Untitled

Late last year, there was talk of WhatsApp introducing a separate app for businesses. On Thursday the instant messaging platform officially announced the launch and roll-out of the business version of the app – WhatsApp Business. This application being rolled out in phases. As at the time of writing this article, WhatsApp Business was available in USA, Britain, Mexico, Indonesia and Italy with India being the latest country to have access to this application.

WhatsApp Business can be a potent marketing tool considering that WhatsApp is “the go-to Social Media platform” for most Ghanaians. In this week’s article we look at ways in which businesses might benefit from the features of WhatsApp Business.

What is unique about WhatsApp Business?

WhatsApp Business is built on top of WhatsApp Messenger and includes all the features that you rely on, such as the ability to send multimedia, free calls*, free international messaging*, group chat, offline messages, and much more.

*Data charges may apply depending on your service provider.

According to WhatsApp, “WhatsApp Business is an Android app which is free to download, and was built with the small business owner in mind. With the app, businesses can interact with customers easily by using tools to automate, sort, and quickly respond to messages.”- WhatsApp

This is great news for most Ghanaian businesses. This is an opportunity to run your business off your mobile phone and run it in a space where most of your customers congregate.

Features

WhatsApp Business is free

All you need to do is to download it.

Advantages:

Reduces cost of sending out SMS for businesses

When dealing with another business the verification WhatsApp provides for businesses will let you have some degree of assurance about the authenticity of that business

It may reduce the need for your small business to pay for an app to be created for it and may take away the complexities of operating an app for your business

  You can set up your profile

“Create a business profile with helpful information for your customers like your address, business description, email address, and website.”

Advantages:

Providing such detailed information about your business will help your prospects get a sense of brand (who you are)

It helps to build trust with your prospects and customers

Users will be comfortable dealing with you since they know it is a business and not someone seeking to scam them

  Access to messaging tools

There are two forms of messaging tools WhatsApp Business provides:

Instant replies – Quick replies let you save and reuse messages you frequently send so you can easily answer common questions in no time. This can be used for FAQs about your business. It can also be used as a “front desk” where you set customized greetings for people who contact your business.

Away tools – Set an away message when you are unable to answer so your customers know when to expect a response. You can also create a greeting message to introduce your customers to your business.

  You get statistics

“Access important metrics such as how many of your messages were successfully sent, delivered, and read.” You can turn this data to information which will help you to better understand your customers and offer better services.

   WhatsApp web

You can mirror the app on your desktop/laptop just like the ordinary app. You can more efficiently respond to your customers right from your computer’s browser. The bonus here is that unlike WhatsApp you can you can manage the service online, without a mobile app!

Landline/Fixed number support

 You can use WhatsApp Business with a landline (or fixed) phone number and your customers can message you on that number. During verification, select the “Call me” option to receive the code over a phone call.

Run both WhatsApp Messenger and WhatsApp Business

You can use both WhatsApp Business and WhatsApp Messenger on the same phone, but each app must have its own unique phone number.

   To run WhatsApp Business, you will need:

a smartphone that runs Android (it is not available on iOS yet)

and a number for registering on the service

Downloading WhatsApp Business

“Before downloading the app, please be aware of the following:

If you have an existing WhatsApp Messenger account, you’ll have the option to migrate your chat history to your new WhatsApp Business account. We recommend that you make a manual backupbefore proceeding.

Your chat history can’t be migrated back to WhatsApp Messenger if you decide to stop using WhatsApp Business.

You can use both apps, WhatsApp Business and WhatsApp Messenger. Each app, however, must be linked to its own unique phone number. It’s not possible to have one phone number linked to both apps at the same time.

The app is currently being rolled out to the world. If it’s not available now, please check Google Play Store again later.

Then:

Download WhatsApp Business from Google Play Store.

Verify your business phone number, the one you wish to use to talk to customers.

Restore your chat history, if you wish.

Set your business name.

Build your profile. Tap the Menu Button> Settings > Business settings > Profile.” – source: https://faq.whatsapp.com/en/general/26000095

Wrapping up

I hope that this article will prepare you to make the most out of WhatsApp Business when it is finally available in Ghana. Whilst we wait for the “wonder” WhatsApp Business you can check out my blog post on “3 easy ways WhatsApp can make you extra productive”

Kindly leave your questions and comments below.

If you have a business and are wondering how to leverage Social Media for growth, get in touch! I will help you to figure it out!

Afehyia pa and welcome into 2018 dear readers! I wish you all the best the year has to offer as we embark on this journey of leveraging the Internet and Social Media for the growth of ourselves, our brands and businesses.

Have you touched the ground running or you are still hung over the holidays?

This week’s article is about navigation. Navigating must be seamless for us to be productive – read…

Afehyia pa and welcome into 2018 dear readers! I wish you all the best the year has to offer as we embark on this journey of leveraging the Internet and Social Media for the growth of ourselves, our brands and businesses.

Have you touched the ground running or you are still hung over the holidays?

This week’s article is about navigation. Navigating must be seamless for us to be productive – read…

WhatsApp has become the nation’s favourite Social Media platform for various reasons. It makes it easy to connect and share information. The very nature of WhatsApp also allows false information and scams to spread fast.

Last week, there was this one about some UK supermarket giants distributing vouchers and Toyota distributing cars (see figure 1 and 2). All the unsuspecting recipients of these…

Want to save a few cedis riding Uber? This blog posts shows you two things you can do!

Uber has disrupted the global transportation scene. The location-based smartphone application connects drivers with riders and has become an alternative to traditional taxis.

(more…)

3 easy ways WhatsApp can make you extra productive

It has recently been reported that Ghana now has the second highest mobile internet penetration in West Africa. According to a new report on Ghana’s mobile-enabled digital transformation, nearly half of the population can browse the internet via mobile devices. 67 per cent of Ghanaians are connected online by mobile phones according to the Ghanaian Times story. I will like to stick my neck out…

Transforming your business by embracing digital innovations!

I had the honour of giving a presentation during the First National General Insurance Conference 2017. it took place at Labadi Beach Hotel in Accra on Thursday 19th October.

The theme for the conference was “Transforming the General Insurance Industry in Ghana through Self-Regulation, Financial Capacity and Business Innovation.

I spoke on “Transforming the General Insurance Industry in Ghana…

This week we explore how we can use Pinterest for collaboration and inspiration!

  Pinterest as a Collaboration tool:

Pinterest can be a tool for collaborating and sharing. Invite team members to your board so that they can also add their ideas to boards. You can invite people to both public and private boards. Use such boards for planning and brainstorming with your team/customer(s). You can also send ideas to your customers and prospects via Pinterest or share Pins, boards, or profiles to external platforms like Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and even text messages.

To collaborate:

Go to the board you want to edit or create a new board by clicking Add >

Add a Board up at the top toolbar on Pinterest.

On the board’s settings menu, select “Me + Contributors.”

You must follow at least one board belonging to a user in order to add him/her as a contributor.

Pinterest as a Virtual Inspiration Board

Back in the day, we used vision boards for inspiration. We would cut out pictures from magazines and glue on a piece of cardboard as a tool to help clarify, concentrate and maintain focus on a specific life goals. Pinterest can be your virtual inspiration board. You can create boards for your goals and aspirations. The Pinterest “tried it” allows you to keep track of all the ideas you have tried. What’s more “you can even add feedback, notes and photos to help others decide if they should give it a go too.”

I have seen a Huffington Post article based on an academic study (by Hiroshima University) in 2012. The study claimed “viewing cute things improves subsequent performance in tasks that require behavioral carefulness, possibly by narrowing the breadth of attentional focus “. It stated further that charming images “induce careful behavioral tendencies in the users, which is beneficial in specific situations, such as driving and office work “. According to the study participants who looked at the pictures of cute animals, increased their performance in concentration tasks by 44%!

How do the pictures below make you feel?

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Pinterest also has a feature called tried where you can share the pins you have tried and give feedback on the results including images of your results. This can help you keep track of your accomplishments on Pinterest. This may help you to achieve goals you set on Pinterest.

How to turn your Pinterest Boards into PDF  

There may be times where you will need to access your Pinterest boards offline or even print them out. Let me share two ways you can do this.

Find the board you would like to print out

Press “Control P” or use the print in the browser toolbar

At the options/destinations in the print dialogue box change to save PDF

Name the file and save the PDF on your computer

Convert a Pinterest board to PDF.

There is a content curation platform  called Clipzine.me  which can also help you turn your boards into PDF. What you need to do is:

Create a free account at Clipzine.me

Add the Clipzine.me bookmarklet to your browser tool bar

Open the Pinterest board you want to curate as a PDF or JPEG

Click the Clipzine.me bookmarklet tool and you will then have the opportunity to select multiple pins from your Pinterest board

You can reorganize the content of your curated pages including identifying which page is to be the cover of your PDF or JPEG

Edit and style the content including setting the style of your fonts

You can then download the Clipzine you have curated from your Pinterest board images as a JPEG or PDF file – the PDF will have a live link back to your Pinterest board

  Wrapping up

Pinterest is an interesting platform which can help you do more if properly harnessed. Bookmark your visuals and links to things you care about and Pinterest will help you to organize, reference, compare, or share with other people.

If you have any questions or comments on using Pinterest for productivity send me a message on WhatsApp and any of my other Social Media accounts. I will love to help you and get feedback about this article.  Have a super-productive week!

Sources:

http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0046362

4 easy ways Pinterest can make you extra productive – part 1

The headline above may seem counter-intuitive. Social Media can be a huge distraction. However, I choose to liken Social Media to fire. It can be an excellent servant or a horrible master. That depends on how you use it.

(more…)

INCREASE YOUR CHRISTMAS SALES 3 Last-minute social media tactics you should bank on

  There are only a few days left in the countdown to Christmas! Making the most out of your online presence these holidays can be challenging. News about your deal, special event or new product can be drowned in the sea of online noise, louder especially during the holiday season.

(more…)

4 innovative ways your brand can use SMS marketing this Christmas

Christmas is a few days away and most businesses are making frantic efforts to promote their offers to prospects and customer. Have you considered the power of text marketing during this period? Leveraging mobile is essential if you want to promote your product/service and grow your business.

(more…)

Why Our World Would End Without Sponsored Data

We are in the digital revolution but the renaissance has not been equally distributed worldwide. We in Africa find ourselves cut off and in the dark when it comes to the technological leaps the internet has brought the world over.  I believe the future of Africa is online. The Internet is a huge, unquestionable force for economic growth and social change. We need the Internet to aid our…

3 Facts Wikipedia won’t tell you about Mobile data sponsorship

Wikipedia, the free open content online encyclopedia has become a go-to source for information on almost anything and everything. Conduct a search for ‘Sponsored Data’ on Wikipedia and you come up with the following results “the page “Sponsored data” does not exist.” 

Wikipedia seems to be oblivious of the new wave of customer engagement and the business model where you give free…

How to build a business empire with sponsored data

The price tag on the attention of consumers is increasing dramatically! Marketers in today’s always-connected, information-rich world face an enormous challenge: a consumer’s brain can hold only so much information before it becomes fatigued. People’s attention spans have become unavoidable scarce as a result. Marketers are thus fighting big odds to reach and engage their audiences.

(more…)

Sponsored data, the way forward for digital inclusion in Ghana?

It is an accepted fact that the Internet has brought a huge revolution which has affected every sphere of our lives. We are no longer limited by physical boundaries, today almost everyone and everything is just a digital handshake away.

(more…)

2 Free Mobile Apps That Will Help You To Wow Your Customers

“The secret to success is to treat all customers as if your world revolves around them.” – Anonymous

We can all agree that having loyal customers is very important for the overall health of your business. However in today’s noisy and crowded advertising space, it is easy for customers to switch to a competing product or service. One of the ways to keep your customers coming back to you is to…