Effective business messaging is more crucial than ever for forging strong connections with consumers. A recent Business Messaging Usage Research by Kantar reveals that a significant 49% of Hong Kong consumers prefer using WhatsApp to communicate with businesses. While traditional “Click to WhatsApp ads” offer a direct path to conversation, Meta is enhancing how businesses can connect with audiences by first guiding them to a dedicated landing page before a chat begins. This approach, leveraging WhatsApp’s prowess as a vital business commerce tool, is designed to more effectively channel informed traffic and secure higher-quality leads.
What are “Website to WhatsApp Ads”?
“Website to WhatsApp Ads” are a specific ad format within Meta’s ecosystem. When a user clicks on such an ad on Facebook or Instagram, they are first directed to a designated landing page on the website. This page provides them with more detailed information about product, service, or offer. Crucially, embedded on this landing page is a clear Call-to-Action (CTA) button that, when clicked, directly initiates a WhatsApp conversation with business. This two-step flow differentiates it from standard Click-to-WhatsApp ads, which take the user straight from the ad to a WhatsApp chat.
Why use Website to WhatsApp Ads? Unlock key benefits for your business
This ad format is a strategic approach to lead generation and customer engagement, particularly beneficial for marketers. Here’s why you should consider integrating it into your campaigns:
Enhanced lead qualification & warmer conversations
By visiting a landing page first, potential customers can absorb more comprehensive information about your offerings. You can showcase detailed product specifications, service benefits, case studies, testimonials, or explainer videos. Those who then choose to initiate a WhatsApp chat are likely more informed, genuinely interested, and further along in the consideration phase. This pre-qualification means your sales or support teams engage with warmer, higher-intent leads, making conversations more productive.
Versatile customer engagement & nurturing
This format offers a versatile approach to engage customers who may need more information or support before they are ready to convert. The landing page can cater to various stages of the buyer’s journey, and the subsequent WhatsApp chat provides a direct line for personalised nurturing, answering specific questions, and overcoming objections.
Improved data & campaign insights
Directing traffic to a landing page first allows for more extensive data collection through tools like the Meta Pixel and Google Analytics. You can track page views, time spent on page, bounce rates, and other valuable engagement metrics, even for users who don’t initiate a WhatsApp chat. This provides a fuller picture of ad performance and user behaviour.
Building long-term engagement via WhatsApp
For customers who aren’t ready to make an immediate purchase but do engage via WhatsApp after visiting your landing page, you gain a valuable “captured” audience. This opens the door for building longer-term relationships and re-engaging them with relevant updates and offers directly through a preferred communication channel.
WhatsApp broadcast enables businesses to send impactful messages to large, targeted customer lists simultaneously, achieving impressive open rates of up to 98%, significantly outperforming traditional methods like email. Through the official WhatsApp Business Solution Provider like Omnichat, you can leverage powerful customer segmentation to tailor these broadcasts, ensuring even mass communications feel personalised and relevant to specific audience groups, and schedule them for optimal delivery times, thereby automating your outreach with maximum efficiency.
A brief overview to set up “Website to WhatsApp Ads”
To set up Website to WhatsApp ads:
- Choose one of the following objectives: sales, leads, engagement, traffic, and awareness. Then, click Continue.
- Create a campaign name, then click Next.
- Select Website as your conversion location.
- Edit your budget, schedule, audience and placements, then click Next.
- Fill in the details of your ad creative and scroll down.
- In the Destination section, select Website and provide your landing page URL.
- Below Browser add-ons, select Messaging app > WhatsApp
(If your WhatsApp phone number is not already connected to a Facebook Page, click Connect account.) - Publish your ad.
Pro Tips:
- Optimise landing page: Ensure your landing page is mobile-friendly, loads quickly, and clearly presents the information and the WhatsApp CTA to ensure a seamless user experience.
- Enable WhatsApp chatbot for always-on support: Set up a WhatsApp chatbot and craft pre-set greeting messages for answering common enquiries instantly and providing 24/7 automated assistance.
Other messaging ad formats: Website to Messenger / Instagram Direct ads
These ad formats operate on a similar principle to their WhatsApp counterpart: they first direct users from a Facebook or Instagram ad to the business’s website or a dedicated landing page. Customers can either complete actions directly on the website or start a conversation with the business, capturing both ready-to-convert customers and those who need more information.
This is ideal for businesses that actively use Messenger or Instagram Direct as part of their customer communication strategy and rely on their website to drive deeper product/service consideration or online conversions.
Pro Tips:
- Set up auto-reply for Facebook and Instagram: Utilise Omnichat to set up intelligent auto-replies for incoming Messenger and Instagram Direct messages, ensuring users receive an immediate acknowledgment, answers to frequently asked questions, or guidance, even outside of business hours, significantly improving the customer experience.
- Manage leads in a central hub: Ensure all conversations initiated from these ads, including automated interactions, are consolidated within Omnichat’s unified inbox for efficient tracking, agent assignment, and consistent follow-up.
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