Are you looking for new ways to market your products or services? Perhaps you don’t have an advertising budget and you’re struggling to find the time for a content marketing campaign.

Have you tried using WhatsApp to promote your business? You might think of WhatsApp as a convenient way to stay in the loop with friends and family, but it’s also increasingly being used by brands to market to customers.

Unlike SMS messages, WhatsApp messages don’t cost anything. Plus, you can easily send images, videos, or even PDFs through WhatsApp, making it a great medium for sharing everything you need in order to make a sale.

Tip: You’ll need to use the (free) WhatsApp Business app, not regular WhatsApp, to get access to all the features we’ll be covering.

1. Use an Away Message / Greeting Message

Just like on other messaging systems like Facebook, you can set up an away message (also known as a greeting message) on WhatsApp Business.

This lets you automatically reply to messages that are sent when you’re offline. You could use your away message to:

• Greet customers and let them know your business hours.
• Answer common questions (e.g., by stating your opening hours). This not only helps customers get help fast, but it also cuts down on messages that need manually replying to.
• Acknowledge any issues you’re currently experiencing, such as shipping delays or website downtime—and let customers know when they can expect these to be fixed.

If you’re not sure what to write, check out these templates and samples for some great ideas.

2. Use Quick Replies

A lot of customer queries come up again and again. To save time writing out virtually the same response repeatedly, you can use WhatsApp’s Quick Replies feature. (Here are some ideas illustrating the types of quick replies you might create.)

Using quick replies also means you can make sure you’re crafting the most helpful and accurate reply possible, helping gain your customer’s trust. It also saves time when you’re training up new customer service team members, as you can give them a bank of ready-made saved replies to deal with the most common questions.

3. Get Website Visitors to Share Your Content on WhatsApp

You don’t even need to have a WhatsApp account to benefit from WhatsApp’s power to promote your business.

Did you know that WhatsApp has over 2 billion active users? It’s the most popular messaging app in the world. People often use WhatsApp to share links with friends and family, and you can take advantage of that to get your content, product, and services shared more frequently.

Make it as easy as possible for your website visitors to share a page on your site by using a WhatsApp share button. This lets people share a link to WhatsApp with just a click: no fiddly copying and pasting required

4. Create a Catalog of Products on WhatsApp

WhatsApp Business lets you create a catalog of products (or services) that will then appear in your business profile. This means that customers can browse through your products, message you to get in touch, and share your products with their friends on WhatsApp.

You can have up to 500 products or services in your WhatsApp catalog, so it’s suitable for even quite large businesses. While customers can’t buy directly from your WhatsApp catalog, they will see a button under each product to message you for more information.

5. Use WhatsApp to Send Brochures or Ebooks

You can send files through WhatsApp, including PDFs. This makes it a great tool for sharing information like brochures or even ebooks with your would-be customers.

You could potentially run a promotion where you offer a free ebook or similar downloadable resource to everyone who messages you on WhatsApp, hopefully dramatically increasing the number of prospects you’re in touch with. You don’t need to spend ages creating this; you could potentially just repurpose some existing content.

Another option is to use WhatsApp to give out discount codes or coupons. You could create these as images or PDFs that you share with people who message you.

6. Start a WhatsApp Group for Customers

Creating a WhatsApp group can be a great way to bring together your customers and make more sales. You could try:

• A special group for customers of a particular product/service, giving added value (such as the opportunity to network with like-minded individuals).
• A promotional group that anyone can join, where you share useful information or encourage people to help one another—along with occasionally mentioning your services or products.
• A focus group or beta testing group where you try out new product ideas. This can give you invaluable, free feedback, while also raising awareness of your products and potentially helping you make more sales.

If you’re missing out on the power of WhatsApp to promote your business, give it a try today. Create a WhatsApp Business account—it’s free!—and start using WhatsApp to connect with potential customers.