WhatsApp is where a great many customers already are, which makes it tempting as a promotion channel. The risk is just as large: it is also the most personal app there is, and an unasked-for message there irritates far more than it would anywhere else.
Start with WhatsApp Business
It is free and it separates work from personal life. Fill in the whole profile: description, opening hours, address and, above all, the website. That field is one of the few places where your address stays visible all the time.
The catalogue
The catalogue turns a conversation into a shop window. Good photo, clear name and a price where a price makes sense. Each item can be sent as a message, which shortens the back-and-forth enormously.
A direct chat link
A link in the form wa.me/<country code><your number> opens the conversation without the person having to save your contact. Put it on the site, in your social profiles and at the foot of your e-mails. It is the smallest possible friction between interest and conversation.
Status, sparingly
The status is seen by people who already have your contact and intrudes on nobody. It works well for finished work, behind-the-scenes and news. Posting too often wears thin just the same.
Broadcast lists: careful
Only for people who asked. Mass messages to contacts who did not agree lead to blocks, and blocks in volume take the number down. Losing your business number is a loss that is hard to undo.
What WhatsApp does not do
It talks to people who have already reached you. It does not bring new people in. To be found by someone who does not know your business yet, the route is search.
