As instant messaging has become a cornerstone of daily communication, WhatsApp has emerged as the most popular messaging app, particularly in Asia. With over 800 million users in the region interacting with WhatsApp Business accounts in 2022 alone, this digital landscape offers a substantial opportunity for businesses aiming to tap into Asian markets.
Source: World Population Review
Put simply, if you’re trying to engage an audience in Asia, WhatsApp is a channel you cannot ignore. It’s an indispensable tool for everyone from education providers to technology companies, and more. All that said, WhatsApp marketing in Asia is far from simple. While WhatsApp is a singular tool, its usage and cultural context varies throughout the region meaning a one-size-fits-all approach is unlikely to be successful.
WhatsApp account types
There are three WhatsApp account types for organisations looking to set up an account for marketing and customer communication: a standard user account, a WhatsApp Business account, or a WhatsApp Business API account.
WhatsApp messenger is the standard WhatsApp user account most people are familiar with. However, it can only be used for one-to-one interactions and does not support broad marketing campaigns.
WhatsApp Business, while offering a suite of basic features such as creating a business profile, showcasing products and catalogues, and automating some messages, it falls short for businesses aiming to communicate at scale as it has significant limitations in reaching audiences above the size of 256 contacts.
The WhatsApp Business API on the other hand provides a powerful way to engage audiences at scale, loaded with features you won’t get in a standard WhatsApp Business account. Unlike standard accounts, WhatsApp Business API accounts do not come with a ready-made interface; instead, users must connect to the API through a Meta business partner. Enter the Sinorbis WhatsApp marketing software, equipped with WhatsApp Business API offering advanced tools designed to optimise customer engagement and operational efficiency.
A closer look at Sinorbis’ WhatsApp marketing software features
Broadcast messaging
With a WhatsApp Business account messaging, you are limited to only users who have saved your organisation’s number and additionally is limited to up to 256 users per broadcast.
On the Sinorbis Experience Platform, you unlock the ability to broadcast messages to unlimited contacts, allowing you to engage your audience at scale via outbound messaging.
Broadcast messages can be fully automated and personalised using customer data, and with segments, you can send tailored messages based on past interactions, preferences, or demographic information for maximum ROI and engagement. With an average open rate of 98% on WhatsApp, you can ensure you reach your audiences across Asia on the channel they frequently use.
There are a few key things to consider when thinking about executing a broadcast messaging strategy:
Conversations – This is a 24-hour period during which you can exchange unlimited messages. After the 24-hour period has elapsed, if you continue messaging this individual, it will start a new conversation. There are two ways to start a conversation’s 24-hour period:
- Your organisation initiates a conversation by responding to a message sent by someone to your WhatsApp account.
- You broadcast a message to your audience
Privacy & anti-spam regulation - One of the common questions we get is how to manage the broadcast functionality on WhatsApp given the complexity of data privacy regulation that exists across Asia.
The good news is that Sinorbis is compliant with the key data privacy frameworks in the West (such as GDPR) and in Asia (such as PIPL in China). More specifically, compliance with anti-spam regulation is built into how you can use the broadcasting functionality via pre-approved templates. Once submitted to and approved by Meta, you can use a pre-approved template to ask someone for permission to start a conversation. Once someone you’re messaging has opted in to a conversation you can continue the conversation normally without relying on a pre-approved template
Automation and chatbots
Sinorbis’ WhatsApp automation tool helps you make every interaction on WhatsApp more efficient and personalised, as research shows automations can increase your sales team capacity by 20%. In today’s market, not having chatbot functionality for your organisation puts you far behind the curve.
Automation on the Sinorbis platform goes far beyond just chatbots. You can also automate the assignment of prospects to custom segments or even assign prospects from a specific region to a representative of your choosing.
By automating these routine tasks, your team is free to focus on strategic projects. This results in a leaner operation where resources can be dedicated to areas that drive sales productivity and increase conversion.
Call-to-action buttons
By incorporating call-to-action (CTA) buttons within your messages, you enhance engagement and boost conversion rates significantly, with WhatsApp business users seeing clickthrough rates as high as 57%. These buttons allow recipients to navigate effortlessly to websites, landing pages, forms, or specific online resources optimized for your chosen locale in Asia with just a tap.
For businesses, this means elevated engagement metrics and expanded avenues for conversion. Whether it's promoting a special offer, unveiling a new product, or sharing an insightful blog post, CTA buttons guarantee that your targeted content is readily accessible to your interested audience with just a single click.
For example, your organisation can send a broadcast to invite contacts to a webinar with a “register now” CTA button. After clicking on the button, contacts can be directed to a form built on the Sinorbis platform where system integrations can register the user to the Zoom webinar and lead data is integrated to your CRM.
One-to-one messages with auto-translation
In the diverse linguistic landscape of Asia, communication can often become a barrier to effective digital engagement. The Sinorbis Experience Platform addresses this challenge head-on with our one-to-one messaging feature, equipped with auto-translation capabilities. This tool allows businesses to maintain real-time conversations with WhatsApp users speaking Bahasa Indonesia in Indonesia, Tagalog in the Philippines, and other Asian languages, regardless of language differences. Incoming messages are automatically translated, enabling representatives to understand and respond accurately in the customer's language. As always, while using the translation tool, it's recommended to cross-check translations with a native speaker for accuracy.
Messages to email
In today’s dynamic business environment, the ability to stay connected and respond to customer inquiries promptly is paramount, particularly with audiences from Asia who value prompt communication.
As the WhatsApp Business API interface is accessible via the Sinorbis platform not the WhatsApp mobile apps, messages to email allows you to manage your WhatsApp messages on the go as these messages can be automatically forwarded to a designated email address, ensuring your team can consistently engage with your contacts within the 24-hour conversation period that can be integrated with your existing workflows.
Benefits of Sinorbis' WhatsApp marketing software include:
- High volume messaging - One of the most important features of the WhatsApp Business API is the ability to send outbound “Broadcast” messages to your audience. This means you can invite prospects to a webinar, send notifications, push important alerts, and provide customer service messages at any scale.
- Easy integration with business tools - Our digital experience platform (DXP) can seamlessly capture lead information from WhatsApp with system integrations to with various organisational tools, streamlining operations and customer communications, such as Salesforce, Hubspot, Zoom and more.
- Real time customer support - Immediate messaging capabilities enable you to address customer inquiries, solve issues promptly, and improve overall satisfaction.
- Direct customer engagement - WhatsApp allows for personalised communication with customers, enabling you to offer tailored support, updates, and promotions directly to your audience’s phones.
- Increased trust and security - WhatsApp’s end-to-end encryption ensures that conversations between you and customers remain private, building trust in the platform.
- Automated messages and chatbots - WhatsApp Business API enables the use of automated greetings, responses, and chatbots to provide immediate customer service, even outside of business hours.
- Customer feedback and interaction - The platform facilitates easy collection of customer feedback through direct messages and interactive features like polls and surveys.
- Global reach with local presence - WhatsApp allows you to maintain a global presence while offering the familiarity and local relevance that Asian customers appreciate.
In conclusion, WhatsApp has become a pivotal platform for businesses aiming to engage with Asian audiences. However, leveraging WhatsApp effectively requires a nuanced understanding of its account types and features, as well as cultural sensitivities throughout the region. Sinorbis' WhatsApp marketing software offers a comprehensive solution tailored to these needs. To explore how this platform can elevate your business in Asia, request a demo today.
