Changing your game in WhatsApp Marketing

By Rohi Mhere

Instead of selling do the reverse psychology, educate people about your product or about your area of Trade. Nowadays you notice that most WhatsApp groups are full of business people who are advertising to each other without any trace of the consumer in those groups.

Besides calling it online advertising it can be alternatively be referred to online business wars, because it’s like you are just posting adverts, you do not even know who your consumer is and how you can reach them, no proper strategy is in place for your business.

 A good example is when Econet, Netone and Telecel being in the same WhatsApp group and they are all advertising to each other about their services, the result will obviously be disastrous because no-one will buy from the next vendor, no-one will pay attention to your services, why? Because they are all advertising the same way, the same thing, the same service, that is just insane.

Most people claim that it is online marketing, but I beg to differ, there is a big difference between advertising and marketing.

 Advertising is very annoying, it’s like you are forcing people to know about your business, you do not even care where you put that advert, you just tell yourself “as long as it’s out there” where now?, it’s not even  thoughtful, a good example is when you go on YouTube and then an Ad suddenly pops up when you are trying to play a video, what happens next? It’s either you will skip the ad or you will just cancel the video.

 Marketing is a very thoughtful process, where you are not necessarily forcing your business on people but you are actually educating them on the importance of your business, you are involving your consumer and explaining how your services work to the benefit of people.

These days people no longer want things that do not add value to their businesses or their daily lives, they need something that is very beneficial to them, something to give them that “Aha” moment, if you do not educate people about what you do and why it is important no-one will even consider your product because to them it will just appear as impulsive buying, why? Because you are not telling them the value of your product or service.

How you market your product and what you do could be a clear presentation of how serious your business is or how much sales you are going to generate. These days it’s no longer about just advertising because no-one will care, but it’s all about providing value to your consumer.

Ask yourself this “Am I providing value to my consumer?  Am I advertising or am I Marketing?”

Here are 5 simple things to do so that you re-define your business’s online presence on WhatsApp and cement the value of your Service or Product

 1.Design your communication

WhatsApp messages have impressive open rates in comparison with other Social media channels especially in Zimbabwe during this pandemic. However, if you offer irrelevant or poorly produced content, your marketing on this channel will be dead in the water.

Start by pinpointing your main topics and the messages you want to deliver. Try not to limit yourself to only promotional messages; remember to entertain and educate your audience. Keep your communications short and sweet– people often check WhatsApp on the go and have no time to read long messages.

Reinforce your messages with multimedia files, such as videos, animations, or pictures. Emoji are also appropriate in WhatsApp marketing. If you want to play around them, choose smiley faces or people rather than business-themed objects.

Another point to consider is message frequency. If you bombard your readers with messages every hour, chances are it will make them annoyed with your brand. It is best to adhere to the commonly used practice of sending 5-10 messages weekly.

2. Build a strong visual communication system for your business

 What most businesses or solopreneurs don’t know is design goes a long way in influencing the consumers decision to purchase your product, find a graphics designer to work with someone who will be able to visually interpret your business’s values.

Start seeing your business as a product on an online Shelf where there are so many businesses and services exactly like yours, but one thing that will differentiate you from others is your visual outlook. Something that is visually appealing can trigger many leads for your business. Develop a visual paradigm that is very compelling and something that your consumers will remember.

3. Create a brand persona

People prefer to communicate with other people, not on impersonal business. Thus, to undertake successful WhatsApp marketing, you need to form your brand persona. A brand persona is a kit of traits, attitudes, and values your brand shares.

Remember market leaders? All of them have personas. For instance, Apple appears to be creative and intellectual, Fanta – jolly and easy-going, Nike – passionate and vigorous.

Your brand probably also has some personality; try to explore it and spot the most meaningful traits. This persona will underlie your tone of voice and communications with prospects on WhatsApp.

Create a feeling that your customers are dealing with a person. Try to use a person’s name as a signature; it works better than a company’s name. For example “Hi I am Rohi from Drop Studios” instead of “Hi its Drop Studios”

4.Embrace Content marketing

5. Re-define your Marketing strategy and focus it mostly on your Unique Selling Proposition. Communicate to your consumers how your service is different from the next.

Rohi Mhere is a Pan-African Brand Designer, Brand Strategists, Brand Manager and Brand consultant with a demonstrated history in the industry, he is also the founder of Drop Studios a brand design consultant Agency based in Marondera. He can be reached on mhererohi297@gmail.com or on his WhatsApp number: 071 682 0699.