Whats Up Now With WhatsApp

WhatsApp, that cool and unusual mobile app recently released some new revisions geared toward small businesses. The Facebook-owned app-now with business tools is trying to get Millennials and other professional app users to see WhatsApp benefits for business.

WhatsApp was acquired by Facebook for nearly $20 million in Feb. 2014 and currently boasts a global user base of 1.3 billion. In a media promo blog post promoting the WhatsApp For Business ahead of a wider global rollout in the coming weeks, the company notes that people can continue using WhatsApp as usual —” there’s no need to download anything new.” This means while they fine-tune the business version, you can continue to use the app you have now.

The benefits according to the media posting states that SMBs can derive from WhatsApp new platform suggests a good deal of overlap with what Google, Yelp, Facebook and Instagram already provide. Still, given that its free, the idea of “being wherever the consumer might be” suggests that there few drawbacks to at least trying WhatsApp for customer interaction via texting and other content driven branding. Stats show that over 1.82 billion people will use messaging apps this year This is a 15.5 percent year-over-year increase that underscores the crucial role messaging platforms and chatbots can play in brand/consumer interactions.

Certainly, being accurately listed in an important and growing social messaging app does have some clear positive aspects aside from WhatsApp’s For Business’s highlighted tools: (Via WhatsApp media release)

·        Business Profiles: Help customers with useful information such as a business description, email or store addresses, and website.

·        Messaging Tools: Save time with smart messaging tools — quick replies that provide fast answers to frequently asked questions, greeting messages that introduce customers to your business, and away messages that let them know you’re busy.

·        Messaging Statistics: Review simple metrics like the number of messages read to see what’s working.

·        WhatsApp Web: Send and receive messages with WhatsApp Business on your desktop.

·        Account Type: People will know that they’re talking to a business because you will be listed as a Business Account. Over time, some businesses will have Confirmed Accounts once it’s been confirmed that the account phone number matches the business phone number.

WhatsApp has 1.3 billion users. It’s safe to say that if you’re an SMB owner or a marketer considering this, and you’re worried about needing to manage a ton of new communications channels, very few will gross the billion-user mark. Yes, there’s little downside. We at FDMC to be honest have WhatsApp but have not ventured into the business side of the mobile app but this information means we will take another look at the app. Obviously, there are so many apps out there and it is hard to deep dive into all of them. As we explore the business side of WhatsApp, we will let you know.

(some content from this article from WhatsApp blog, emarketer, and other sources)

-Roy