Nowadays, WhatsApp is the most popular social media platform in the Netherlands. This, combined with the versatility of the app, makes WhatsApp an interesting platform for communication professionals and online marketers. However, the use of WhatsApp as a marketing channel is still very limited. A major factor in this is that, to prevent privacy violations, consent is always required. Despite this hurdle, WhatsApp marketing is interesting and full of possibilities, but what falls under WhatsApp marketing and how do you proceed?


WhatsApp marketing is an umbrella term for all campaigns that run via WhatsApp and companies that use WhatsApp to carry out marketing and publicity actions. This can take various forms. For example, companies have used WhatsApp to send out a newsletter, to enhance the product experience (even) further, or as personal customer service. Below you can read about the possibilities.

It is important for a company to be there for its customers when they have questions, complaints, or want more information. Many different channels are already being used when it comes to customer service. For example, many companies have a contact form, phone number, and email address on their website. Additionally, social media channels such as Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn are utilized.

WhatsApp (Business) can also be used to support customer service and has interesting advantages. For instance, by setting up automatic messages, you can help customers quickly and easily, you can track statistics, and the threshold for customers to send a WhatsApp message is much lower than to make a call. With Wappy, our WhatsApp widget, you can easily set up WhatsApp as customer service on your own website.

WhatsApp is excellent for sending personal messages to segmented groups of recipients. You can create distribution lists with a maximum of 250 people per list. This allows you to send a message to 250 people at the same time, without these people having to be in one group together or seeing each other's responses. By using WhatsApp Business in this way, you can inform customers about interesting offers, news, or upcoming events.

For a while, WhatsApp was also used to send newsletters (bulk messages), but WhatsApp Inc put a stop to that in December 2019. Companies are allowed to communicate via WhatsApp about order, transaction, or appointment information, about deliveries and shipments, and about product and service updates. Companies may also send marketing messages about offers that customers may be interested in. It is important that consumers do not have a spam-like experience and that companies ask for permission to send messages.

• It’s free!
• WhatsApp has end-to-end encryption, which ensures that the message can only be read by (you and) the recipient.
• Ability to provide fast and personalized customer service.
• WhatsApp has 1.3 billion monthly active users.
• Inform customers, improve relationships, and boost sales
• In addition to text, you have the option to send video, images, and/or audio recordings.
• One of the most popular social media platforms.

To start with WhatsApp marketing, it is useful to have a WhatsApp Business account for your company. How to create an account is explained in our blog about WhatsApp Business. Then it is important to pay attention to the following points:

• Always ask for permission from the user, so your messages are not seen as spam and you are not blocked by WhatsApp.
• Think carefully about your communication style and message. This should align with your company and the needs of the user, be relevant and error-free.
• Ensure attractive content. Send messages with striking and original texts, as long as this fits your company, and make use of visual elements such as images, videos, and gifs.
• Respond in a timely manner. The advantage of WhatsApp as customer service is that you are always reachable; responding too late negates this benefit.
• Do not misuse your WhatsApp contacts. Only send them messages that they are waiting for. You may quickly send too many.
• Link in your messages to your website or webshop.