Table of Contents
- Why WhatsApp can be the ideal marketing tool for the education industry?
- How to use WhatsApp as a powerful marketing tool for your institute?
- Create an Enterprise Account
- Build a database of contacts
- Create a WhatsApp group
- Personalise your messages
- Leverage WhatsApp Bot
- Use multimedia content
- Unleash the full potential of WhatsApp with CRM integration
- To Sum Up
Conversation 1
Person A: “Hi, can you help me with your number?”
Person B: “Yeah, sure, here you go.”
Person A: “Is this your WhatsApp number?”
Person B: “No, I don’t have WhatsApp active on this number.”
Person A: “Then please share your WhatsApp number; it’s easy to reach out there.”
Conversation 2
Person A: “Hey, share the pictures of tomorrow’s party.”
Person B: “Yeah, I also want the pictures.”
Person C: “Okay, let me create a WhatsApp group of all of us; I will share the pictures there.”
Conversation 3
Person A: “Have you heard back from the client yet?”
Person B: “No, but I sent him a WhatsApp message yesterday.”
Person A: “That’s a good idea.”
Person B: “He is usually pretty responsive there.”
Person A: “I should also download it so we can all stay in touch more easily.”
In these conversations, it is evident that for reaching out, maintaining contact, or sharing media, WhatsApp is a preferred choice. Currently, WhatsApp is one of the most popular instant messaging apps globally, with over 2 billion active users.
Why WhatsApp can be the ideal marketing tool for the education industry?
For a thriving educational institute like yours, this question is crucial. Claims must be supported by concrete facts and data. Fortunately, there is increasing evidence that WhatsApp is an effective marketing channel for educational institutions.
Below are some statistics that support this assertion:
- A survey by Pearson found that 77% of high school and college students use messaging apps like WhatsApp to communicate with classmates and teachers.
- The Mobile Ecosystem Forum found that WhatsApp has a higher open rate than email, with 70% of WhatsApp messages being opened compared to 25% of email messages. This suggests that WhatsApp may be more effective for reaching prospective students than email marketing campaigns.
- In India, 86% of teachers use WhatsApp for educational purposes, according to EdTechReview. This indicates that WhatsApp is an effective way to reach educators in this market.
- WhatsApp allows for highly targeted and personalized marketing messages, as users can be grouped based on demographic information and other data points. This helps educational institutions deliver relevant messages to specific audiences, increasing engagement and conversion rates.
How to use WhatsApp as a powerful marketing tool for your institute?
With over 2 billion active users worldwide, cross-platform compatibility, free messaging, end-to-end encryption, group messaging, and media sharing capabilities, WhatsApp offers a versatile and cost-effective way to reach a wide audience.
By leveraging personalized and targeted messaging, educational institutions can engage with prospective students, parents, and other stakeholders more effectively.
Here’s how you can use WhatsApp for targeted marketing:
1. Create an Enterprise Account
The first step to leveraging WhatsApp for targeted education marketing is to create an enterprise account. This is essential because an enterprise account provides you with the necessary tools and features to connect with your target audience efficiently. For instance, sending personalized messages to a large number of students can be daunting and time-consuming.
With an enterprise account, you can streamline this process and send one-to-one messages to thousands of students simultaneously. Ultimately, having an enterprise account empowers you to enhance your education marketing efforts.
To open a verified account on WhatsApp, you will need to work with one of WhatsApp’s approved business solution providers, such as Twilio or Gupshup. These providers help set up your account and offer ongoing support and guidance on using the platform effectively.
Organisations must meet certain requirements to use the WhatsApp Business API, including having a Facebook Business Manager account, verifying their business phone number, and complying with WhatsApp’s policies and guidelines.
For institutions that meet these criteria, SoftWaveHub is the perfect solution. With SoftWaveHub, setting up an enterprise account is easy and hassle-free. We handle all the necessary steps, allowing you to leverage our powerful platform to connect with prospective students and their parents effectively.
2. Build a database of contacts
With your account ready, the next step is to build a database of contacts. It’s crucial to have a clean database with relevant people, as an improper database can lead to wasted resources, higher costs, lower conversion rates, and less effective marketing campaigns.
To build this database, collect contact information from various sources, such as website registrations, social media profiles, admission applications, event registrations, and other marketing campaigns. You can also ask existing students, alumni, and staff members to share their contacts. Ensure that the data collected is accurate and relevant.
Once you have a database of contacts, segment it into different categories. Segmenting data will help create targeted campaigns for specific stages of the prospect’s engagement, such as hot leads, cold leads, etc.
Keep your database regularly updated, including updating contact information or adding new data fields to reflect changes in the industry.
3. Create a WhatsApp group
One of the best ways to connect with your target audience on WhatsApp is by creating a WhatsApp group. You can create a group for each course, program, or event you want to promote. This allows you to communicate directly with participants and answer their queries in real-time. You can also use the group to share course materials, updates, and other relevant information.
Is this really working?
- The University of Glasgow in Scotland created a WhatsApp group for international students who received an offer to study at the university. The group is run by current students who answer questions and provide support for incoming international students, fostering a sense of community and belonging.
- BITS Pilani, a leading Indian university, created a WhatsApp group for parents and students to interact with the admissions team and get their queries resolved in real-time.
- Ashoka University in India created a WhatsApp group for each incoming batch of students, managed by current students who provide information about the university and answer questions from incoming students.
4. Personalise your messages
When sending messages on WhatsApp, it is essential to personalize your messages to make them more engaging and relevant. Address your prospects by their names and use their previous interactions with your institution to craft personalized messages. This helps build a stronger connection with your prospects and increases your chances of converting them into students.
Even simple reach-out and follow-up templates can add a sense of personalization, for example:
Hi [prospective student’s name], I hope you’re doing well! We noticed that you’ve shown interest in our university’s [program or course name]. Would you like to learn more about it or have any questions you’d like to ask?
You can also share the success stories of your alumni to gain the attention of prospective students, such as:
Hi [prospective student’s name], We wanted to share some recent success stories from students in our [program or course name] with you. We think you could have similar success and would love to chat more about how our program could benefit you.
Some universities that are already using personalized messages for targeted students include Vinay Hari, Desh Bhagat University, MIT ADT, Sharda University, Yes Germany, Amity University, and Ashoka University.
5. Leverage WhatsApp Bot
WhatsApp bots can automate the admission process by handling inquiries, providing necessary information, and guiding students through the application process. The bot can be programmed to provide personalized information based on a student’s interests and queries, helping build a relationship with the student and increasing their likelihood of converting into an enrollment.
With WhatsApp bots, students can receive instant responses to their queries, even outside of regular business hours, providing a seamless experience that can contribute to their satisfaction and likelihood of enrolling.
WhatsApp bots are also great for collecting data from prospective students, such as their contact information, interests, and academic history. This data can be used to build student profiles, enabling you to better understand your prospects and design targeted marketing strategies.
An example of this is MIT Art Design and Technology, which launched a WhatsApp bot powered by SoftWaveHub to help prospective students with their queries related to admissions, courses, and campus life. The chatbot provided personalized responses and sent important updates and reminders to students via WhatsApp. The campaign was highly successful and helped the university increase its engagement with prospective students.
6. Use multimedia content
WhatsApp supports various multimedia formats, such as images, videos, and audio. You can use these formats to create engaging content that resonates with your audience, grabbing their attention and making your messages more memorable.
For example:
- Create short videos showcasing your campus, faculty, and student life to improve understanding.
- Use images and infographics to highlight the features and benefits of your courses, making them more attention-grabbing.
Universities using multimedia content include:
- SRM Institute of Science and Technology, which provides students with virtual tours of their campus and facilities via WhatsApp.
- Manipal Academy of Higher Education, which conducts virtual career fairs on WhatsApp, allowing students to interact with employers and explore job opportunities.
- Amity University, which conducts online competitions and quizzes on WhatsApp, encouraging student participation and boosting engagement with the university.
- Christ University, which shares video testimonials from alumni and current students on WhatsApp, showcasing their experiences and achievements at the university.
Unleash the full potential of WhatsApp with CRM integration
Combining
WhatsApp with a robust Education CRM can address several challenges:
- Lack of organisation: A CRM helps keep track of leads and their progress through the admissions process, maintaining accurate records of communications with each prospective student by storing all communication history in one place.
- Limited automation: A CRM can automate communication with each lead, saving time and increasing the efficiency of your counselors. You can set up personalized WhatsApp campaigns with a CRM, ensuring the right message reaches the right person at the right time.
- Inability to track engagement: A CRM can track the engagement level of each lead, showing which campaigns are working and which are not, allowing you to adjust your approach accordingly.
- Risk of errors: A CRM can minimize the risk of errors by eliminating the need for manual data entry, ensuring all information is accurate and reducing the chance of sending incorrect information to prospective students.
To Sum Up
WhatsApp is a game-changer for targeted marketing. By building a database of contacts, creating personalized messages, using multimedia content, and leveraging the WhatsApp bot, you can create a strong connection with your prospects and effectively promote your institution, courses, and events.
SoftWaveHub provides you with all the exclusivity of WhatsApp, backed up with a robust CRM. From creating a verified WhatsApp enterprise account with a green tick to providing you with all the reports at your fingertips, SoftWaveHub has it all.
