Sending a WhatsApp Broadcast is a great strategy. Messages sent on WhatsApp have:

1. 98% Open rates (10x more than emails & SMS)
2. 45-60% Conversion rates (20x more than emails)

  We’ve built a solution that will help you send a WhatsApp broadcast to up to 1,00,000 users instantly!

In this blog, we’ll cover everything you need to know to leverage the complete potential of a WhatsApp Broadcast for your business.

We’ll also tell you what to do to make the most out of WhatsApp Broadcasting with the WhatsApp Business app & WhatsApp Business API.

What is a WhatsApp Broadcast- How is it beneficial for your Business?

WhatsApp Broadcast is basically, a list of recipients who receive messages from your business in bulk on WhatsApp. With a WhatsApp Broadcast using WhatsApp Business API, you can send messages to up to 1,00,000 unique users in one go, even those who haven’t added you to their contacts list. Many people confuse WhatsApp Broadcast with Group messages. But, in WhatsApp Broadcasts, users receive messages in private chat & cannot see the names and numbers of other recipients.

WhatsApp Broadcast is a hassle-free way of delivering business updates to customers on a day-to-day basis. E.g. latest arrivals, product-related insights, delivery updates, newsletter subscriptions and more.

Here’s the perfect example of a strong WhatsApp Broadcast Message:

WhatsApp Broadcast Example- Offer Message

In the above image, our client PIE Hotels has sent a WhatsApp Broadcast notification about the latest discounts on a hotel stay. With the average WhatsApp message open rate of 98%, if they send this message to 1,00,000 users, they’d have 98,000 people who read the sent message on WhatsApp.

Based on your business’ scale of operations, you can either choose WhatsApp Business or WhatsApp Business API for sending WhatsApp broadcast messages.

WhatsApp Business favours small businesses like retail shops, local manufacturers and more while WhatsApp Business API is the preferred choice of medium & large enterprises looking to reach a mass audience on WhatsApp.

That’s all about WhatsApp Broadcasting.

But, what’s the process of delivering these broadcast messages to WhatsApp users?

Let’s discuss how you can send broadcast messages using the WhatsApp Business App & the WhatsApp Business API.

How to send WhatsApp Broadcast using Business App (for small businesses)

If you’re a self-sufficient small business, WhatsApp Business is the perfect choice for sending broadcasts to your customers. WhatsApp Business is:

• Free to use
• Easy to set up and,
• Has an in-built Broadcasting feature available

With WhatsApp Business App, you can send broadcast messages to up to 256 unique users at a time. You can send promotional WhatsApp broadcasts with clickable links to customers. But, there’s a catch!

If it were that easy wouldn’t WhatsApp had become like email; filled with spam?

Well, the answer is negative!

WhatsApp Broadcast messages sent via Business App only reach those who have added you to their contact lists.

With WhatsApp Business App, creating & sending a Broadcast is super easy. Follow the below steps to create a broadcast list of up to 256 contacts & send them messages:

• Click the three white dots on the right side of the WhatsApp Business App & hit ‘New Broadcast”
• Select the contacts whom you want to add to your WhatsApp Broadcast list. You can select upto 256 contacts in one broadcast list with the Business App
• Create the broadcast list by clicking on the green tick button.

That’s it!

Monitoring is easy. Look for double blue ticks in front of the chats to whom you’ve sent the broadcast.

Limitations of sending WhatsApp Broadcast through WhatsApp Business App

It’s easy to share broadcasts through WhatsApp Business but is it enough to sustain your business. Let’s look at some limitations of the app which might make it unsuitable for your business:

1. WhatsApp Broadcast to only 256 contacts
2. Accessible only across 2 devices (one smartphone and one PC)
3. No smart segregation & analysis of messages sent
4. No feature for Chat automation, quick replies & WhatsApp chatbot integration
5. People who haven’t added you to their contacts won’t receive the broadcast

WhatsApp Business is more suited for individual and small business owners looking to establish their identity as a Business. However, for medium & large businesses a limit of 256 contacts only for sending broadcast messages can be a hindrance.

So, what’s the bigger, better solution?

The answer is WHATSAPP BUSINESS API

Introduced around the same time as WhatsApp Business, WhatsApp Business API helps medium to large-sized businesses personalize their communication with clients. With WhatsApp API, you can send broadcasts to up to 1,00,000 unique users, automate abandoned cart notifications & payment links, simultaneously communicate with multiple customers and provide 24×7 Customer Support with WhatsApp Chatbots and live support.

Know more about WhatsApp Business API by reading this WhatsApp API guide.

WhatsApp Broadcasting using WhatsApp Business API

WhatsApp Business API allows businesses to send broadcast messages in WhatsApp including notifications, announcements, promotion messages and more; all in one single platform.

Here are a few benefits of using WhatsApp Business API based platforms for WhatsApp Broadcasting:

• Industry best- 98% open rates
• 45-60% click-through rates
• 78% response rates

Moreover, it’s better than WhatsApp Business app because:

• It allows you to deliver bulk messages to up to 1,00,000 unique users
• You can send messages to people who haven’t saved your contacts
• Get official green tick verification from WhatsApp
• You can use WhatsApp for multiple devices

But first, you need to take your business to WhatsApp Business API. However, the Business API doesn’t have a unique interface. It needs a platform for you to utilize the benefits of WhatsApp Business API and more.

That’s where we come in!

WhatsApp Broadcast using AiSensy Platform

AiSensy is a WhatsApp Marketing platform built on the official WhatsApp Business API.

Key features of AiSensy include:

• WhatsApp Broadcasting to up to 100,000 users in one go
• WhatsApp Automation of order, delivery, payments & abandoned carts
• Live Chat & WhatsApp Chatbot Automation
• Friendliest customer support (24×7)
• Zero Setup fee
• Live-chat Dashboard with smart audience segmentation feature

How to send a WhatsApp Broadcast through AiSensy

To send a WhatsApp Broadcast, just follow these steps:

• Head to the AiSensy platform and sign up by clicking here
• Now, fill in personal details including name, business number and company name.
• Once you sign up, create a project and name it. You can name it anything from your company name to department name if you want separate APIs for different departments.
• To send WhatsApp Broadcast, you’d need approval for the API. To know how to apply for WhatsApp Business API, click here

That’s it! Within 1-2 days, you’ll get approval from WhatsApp!

Now, that that’s clear, let’s head on to how to share WhatsApp Broadcast messages with AiSensy.

There are two ways to shoot broadcast messages in WhatsApp via AiSensy. These are:

Method 1- Through Contact Page

Contacts Page in AiSensy Dashboard

Step 1: Filter the customers based on various parameters. You can filter using parameters such as organic, ads, active, closed as shown in the image below ?‍.

Filter audience to send WhatsApp Broadcast

Step 2: Now, select all the filtered down users and click on the “Broadcast” button as shown in the image below?‍.

Step 3: Select the WhatsApp broadcast message you want to send and hit, “Send now” to shoot the broadcast as shown in the image below?‍.

We’ve chosen a payment reminder as to the WhatsApp Broadcasting message.

As we fill ‘$Firstname’ inside Parameter 1, it’ll reflect in the template message on the right side. These dynamic values are personalization parameters for each user.

If you write, “$Firstname’ besides 1, every customer will receive the message with their first name.

Configure all parameters based on the use case and intent of the WhatsApp Broadcast. Take time and do this step carefully as once you hit send, there’s no reversing it!

Step 4– Finally, hit the ‘Send now‘ button to live the broadcast to your users.

Bigger broadcasts up to 10,000 messages can take up to 2 hours to successfully execute while smaller broadcasts upto 1000 messages take around 5-10 minutes to deliver to customers.

Method 2- WhatsApp Broadcasting through Campaign Page

To launch a WhatsApp Broadcast from the campaigns page, hit the ‘+launch’ button on the top right corner and choose ‘Broadcast’. Now, follow the below steps:

Step 1: Choose a campaign name that best describes the broadcast or your end goals.

Choose Campaign Name Select an Image

Step 2: Select between pre-approved template messages or regular messages that you want to broadcast to users. Template messages need to be approved from WhatsApp to send to users.

Regular messages can be any message you draft and send to users who have connected with you in the past 24 hours. Messages can include text, media, images, videos, CTA buttons, quick replies and much more.

Step 3: Now, segregate your audience and choose the contacts to whom you wish to send the WhatsApp Broadcast.

Filter the audience to send WhatsApp Broadcast

Step 4: Pick a pre-approved template message or create a regular message and configure the parameters just like we did while sending broadcasts through the contacts method.

Choose from a message Template

Step 5: Configure & preview the selected message and click “Broadcast” to launch the WhatsApp Broadcast Campaign.

Preview & send the ‘Broadcast

How to track analytics?

Tracking the performance of WhatsApp Broadcast is equally important as sending the broadcast.

AiSensy’s intuitive dashboard allows you to monitor analytics quite easily! here’s how to do it:

• Go to campaigns and hit the ‘eye’ button on the left side of each campaign.
• You’ll see analytics like the ones shown in the image below

Here, you can view how many people the campaign was sent or failed to send, deliver, read and enqueued.

That’s it!

Your message will reach your customers immediately.

WhatsApp Broadcasting FAQs

Here are some intricate queries you might have once you start using WhatsApp Business API to share broadcast messages.

Q What is a WhatsApp Broadcast List?

A WhatsApp Broadcast List is a saved list of all the contacts to whom you send the WhatsApp Broadcast. All users receive the WhatsAppBroadcast in their personal chats & not in a Group Chat, making a huge difference. People who have received the same Broadcast cannot see the names & numbers of other people (making it extremely private, secure & user-focused)

Q How to stop a running Campaign?

To discontinue a campaign, hit the eye button of that particular campaign.

You’d see a “set status” button on the top right side of your screen. Click that button and change the status to pause or STOP.

Remember- After you stop a campaign, you won’t be able to run it again! However, if you click the pause button, you can still resume it any time you see fit!

Q Is there a risk of my number getting blocked?

This depends on the quality rating that WhatsApp allows you. If people block or report you as spam, you’ll receive a warning on FB Business Manager. If you’re still unable to cope up with the ratings, your number will get blocked. However, it’s very rare and happens only when you send promotional messages without opt-in.

Q How to export all my contacts in WhatsApp Broadcast?

To export contacts, you need to upload your contact list in .csv format. You can also pick the contacts who have contacted you recently.

Q Is there a risk of my number getting blocked?

This depends on the quality rating that WhatsApp allows you. If people block or report you as spam, you’ll receive a warning on FB Business Manager. If you’re still unable to cope up with the ratings, your number will get blocked.

However, it’s very rare and happens only when you send promotional messages without opt-in.

Q How do I take opt-in from users?

• Send SMS & e-mail campaigns
• Have a checkmark in the lead contact form on your landing page taking consent and opt-in from users.

Feel free to share your other concerns with our team. Click here to connect with our experts.

Q What are failed messages & do I need to pay for them?

Failed messages are those which are not sent to users. This can be due to two reasons:

• No opt-in
• Inactive user

If a broadcast message fails to deliver, you won’t be charged a single dime!

Q Can I send promotional messages via WhatsApp Broadcast?

Prior to September 2021, WhatsApp didn’t allow businesses to send promotional messages on WhatsApp. However, they now allow businesses across the globe to send promotional messages without risk of getting banned.

You can send promotional messages like discount offers, coupons, etc easily to customers on WhatsApp to boost ROI up to 33x.

To know more about sending promotional messages on WhatsApp, check out this blog.

Conclusion

WhatsApp Broadcasting is the simplest yet most effective WhatsApp Marketing technique.

It guarantees an upward rise in sales & growth of your business and it has been a boon to our clients!

To know more about WhatsApp Marketing techniques, check this blog.

Whether it’s with WhatsApp Business App or WhatsApp API, you can send announcements, notifications and enticing offers that customers can’t reject using the broadcast feature. In this blog, you learnt:

• What a WhatsApp broadcast message is!
• Different ways through which you can create a broadcast list on WhatsApp Business and WhatsApp Business API
• How you can send a broadcast to upto 100, 000 unique users through API
• Last, but not least, you learnt of Ai Sensy and its role in helping you share bulk messages with thousands of customers across the globe.

Phew, that’s a wrap! If you liked the blog, share it with those whom you think will benefit from it.