10 UNWRITTEN RULES FOR EFFECTIVE BRANDING ON WHATSAPP
I'd like to share 10 unwritten rules that will set you apart on WhatsApp. These are things you should do with your whatsApp in order to enjoy the best possible return on time and effort invested.
1. Use a professional headshot as your Display Picture (DP): For ease of identification, use the same picture across platforms. When you want to change it, change it across as well. This is to make it easy for people to identify you on other platforms as well as your WhatsApp. Avoid using promotional materials as your DP, thank God for status updates, put them there.
2. Avoid changing your Display Picture (DP) too often: WhatsApp is not ideally a picture sharing platform like Instagram. You can transfer files to people but an appropriate place to show your collection of photos is Instagram. Keep on your DP a decent professional headshot that matches your profession. Again, you have all the space to show what you have on your status.
3. Write a convincing 'About' Statement: Your 'About' statement is like your objective statement on your Curriculum Vitae (C.V) or your Unique Selling Point (USP) in your business plan. Use it to speak to the potential client about what you can help them achieve. I wrote "I can Train You To Turn Your Ideas Into Profitable Businesses".
4. Keep Your Full legal name as username: People cannot search for you on WhatsApp using your username but the name they saved your contact with. But when you are in WhatsApp groups with people who do not have your contact, this username is the first thing they see about you. Make it count.
5. Introduce Yourself To New Contacts: When you meet people offline and take their WhatsApp contacts, try to reach them as soon as possible and introduce yourself. Don't send 'Hi' and come back after one hour to say 'Good morning'. It's not hide and seek, do it the same way you would if you had met the person on the street.
6. Don't Add People To Your Broadcast Without Seeking Permission: The fact that you have your boss' number doesn't mean he's your friend. Respect people's privacy. Ask people whether they'd love to be in your broadcast list. It's simple courtesy.
7. Don't add people to groups without informing them: The fact that you have someone's contact and can text them at will doesn't mean you can decide where they hang out. Whether it's your cousin, friend or colleague at work, timeless counsel suggests that you seek permission and wait till you're given the go-ahead before you add them.
8. Use Your Status Wisely: It is true that WhatsApp doesn't let you advertise. I cannot directly foretell that we'll be having sponsored ads on WhatsApp (Even though I'll like it very much) but a cheap way to advertise on WhatsApp is via status. It's your own billboard where you showcase your life, ideals, brand and what have you. Use it to inform, educate, entertain and ultimately transform society.
9. Join meaningful groups: one of the ways to ensure your soul receives adequate nutrition is by hanging with the right people. The ecosystem you create around you determines what enters into your system. Look for meaningful groups that discuss issues that will help you learn, grow and earn.
In groups, don't be a passive member. I remember some time ago, one of our vibrant youth leaders here in Ghana by name Patrick Fynn created a WhatsApp group for young leaders to connect, interact and grow. When I joined the group, I introduced myself and waited for others to do the same. I was keenly following the introduction. Anytime I found someone with a profile that relates to what I do, I would reply and ask to connect with them. So we would go on and exchange private messages and continue from there.
A number of people from that group have attended my trainings, signed up for my coaching programs, invited me to speak at their conferences and some hired me as their business consultant. How did it all start? It was through purposeful engagement and connection.
10. Focus on getting more WhatsApp contacts: if you want to make money on WhatsApp, you must make sure you have a great share of two billion
people using the app. The truth has always remained that, wherever there are numbers, people are willing to spend. So try as much as possible to get people into your WhatsApp. I have a few ideas to help you achieve that:
- Ask for people's WhatsApp numbers instead of their call numbers: It is true that most people have just one phone number which doubles as their WhatsApp number but in this technological era, people have realized that smartphones carry so much computing power. So they do a lot on their phone -- hence carry more than one. This makes it highly possible for them to have separate numbers for phone and WhatsApp.
In order to achieve your aim of increasing your WhatsApp contacts, be sure what you take is a WhatsApp contact and not a phone contact.
- Offer free stuffs on WhatsApp: Free stuff are a good way to bring people along so you can grow your platform, reach them again and again thereby growing your brand and making better sales. Use it!
- Close deals on WhatsApp: most people are careful about giving out their emails these days. They feel it's their private contact so they only make it available when it's very important. That's why you need to be a step ahead. Send links in your ad copy that will channel your leads into your WhatsApp. Why WhatsApp? I think because they are closer to their phones than they are to their computers. Open rate and time spent per day is crazy!
Which of these ideas would you like to try first?
Go make money so we can transform the world.
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