The Common differents of Whats app Marketing and SMS Marketing
Certainly! Here’s a concise differentiation between WhatsApp marketing and SMS marketing:
WhatsApp Marketing:
- Rich multimedia: Supports text, images, videos, documents, voice messages, and stickers, allowing for more engaging content.
- Interactive features: Offers two-way communication, group chats, and broadcast lists, facilitating real-time engagement and customer support.
- Higher engagement: Users are more likely to open and respond to WhatsApp messages due to its personal and interactive nature.
- Targeted messaging: Allows for more precise targeting and segmentation based on user data, improving relevance and effectiveness.
- Compliance challenges: Requires adherence to stricter opt-in and privacy regulations, especially with the introduction of WhatsApp Business API.
SMS Marketing:
- Broad reach: Reaches a wider audience since it doesn’t require recipients to have smartphones or specific apps installed.
- Universality: Compatible with all mobile phones, making it accessible to virtually all mobile users regardless of device or network.
- Direct communication: Offers direct communication with recipients’ phone numbers, ensuring message delivery even without internet access.
- Simplicity: Simple and straightforward messaging format, suitable for quick notifications, alerts, and promotions.
- Regulatory considerations: Still subject to regulations, but generally less restrictive compared to WhatsApp, with opt-out mechanisms typically required.
The Limitations of Traditional SMS Marketing
- Limited Characters: SMS restricts messages to 160 characters, limiting the amount of information that can be conveyed.
- No Multimedia: Unlike WhatsApp, SMS doesn’t support rich media, making it less engaging.
- Cost Implications: Sending bulk SMS can be expensive, especially when targeting international audiences.
- Lack of Interactivity: SMS doesn’t offer interactive features like read receipts or instant feedback, making it a one-way communication channel.
WhatsApp’s Advantages Over Traditional SMS Marketing
- Global Reach: With over 2 billion users worldwide, WhatsApp provides a platform that transcends borders. A person sitting here in India can easily connect with someone in the US within seconds. In contrast, SMS marketing is often limited by network providers and regional restrictions.
- Click-through Rate: While WhatsApp & SMS have similar open rates, there is a huge difference between the level of engagement that both platforms bring to the table. WhatsApp messages have an average click rate of while SMS 25-40% has an average CTR of 2%.
- Rich Media: WhatsApp allows businesses to send images, videos, documents, and even voice messages. This multimedia approach is a stark contrast to the plain text format of SMS.
- End-to-End Encryption: Security is paramount in today’s digital world. WhatsApp offers end-to-end encryption, ensuring that your messages are only seen by the intended recipient. SMS, however, lacks this level of security.
- Interactive Features: From blue ticks that indicate a read message to the ability to create engaging polls, WhatsApp offers a plethora of interactive features that SMS simply can’t match.
How WhatsApp Marketing Can Increase Engagement
- Personalized Messaging: With AiSensy’s smart WhatsApp marketing tools, businesses can send personalized messages based on user behaviour, increasing the chances of engagement.
- Instant Feedback: WhatsApp’s real-time messaging allows for instant feedback, enabling businesses to address concerns or capitalize on positive feedback immediately.
- Group Chats & Broadcasts: Engage with a wider audience through group chats or send targeted messages using the broadcast feature.
- Chatbots & Automation: AiSensy’s advanced chatbot capabilities ensure that customers receive instant responses, even outside of business hours, enhancing user experience and engagement.
How to get started with WhatsApp Marketing?
The easiest way to get started with WhatsApp Marketing is via WhatsApp Business App.
However, the Business App is suitable only for individual businesses or solopreneurs & has multiple restrictions including:
1. Broadcast limit of 256 uses/ day. Also, only those people will receive the Broadcast who have added you to their contacts.
2. No automation or Chatbot integration is available
3. No Green Tick branding
Countering such limitations is the WhatsApp Business API!
WhatsApp Business API allows you to counter such limitations & connect with hundreds & thousands of users in one go easily. While WhatsApp created the WhatsApp Business API, it didn’t create an interface to use the WhatsApp Business API.
That’s where AiSensy comes in! AiSensy is the Smartest WhatsApp Marketing Platform built on Official WhatsApp Business APIs helping 5000+ Businesses drive the power of WhatsApp Marketing for their businesses. Using AiSensy, you can:
- Broadcast messages to Unlimited users in one go
- Automate useful notifications via integrations
- Send product Catalogues to sell products on WhatsApp
- Automate 80% queries with Chatbot integration
