Click-to-chat WhatsApp ads: what are they and what are the benefits?

What are click-to-chat WhatsApp ads?

Advertisements that click to WhatsApp are promotions over Facebook and Instagram which direct people that click on the ad to a chat in the WhatsApp app. These ads can appear everywhere you'd expect Facebook and Instagram advertisements to pop up: feeds, stories on both Facebook and Instagram and even Facebook Marketplace. What's important with these ads is the call-to-action button, which will prompt and redirect customers to initiate a conversation with your business.

If you're a popular sports retail store, for example, and you've set up Instagram feed carousel ads to promote your new line of outdoor sneakers. Underneath the photos, you can add a click-to-chat button to encourage shoppers to take action and chat with your business, such as to figure out which sneaker is best suitable for their lifestyle or sport.

The benefits of click-to-chat ads on WhatsApp

Direct engagement

Click-to-chat WhatsApp ads make it easier and simpler for your customers and potential customers to contact you directly via WhatsApp. They can immediately engage with your business with a single click and receive answers to their questions or personal advice about the products listed in the advertisement, like in assisted sales.

Ease of use

There is no extra information needed. Customers can engage with your business without having to save your business phone number to their contacts. This ease of use means people will be more likely to engage with your business, increasing your audience.

WhatsApp's click-to-chat feature allows you to begin a chat with someone without having their phone number saved in your phone's address book. As long as you know this person’s phone number and they have an active WhatsApp account, you can create a link that will allow you to start a chat with them. By clicking the link, a chat with the person automatically opens. Click to chat works on both your phone and WhatsApp Web.
- WhatsApp

Targeted ads and communication

Click-to-chat ads can engage shoppers at all funnel stages, from new customers with questions about your company or products and repeat purchases from loyal customers. Meta, the organisation behind Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, offers targeting features that let you direct ads to people at specific buying stages, so you can make the most out of your ad spend.

Company branding

Keep in mind that click-to WhatsApp advertisements are different from WhatsApp links, though their workings may be similar. Ads that click-to WhatsApp have the added benefit that you can show more company branding in the advertisement. This will help customers recognise your brand, which in turn will help you reach a wider audience.

Best practices for click-to-chat WhatsApp ads

Encouraging customers to click on your advertisements is just step one. Them engaging with your business over WhatsApp is a great opportunity to convert those conversations. But to do so, you have to nurture and build trust with your customers over messaging. Here are some best practices for success:

Keep your promises

Perhaps an obvious statement, but very important. If your ad promises something to the customers which encourages them it click, you have to make good on that promise shortly after the chat starts. Did you entice them to click on the advertisement with a promise of a discount code? Then provide them with the code. Promised to help them with questions about your products? Then don't divert them to a chatbot or employee who doesn't know how to handle these questions. Customers will close the chat just as easily as they started it, closing your window of opportunity.

Don't make them wait

Make sure customers who click on your ad can actually engage with your brand 24/7, or you'll risk losing these shoppers. Imagine that somebody clicks on your advertisement and then gets presented with an automated message that says: "Thank you for contacting us. We'll be with you shortly." Generally, customers will wait for approximately 5 to 10 minutes before they give up. Employing a WhatsApp chatbot can help retain these customers 24/7. A chatbot can:

• Answer simple questions to relieve pressure from your support team

• Provide product recommendations and share relevant resources

• Handover customers with complex questions to a live agent

Create new opportunities

When customers are directed to your business's WhatsApp channel, you have a golden opportunity to ask them for continued engagement - an opt-in. Customers who give you an opt-in permit you to contact them regularly about your business, so you can gently nudge them through the buying funnel.

How to start with WhatsApp Business Platform

Are you interested in offering your customers a personalised and conversational marketing experience? With the WhatsApp Business Platform, the business messaging tool for WhatsApp, your business will have access to ready-to-use WhatsApp features, amongst many other powerful features and tools for conversational commerce. Read more about the WhatsApp Business Platform below or contact our dedicated team to discuss your specific use cases.