A practical WhatsApp marketing strategy

Decide what WhatsApp is for

Start with one clear job for the channel. For a shop it might be bringing past buyers back; for a coaching business, turning enquiries into enrolments; for a restaurant, filling quiet weekdays. Write the goal in one line and pick one number that shows progress, such as repeat orders, booked calls or replies to offers.

Then decide what WhatsApp will not do. It is a poor place for long newsletters, daily promotions or messages that would suit email better. Customers keep WhatsApp for friends and family, and they will mute or block a business that behaves like a billboard. Fewer, more useful messages almost always win.

Grow an opted-in list

Your list is the people who agreed to hear from you on WhatsApp. Every place customers meet you can invite them: a WhatsApp button on your website, the order confirmation, a QR code at the counter or on packaging, an Instagram story, a Click-to-WhatsApp ad. Say what they will get and how often, for example "new arrivals every Friday".

Customers who start a chat with you are another source, but a chat about an order is not consent to marketing. Ask inside the conversation, with a button, and tag those who say yes. When you import contacts from your store or CRM, WaKite can bring tags, folders and an existing marketing opt-out flag with them, so past choices are respected from day one.

• Website button and order confirmation
• QR code in store and on packaging
• Instagram stories and ads
• A yes button inside existing chats

Segment with tags and folders

Segments let you send each message to the people it suits. In WaKite, tags describe contacts, such as "bought: sarees", "city: Pune" or "interest: wholesale", and folders hold fixed groups, such as a list from an event. Flow bots and imports can add tags automatically, so segments build themselves as customers chat, buy and answer questions.

Start with a few segments that change what you would say: new versus returning customers, interest by category, and location if you have shops or delivery limits. Saved contact details, such as a city or a size, can also fill template variables. Too many segments become hard to manage; a handful used well is better.

Set up drips for the moments that matter

A drip is a short series of approved templates sent to each contact over days or weeks. It suits moments that repeat for every customer: a welcome series after someone joins the list, tips after a first purchase, a reminder before a subscription ends. In WaKite a drip can start on a keyword, a new contact, a tag, a folder or a pipeline stage.

Each drip can have a goal, such as a tag being added or a pipeline stage reached, and contacts leave the series when they reach it, reply or opt out. Messages go out only inside the sending hours you set. Keep drips short, three to five messages, and make each one useful on its own.

Plan a broadcast calendar

Broadcasts carry your news: launches, sales, events, seasonal reminders. Plan them on a simple monthly calendar with your festivals and sale dates, and decide how often each segment hears from you. Once a week is plenty for most consumer brands; many do better with two or three messages a month. Leave room for something unplanned.

Mix the content. Not every message should be an offer: a new collection, a how-to, an event invitation or a thank-you keeps people reading. Schedule each campaign in WaKite for a sensible hour, send a test to yourself first, and pace large lists so they stay within your messaging limit.

Measure and stay compliant

For each campaign, WaKite shows how many messages were sent, delivered, read and failed, how many contacts were skipped and how many replied in the following days. Compare those across segments and message types, and watch opt-outs. Read rates show interest, replies show intent, and a rise in opt-outs is the clearest sign to slow down.

Compliance protects your number. Message only opted-in contacts, use templates in the right category, respect STOP at once, and keep your quality rating healthy. In WaKite, replies of STOP or UNSUBSCRIBE opt people out of marketing automatically, and marketing broadcasts and drips skip them. Review WhatsApp's Business Policy and Meta's pricing page from time to time, as both change.

Step by step

1. 1
   Set one goal

   Write the job WhatsApp should do and the one number that shows progress.

2. 2
   Add opt-in points

   Put a WhatsApp invitation on your website, order confirmation, store and Instagram.

3. 3
   Create segments

   Agree a few tags for source, interest and location, and let flows add them.

4. 4
   Build a welcome drip

   Set up three to five useful templates for new subscribers, with a goal and sending hours.

5. 5
   Plan the month

   Put two to four broadcasts on a calendar per segment, then review results and opt-outs.

Questions