will impact your professionalism.
Research the most appropriate time when your users are active and free to engage with promotional messages outside their work hours. Respecting their working hours will encourage your users to spend some time reading your messages.
If your users are in a different time zone, research enough to strategically plan the most appropriate time to get the maximum visibility.
Avoid sending at busy working hours and late at night, which may disturb users and discourage them from engaging with your content in the future.
4. Use multimedia content
Attractive media content is proven to engage users much more than plain text. Use images, videos, or documents with lively illustrations and colors to convey helpful content easily. This way, users will be excited for more content from your company.
5. Stay within WhatsApp's user privacy terms
Avoid spamming your users by sending irrelevant content frequently. It will hamper your account reputation and may restrict you from further broadcasting.
You must handle user data responsibly and comply with WhatsApp’s every term for user privacy.
In our earlier blog, we revealed how you can increase your WhatsApp broadcast limit. Businesses can reach an unlimited number of users by sending broadcasts, but you should comply with WhatsApp’s strict regulations while maintaining high quality in your messages.
If you plan to scale up your engagement with your users, consistently sending high-quality messages is the key to boosting your broadcast limit.
You can find how to increase your broadcast limit beyond 256 in our earlier blog. We are sure it will make a worthwhile read for you to scale your business communication further.
Conclusion
WhatsApp broadcast is a powerful tool to boost communication and marketing efforts without significant investment. However, it requires consistency in delivering high-quality messages and complying with the rules.
Creating a WhatsApp broadcast is simple and opens up a channel for you to reach not just hundreds of users but unlimited when used strategically. Following the best practices mentioned above will allow you to maximize your broadcast potential.
Frequently Asked Questions
No, unlike a WhatsApp group chat, a broadcast message is delivered to each recipient as a separate chat. This is private between the sender and the receiver. Hence, the recipient is unaware of the other recipients in the same broadcast list.
Yes, if you do not want to be disturbed, you can mute the notifications from a WhatsApp broadcast. This will prevent future notifications from being delivered to you.
Yes, you can add or remove contacts from a broadcast group even after creating the broadcast list. To do this: Open the broadcast group you want to modify. Tap on the group info and use the “+” or “-” buttons to add or remove any recipient.
Nisha Sneha
Nisha Sneha is a passionate content writer with 5 years of experience creating impactful content for SAAS products, new-age technologies, and software applications. Currently, she is contributing to Kenyt.AI by crafting engaging content for its readers. Creating captivating content that provides accurate information about the latest advancements in science and technology has been at the core of her creativity.
In addition to writing, she enjoys gardening, reading, and swimming as hobbies.
