People simply cannot live or work without WhatsApp! In early November, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that WhatsApp will become the next business outlet and launched a new function called “WhatsApp Communities “.
WhatsApp Communities allows users to organize and bring related groups together under one umbrella. Pay attention, business owners! VIMOS will share the latest WhatsApp trends with you regularly.
Introduction to WhatsApp Communities
Businesses should pay more attention to WhatsApp Communities than ordinary users, since the majority of them hold regular marketing activities. Engagements such as lectures and workshops aid in the expansion of new customer sources and the formation of WhatsApp groups. All of this leads to improved communication with prospective customers.
Community management, on the other hand, becomes a major issue when dealing with a large number of groups and activities. If not done properly, it may even harm the brand’s image among customers.
Following the update, businesses can now integrate up to 50 groups (excluding announcement groups) into a single community. Each community can have up to 5000 members and businesses can transmit messages to all of them at the same time. You can combine the company and customer groups into a single community. Members can also see links to other groups, which reduces the need for repetitive group openings.
If you are planning a small-to-medium webinar for more than 500 people, you may need to create multiple groups. Why? It is because you need to communicate with the participants and assign specific colleagues to answer their questions.
The ability to uniformly update information for all group members is the most important function of WhatsApp Communities. It saves time by not sending messages to each group individually and avoids transmitting messages to the wrong group. Take note, WhatsApp groups only have a maximum of 256 participants.
Further reading: Tips to Increase Customer Engagement via WhatsApp Broadcast
New Features of WhatsApp Communities
- Each community has a maximum of 50 groups (excluding announcement groups) and 5000 members
- Community Announcement Group – enables community administrators to send messages to all members
- Administrators can delete messages in the group
- Moderators can initiate polls
Further reading: 6 WhatsApp Business API Features brands can’t miss out on!
Is WhatsApp Communities enough for businesses?
WhatsApp Communities alone is not enough for effectively communicating with hundreds or even thousands of customers. Meta allows users to access WhatsApp Communities directly through the VIMOS platform, an official cloud hosting service for WhatsApp Cloud API. Meta’s WhatsApp Business API service can assist you in dealing with the app’s ever-expanding customer base.
Furthermore, the following features of the VIMOS Platform can help you improve the operational efficiency of your business.
- Using WhatsApp to integrate with other tools such as CRM, data analytics, and third-party apps
- Multi-person login
- WhatsApp broadcast or 1-to-1 Private Message
- Chatbot for WhatsApp and auto-reply
- Interactive buttons such as list message, quick-reply, Call-to-action, etc.
WhatsApp Communities vs WhatsApp Cloud API
WhatsApp Communities | WhatsApp Cloud API |
Admin manual reply | Automatic reply |
Group broadcast | One-to-one private message Has a daily limit of 1000 people |
Multiple community administrators can be added | One account can be used by multiple people |
Functions include deleting group messages and initiating voting. These are more suitable for groups such as schools and communities. | Multiple interactive buttons, such as list message, quick-reply, call-to-action, etc., can answer customers’ inquiries in real time. Customers can place orders directly through WhatsApp, which is more suitable for businesses.WhatsApp is the most popular app in Hong Kong, with 5.94 million users, far outnumbering Facebook’s 4.45 million. Surprisingly, people without email accounts use WhatsApp. In 2023, this social messaging software might follow in the footsteps of Facebook and become a popular marketing platform. If you have an online business, why not take advantage of this great opportunity, right? |
Marketing is more important than ever before, as competition rises and online advertising becomes more expensive.
Promotional tools and methodologies are necessary if you want your customers to be aware of your products and services. VIMOS not only assists users in applying for WhatsApp Business API. It also provides an easy-to-use application programming interface that supports desktop and mobile app versions.
Without any programming or software development skills, businesses can easily enjoy the stable and efficient extended functions of WhatsApp Business API.
Click the inquire button and get in touch with VIMOS to learn more. Book a 15-minute demo with us and enjoy additional discounts, along with a free 7-day trial!
