How to use a WhatsApp marketing strategy for education (with chatbots)

The new generations flee from phone calls and e-mails, they feel impersonal and distant. And if we take into account that these generations are the ones who are in the process of training, it is important to use the channels they already use.

Therefore, a WhatsApp marketing strategy for education is what you need to attract more students.

Intro

This is why companies are starting to focus on new marketing channels such as WhatsApp.

The open rate of an email reaches 20% while the open rate of a WhatsApp message can reach 98%.

And email inboxes are becoming clogged with unread messages.

This is why companies are starting to focus on new marketing channels such as WhatsApp.

Entry points

With more than 2 billion users on WhatsApp, it is very likely that your future students are there.

However, reaching them is not easy if you haven’t had a first contact.

You need to guide them with entry points so that they take the initiative to open a conversation with you.

Entry points can be of two types:

Organic

• Webpage: on your web page you can include a button that directs to a WhatsApp conversation or a WhatsApp widget to start a conversation.
• Social media: in your social media posts you can include a wa.me link (link that opens the app or WhatsApp web) so that when clicked it directs users to a conversation. You can also include your WhatsApp number in your bio or profile.
• QR code: you can create a code that opens a WhatsApp conversation by scanning it. It can be in print or digital media.

Paid

• Social media ads: Facebook and Instagram allow you to add the option to include a click-to-chat button.
• Search engine ads: Google, Bing… wherever you want to advertise your product or service, you can add a link that opens a WhatsApp conversation.
• Traditional advertising in physical media: you can include a QR code on billboards and other paid advertising.

Entry points, both organic and paid, can direct to a chatbot or WhatApp live chat.

Lead generation

WhatsApp is an excellent channel to meet interested people, collect their data and learn about their interests.

Let’s see some advantages of using WhatsApp for lead generation:

• Collect personal information to export to your CRM.
• Send a lead magnet (PDF, video, image) with information about your institution, courses, scholarships, etc. immediately.
• Open a live chat for one of your agents to continue the process.

You can download the ready-to-use chatbot template here.

Product recommendation chatbot

One situation that may arise is that interested parties are still not clear about which course to take.

In these cases they will want to contact you to receive a recommendation and see the different options.

Solve this with a chatbot that can:

• Recommend courses immediately, organized by categories using interactive messages.
• Have an agent come in to answer questions via live chat.

You can download the ready-to-use chatbot template here.

Lead qualification chatbot

• Who they are
• Their interests
• If they already know your institution or if it is the first time they contact you

In addition, once they complete the mini-form, they can request a meeting or talk to an agent.

You can download the ready-to-use chatbot template here.

The best of all? You can automate nurturing campaigns with interactive chatbots. Let’s see how.

Newsletter chatbot

Push notifications allow you to carry out the strategy, while this chatbot takes care of managing subscriptions to the different topics.

This way your messages will reach the people who are really interested, and you will have the opportunity to strengthen interactions with students.

You can download the ready-to-use chatbot template here.

Contest chatbot + prize

Another way to attract students is through interactive campaigns.

One option is to run a contest to win a free session, or a 10% discount with a course using a chatbot.

Let’s take an example: You have a language academy. This is the ideal opportunity to set up the chatbot to ask questions about vocabulary, grammar or expressions and the users who answer everything correctly receive the prize.

You can download the ready-to-use chatbot template here.

Pro tip: you can also use this chatbot to conduct exams or mock exams in class.

To sum up

Using the different conversational solutions of this channel you will be able to attract more students to your educational institution.