WhatsApp Channels: The what, why and how

WhatsApp Channels has landed in Europe and is making waves across eCommerce. What is it and who is it for? And the big one – how do you use WhatsApp Channels with charles for your marketing?

Here we explain what WhatsApp Channels is, how it works, and why it's better used as an addition to your WhatsApp Marketing strategy (not the main event).

What is WhatsApp Channels?

WhatsApp Channels is a recent addition to the WhatsApp Business offering.

It enables people and organizations to broadcast messages to large amounts of people for free and is now available in many countries across the world.

It's a useful tool for certain use cases but doesn't offer rich analytics or audience segmentation. In addition, messages don't sit in customers' feed next to family and friends as they do when you use the WhatsApp Business API.

WhatsApp Channels is a way for people people and organizations to broadcast news to many users at once

Think of WhatsApp Channels as a “public feed" that lets you send news and updates to many people simultaneously. The same message is sent to everyone, and people can respond with emoji reactions or a vote in a poll.

Customers find WhatsApp Channels in their “Updates” tab. Browse the Channels with the "Find Channels" button, tap "Follow" and updates will appear a bit like a Facebook or Instagram feed. 

Is WhatsApp Channels now available for my business?

WhatsApp Channels is available for many countries across the world.

After initial testing from Meta in Colombia and Singapore from June 2023, it was launched in 150 countries globally in September 2023 – including Germany, Italy and the UK.

It's still early days and we cannot say right now how it will develop in terms of functionality and cost.

Is WhatsApp Channels free?

Right now WhatsApp Channels is free for businesses. It's possible Meta may monetize it in future.

What can I do with WhatsApp Channels?

As an individual or organization, you can publish updates to customers on WhatsApp. 

Brands can create a WhatsApp Channel and allow people to follow it, similar to an Instagram feed.

It's a simple broadcast tool for companies to send out news to large numbers of people at the same time and have them react to it via emojis.

See our article about how to create a WhatsApp Channel for your brand.

Who uses WhatsApp Channels?

Soccer teams, media outlets and creators are some of the biggest potential users of WhatsApp Channels.

These are organizations and companies that have a big following and who are hugely interested in hearing news from them.

For companies, especially brands, that want to nurture customers, host VIP programs and grow long-term relationships, WhatsApp Channels might not be suitable as the centrepiece of a WhatsApp strategy.

Should I use WhatsApp Channels?

The answer depends a bit on how you’re thinking of using it, as well as the limitations of the channel (we’ll outline these below for you). Ultimately, Channels is not designed to be a driver for sales or to collect data as an orchestrated channel within your CRM tech stack.

Integrations, automations, interactive flows and extensive performance tracking are not possible via Channels like they are via the API. But that doesn’t mean it won’t make a great addition to your holistic marketing strategy, especially as Channels is currently still free.

How can I use WhatsApp Channels within my marketing strategy?

Here are some ways you can use WhatsApp Channels to amplify your WhatsApp marketing efforts:

• Grow your community: Share content that doesn’t have to “perform” or that’s not connected to revenue (e.g. soccer clubs sharing community news with their fans)
• Collect feedback: Collect community feedback based on emoji reactions
• Create hype: Get people excited for an upcoming release or campaign (then send via charles as a private 1-to-1 message)
• Collect opt-ins: Use Channels as a driver for opt-in collection 
• Maximize reach: Send out public promotional codes

What are the limitations?

WhatsApp Channels is a useful tool but we would say the functionality of the WhatsApp Business API is still valuable for businesses of a certain size:

• No targeting: you have to send the same message to all followers, without segmentation 
• Only 1-way interactions: customers can’t reply to you or ask questions to your shared content
• Limited data: insights in Channels is limited to follows, unfollows, accounts reached and top regions reached, whereas with the API, you can assess open rates, click-through rates, revenue per conversation and more 
• Not connected via the API: this means it’s not accessible through charles or any other software
• Limited visibility: the broadcasts only appear under “Updates” and notifications are off by default. Posts are also deleted after 30 days
• No end-to-end encryption

Here's a quick summary of what you can do with charles compared with WhatsApp Channels:

To sum up: the charles view on WhatsApp Channels

WhatsApp Channels is a great tool for complementing your marketing strategy, brand awareness, and community engagement.

Next to its native branding potential, we see 2 major benefits of using WhatsApp Channels as an addition to your WhatsApp marketing strategy.

1. Generate hype around upcoming exclusive WhatsApp deals by sending out a mass communication via Channels first. By doing this you can 👇
2. Build subscribers for your private 1-to-1 deals sent via charles directly to the main, private inbox

Talk to us about charles and Channels

We’re excited by the launch of Channels, because it supports what we’ve known all along – brands can use WhatsApp to get closer to customers.

If you have questions about how charles with WhatsApp Channels could boost your sales and customer relationship,  talk to us – our team of experts are ready to help you make the best out of both channels.

Please keep in mind that channels is not connected to the API and thereby cannot be orchestrated via charles software or any other software. It also requires a separate phone number (as of our last check made in September 2024).