WhatsApp is one of the most underused social media platform for selling. A lot of people think that it is a messaging application that can only be used to interact with friends and family, by text or voice notes. The truth is, it is also a great way to advertise your products and/or services. Becoming a Whatsapp influencer is a real thing and you can also learn how to become a WhatsApp influencer in Nigeria.
Moreover, those who have a lot of people on their contact list can become influencers and promote other people’s products. WhatsApp influencers get paid to talk about stuff, they are valuable because of the organic content they create. In this article, you will find out everything you need to know to build a following and leverage on that to earn money.
Businesses do not want to come off as too sales-ey. They want people to desire their product, and one way to do that effortlessly is to buy normative social influence. So, before we get into everything becoming a WhatsApp influencer entails and the benefits that come along with it, let us first find out what WhatsApp marketing is all about.
–
Put simply, WhatsApp Marketing is the process of using the WhatsApp application as a tool for advertising products and services to potential customers on a contact list. It is a relatively new channel for marketing but it is steadily getting larger in terms of popularity. More consumers and marketers are engaging with it. It is a mobile application for sending text messages and so is similar to the text messenger on a phone. It can, however, be used to send other documents beside text messages. And since it uses internet data, it is a lot cheaper than ordinary text messaging.
–
Why WhatsApp Is A Perfect Market
–
When it comes to messaging platforms right now, WhatsApp is the most popular, not just in Nigeria but in the world. According to Statista, its audience grew to a whooping 2 billion active users monthly in 2020. This is why it is a must have for brands and business that are looking to increase their customer base. In Nigeria, 28 million people are actively on social media and out of this, 93are on WhatsApp, making it the highest used social media platform.
Since more than half of the users on WhatsApp check their app everyday, marketing with WhatsApp helps businesses keep in touch with their customers on a daily basis. Also, it is almost impossible for your offer not to get across as messages have a 98% open rate. Using a messaging app for advertising is important because consumers trust brands and will readily buy from businesses they can chat with.
–
WhatsApp Marketing Strategy
–
Like every other social media platform, having a marketing strategy on WhatsApp will help you measure your business’s growth and optimize your marketing to sell more of your products.
The first thing to do is to have your business goals defined so you can focus your advertising around the goals and not waste time on unnecessary things. Secondly, know the kind of people who are likely to buy your products and get across to them when you are building your contact list. The third thing is to get the WhatsApp business app. It has some special features that helps businesses market and reach their customers. Then finally, build your contact list. One of the best ways to do this is to:
–
- Create a group where you offer a free trial of your product or service
- Get those on your contact list who have joined to bring in other contacts through the WhatsApp group link (you can offer them a reward for doing this)
- Interact with the new contacts and get them to add you to their contact list.
Now you know about WhatsApp marketing and how to position yourself to get more contacts who can become customers. Let’s look at everything you need to know to become a WhatsApp influencer in Nigeria.
–
Who Is A WhatsApp Influencer
–
A WhatsApp influencer is an opinion leader or celebrity on Whatsapp. The main vehicle is the Whatsapp status which is basically a slideshow of going-ons. Like on other social media platforms, they are people who have a large following because they are either an authority or an active engager on a particular subject. It could be that they create content that entertain, educate or excite people.
Certain individuals are knowledgeable about specific fields of endeavor and can easily relate with a lot of people. As a result, a lot of people tune in to watch what they post on their status. As influencers, they can earn money mostly by sharing advertisements of products and services on their status. When businesses see that you have a large reach, they will contact you to market their product and pay you for it.
How To Become A WhatsApp influencer
You do not have to get thousands of people. With an average of 1,000 people you are good to go. You can begin influencing by:
(a) Know your stuff. You cannot influence if people do not rate you. You must be able to remain relevant in an area of endeavor. It could be music, football, politics, comedy, food, events and so on. When you pick a niche and you are certain that you have enough content on it, then you are ready to get posting.
(b) Ask your friends to re-post your content. Get the people already on your contact list to share what you’re talking about on their status. That way their own contacts will get across to you to know more about the product and save your contact. However you do not want to come across as too sales-ey because people get bored of adverts easily.
(c) Host group programs on WhatsApp: Invite people to your group on WhatsApp and share relevant content, depending on the area of influence you want to focus on. From there you can get them to save your contact for further communication.
(d) Use other forms of media: You can put your WhatsApp link on other social media platforms where your target audience is and get them to chat with you on one. Attend events and engage in outdoor activities that get people to notice you.
(e) Use Referral Contest: This is one of the most practical ways to grow your WhatsApp audience quickly. People are always looking for simple ways of making money. And seeing a referral contest is something they will want to do. They know quite well that they will have little or nothing to lose. Which, in your own case, will be a forever gain if optimized well.
–
Meanwhile, you can look below to find some of our recent articles specially curated for you;
My name is Emmanuel Ejiga. Content lead of OG Capital
I am a writer. Technical writer, song writer, and sometimes fictional writer.
One Comment
How Much Do Nigerian Influencers Really Make? - OG Capital
[…] of clout. It’s common to see people do just about anything for popularity and for good reason. Being an influencer in Nigeria can be one of the coolest ways to make some money. But how much do Nigerian influencers really […]