Attract students with WhatsApp entry points

Generate sales opportunities using the channel that people of formative age already use: WhatsApp.

 THE CHALLENGE

It is no secret that new generations communicate differently. Technology has advanced so fast that in just a few years we have gone from sending SMS, to sharing the BlackBerry pin, to talking via WhatsApp.

And if we talk about people after the year 2000, we can say that they were born with a cell phone in their hands.

It doesn’t matter our age. More and more people check WhatsApp several times a day, ignore calls and the mail inbox is cluttered with messages to read.
What does this mean for businesses?

Traditional channels that were once used to attract and nurture customers no longer work as they once did.

The problem

Let’s imagine you have a language school.

Every time you open the admissions period in your educational institution or launch a new course, you send e-mails to people who have shown some interest in what you offer.

However, you find that:

20%

Open rate

3%

Click rate

0,14%

Conversion rate

20%

Open rate

3%

Click rate

0,14%

Conversion rate

When you see these results you realize the need to find new channels to generate sales opportunities, which will also allow you to reach people who are not in your database.

 THE SOLUTION

As we’ve mentioned and as you know from personal experience, your student demographic uses WhatsApp several times a day. And this makes the messaging app the ideal channel to reach them and drive leads.

 The results

Some results you can get with WhatsApp are:

90%

Open rate

40%

Click rate

3%

Conversion rate

90%

Open rate

40%

Click rate

3%

Conversion rate

You may now be asking yourself: “how do I drive traffic to WhatsApp?”

For this there are entry points, i.e. the doors through which a user can contact you.

Let’s look at the different types you can use:

Organics

These do not involve a fee and users can find them on their own when interacting with your institution. Some examples are:

  • Link wa.me in social networks (publications, profile, etc.)
  • Phone number on social media profile
  • “Talk to us” page

 

Paid

We find these entry points in advertisements. By their very nature, they require economic investment, and can be:

  • Social media and search engine ads with click-to-chat.
  • Traditional advertising, i.e. QR code on billboards.

 

Others

  • QR code on brochures, posters and digital publications.

Examples

We’ve already introduced you to the theory, now let’s look at some ways to make the most of entry points in your WhatsApp strategy:

  • Posting on social networks with wa.me link + chatbot
    Create a social media post about the opening of enrolment with a wa.me link, which directly opens a conversation in the app for interested parties. If you connect a chatbot, you can automatically manage queries and send information about the different courses.
  • Network advertising with click-to-chat button + live chat
    Another idea is to launch an ad on social networks promoting a new course with a click-to-chat button that leads to a WhatsApp conversation. Once the conversation is opened, an agent can talk to the user, solve their doubts and even close a sale.
  • QR code on brochure + chatbot + live chat
    With a QR on an information brochure you can start a conversation on WhatsApp. The chatbot can be in charge of collecting the data of the person interested in registering for a course. In this way, the human agent will have useful information at hand to facilitate the opportunity to close a sale.

Good practices

Once you get people interested in reaching your WhatsApp channel, it is important that you take into account the following aspects:

  • WhatsApp is an asynchronous channel, meaning that users can respond at their convenience. However, it is important that your agents respond as quickly as possible for a better experience.
  • Make sure your messages are short and conversational, like a message you would send to a friend or family member.
  • If you want to start a conversation with a person you must have their consent (called opt-in).
  • Use emojis, stickers and multimedia elements to make the conversation more dynamic.
E-book: How to make the most out of WhatsApp in education

Conclusions

WhatsApp is the channel we use every day to communicate, and it is also the ideal place to reach your future students and offer them a better user experience.

If you want to know more advantages and ways to use WhatsApp in your educational institution…

Download our ebook

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