WhatsApp Business API: The Ultimate Guide to Everything You Should Know

Did you know WhatsApp is the world’s biggest messaging app with over 2 billion users worldwide? People use it regularly to message friends, family, and now, businesses than ever before. The huge success of WhatsApp as a secure, convenient messaging app for friends was the driving force for Meta, parent company of Facebook, to monetize the platform. Meta identified the opportunity wherein businesses would benefit from being given access to this personal space for business communication. This led to the birth of WhatsApp Business App.   

Launched in January 2018, WhatsApp Business is a free app that is designed for small businesses. It enables businesses to communicate with their customers, and vice versa. A business account in WhatsApp enables businesses to create branded profiles to provide customers additional information pertaining to website, brief business description, office hours when a customer can expect a response, and more.   

However, the WhatsApp Business App was developed for one-on-one conversations. Customer inquiries are handled manually using a cell phone, but not smartphones or tablets, and up to four other devices. The same account is used by all employees, which leaves ambiguity about who answered the query. Therefore, the app is not suitable for professional customer service. The suitability of the app is further questionable, especially for European companies for lack of data protection and GDPR compliance.   

This led Meta to launch WhatsApp Business API in a bid to offer larger companies a scalable, customizable alternative when using WhatsApp Business. The solution also served to help companies looking to integrate WhatsApp into their existing customer communication systems. The technical interface (API) of the solution allows businesses to connect their WhatsApp account to a professional customer messaging application – a WhatsApp Business Platform. WhatsApp Business API by WhatsApp Commerce is a cutting-edge tool designed for medium to large companies that offers more advanced features and customization options.  

To summarize, the main difference between WhatsApp Business App vs WhatsApp Business API is that the former is a free app for small businesses and the latter is a paid API solution for larger businesses that enables rich messaging to communicate with users. Standard WhatsApp messaging is for personal use to stay in touch with friends and family. Besides this, WhatsApp provides an array of services such as the WhatsApp API for business that allows businesses to integrate WhatsApp messaging capabilities with their own business framework.  

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4 Reasons Businesses are Shifting to WhatsApp Business for Marketing  

Unmatched Open Rates – WhatsApp has an astonishing 98% message open rate to dwarf the open rate of emails which is typically between 15-25%. 

Tailored Customer Communication – WhatsApp Business enables personalized customer experience. By adhering to the objective of marketing of understanding and connecting with the audience, businesses can craft messages that drive meaningful engagement and resonate more deeply with the audience. 

The Vastness of Reach – The vast reach of WhatsApp with 2.78 billion active users make for billions of potential partners, customers, and stakeholders at your fingertips. 

Cost-effective Global Outreach – WhatsApp serves to be a cost-effective marketing medium in the digital age where marketing cost can be skyrocketing. The need to reach a global audience doesn’t require a hefty advertising budget. It merely requires a smartphone and stable internet connection for businesses to initiate conversations, nurture relationships, and drive conversions. 

What is WhatsApp Business API?  

Simply put, WhatsApp Business API is a business solution for entrepreneurs and very small support teams, while the platform is suitable for marketing and sales teams. Launched by Facebook in 2018, WhatsApp Business API is a programmable API. It allows businesses to WhatsApp Broadcast and receive unlimited messages to a global audience and drive better customer experience on WhatsApp.  

The WhatsApp Business API can be thought of as a bridge between the user’s WhatsApp account and chosen WhatsApp Business Platform. The features of WhatsApp Business API varies from provider to provider. The ones that are available depend on the WhatsApp Business Platform the user chooses to connect to WhatsApp Business API. The objective to adopt WhatsApp Business API is to handle multiple conversations, facilitate automated responses, and craft personalized messages – all within the scope of WhatsApp.  

While businesses might consider setting up the API through Meta, the company has chosen 40-50 third-party solution providers to distribute WhatsApp Business API to each and every business. The tools and dashboards of these platforms are tailored for businesses which simplifies the WhatsApp API experience. Resultantly, this prevents businesses from getting lost in technicalities and engage in harnessing the real power of the platform to nurture genuine connections with customers.  

Meanwhile, small businesses such as online stores and language schools and large brands such as Toyota and Hermes are already successfully using WhatsApp Business API in their customer communication operations.  

For business parlance, Meta started using the term “WhatsApp Business Platform” in 2023, which was formerly called “WhatsApp Business API”. 

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