How to use WhatsApp for event management?

In my first startup (www.explain.care) we were working in the field of conversational interfaces for the health insurance industry. We had started to work on the WhatsApp messenger, seeing its immense popularity (2 BN+ users!).

Here is a topic that we get asked often- how can I use WhatsApp to manage events? WhatsApp can be used in many ways by an event planner:

Gathering leads: You can apply for WhatsApp business access and allow potential customers to reach you. A "WhatsApp us" widget can be placed on your website / social media pages to help you achieve this. WhatsApp has a high open and response rate (in the 90% range) and hence is a useful way to engage with prospects.
Broadcast messages to promote events: This is a bit tricky as WhatsApp only allows templated messages to be sent to customers. All the messages have to be preapproved. If you have a customer database that has attended events that you have organized, then you can create a templated message that thanks them for their past business and then invites them to visit your latest event. This way of messaging is subject to approval from the folks at WhatsApp.

person discussing while standing in front of a large screen in front of people inside dim-lighted room — Photographer: Teemu Paananen | Source: Unsplash

Connect with attendees before/during/after an event: Many event organizers use bots that respond to customers when they click on your WhatsApp link. The bots can operate with the power of artificial intelligence and respond to the general attendee queries about the event logistics, agenda, and other information. I have seen this used by the organizers of the Fast Company innovation event help in NYC in 2017.

We also design and deliver these intelligent bots for various messengers such as WhatsApp, Skype, Facebook, Telegram, Alexa and Google Assistant, among others. A Few Dos and Don'ts that we gathered from our experience:

Don'ts

Keep in mind that you are communicating with humans, so make sure you do not do anything to violate their trust. It just means that you should not send messages without their consent and do not swamp them with "sales" messages.
Make sure that you solve the customer's problem with the event. It not all about generating gifs and images unless they help the customer engage with your event management business and serves a purpose.
These days most of the interactions will be on mobile, and therefore, care must be taken not to write copious text in response to questions. Keep it snappy and to the point!
Ensure that you read up on WhatsApp fair use terms and conditions. Abuse of these policies will mean that your business will be banned from using WhatsApp, and that could be pretty final from what we hear.
Just as you do with email marketing, ensure that your event managers do not send information that may be considered spam. Avoid sending information without customer consent.

Do(s):

Create separate customer groups and inform them with useful news, upcoming services, or special promotions. You can create a group with up to 1024 members in it (this was increased in 2022).
After getting their consent, you can contact your customers through WhatsApp to see if they will attend your event. Send event invitations to seminars or workshops using this channel.
Be creative with the use of pictures, emojis, gifs, and videos. Make sure your messages and clickable and forwardable- an easy way to make your next event a viral hit!

Community in WhatsApp: WhatsApp has released features to "compete" with platforms like Slack. One of them is the community feature. Communities on WhatsApp allow users to organize and bring related groups together under one umbrella (allows up to 50 groups). Community admins can reach members with essential updates by sending announcements, and community members can stay connected by exploring and chatting in groups that matter to them.

Members can receive updates from the entire community and easily organize smaller discussion groups on what matters to them. Community announcement groups have added privacy for phone numbers. Event managers can potentially create related groups and connect them (for example, a group of Fintech founders and another group of incumbent Banks’ chief digital officers could be brought under a community)

Testing and Experiments:

I tested out a couple of tools you can use to create AI-powered Bots that make your work with WhatsApp easier. One of the good ones out there is Landbot.io.

WhatsApp Bot for Travel (Click the link for use case)

Landbot is a no-code, rule-based chatbot builder. They empower makers to design conversational experiences with rich UI elements, advanced workflow automation, and real-time integrations. While website chatbots are their No.1 strength, users can also build WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger bots. This isn't just marketing talk- check out their use cases for the Hospitality and Travel industry. Landbot arguably has the most intuitive flow builder among marketing automation tools. Non-technical users can build and iterate complex chatbots just like building legos. Worth taking a look at.

All the best with your WhatsApp journey!

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