Business communications have become integral to growth and stability in the current market environment. This has made companies choose the best communication tools to ensure superior growth. WhatsApp has slowly become a key tool for businesses to stay connected with their clients, employees, and partners. The platform's reach and host of features have propelled it to the top of the communication sector. While there is no denying that WhatsApp provides excellent benefits for companies, many owners & managers fail to identify the best way to increase its reach and efficiency. This is especially true when it comes to connecting it to other social media platforms except Meta.
What are WhatsApp links?
As the name implies, WhatsApp links are clickable hyperlinks that direct users to a company’s WhatsApp profile. So, it is one of the best ways to showcase that your business uses WhatsApp across the web. When the WhatsApp link is clicked on, the user will be redirected to the company’s WhatsApp profile. By adding a link to the desired social media platform like Instagram & Meta, a company can promote themselves & their business better, increase customer engagement, and boost sales. Whatsapp links added to instagram also helps companies to market their business through WhatsApp and build personalized customer support. Furthermore, this also adds value to the business by giving it a great online presence and a strong market share.
Benefits of Adding WhatsApp Links to Instagram
As mentioned earlier, there are several benefits to adding a WhatsApp link to Instagram. Let’s look at five of the most important ones:
Direct conversation through Instagram
Whatsapp links added to Instagram enables us to have a direct conversation with customers through instagram. Since most people are familiar with the platform, it offers easier communication and a more personalized connection. Companies also prefer WhatsApp links to an Instagram Direct Message (DM) because it helps them identify stronger leads that are more interested in their business.
Increased flexibility
As we all know, Instagram and WhatsApp are popular social networks in their own rights. By combining the might of Instagram’s social reach with WhatsApp’s robust features, companies can increase their online presence and grow their brand faster. By adding WhatsApp links to Instagram, you can also add more flexibility to your communication strategies. For example, you can use the link to send out a marketing message to your audience by embedding a call to action in the Instagram post or you can share a recent company achievement on your Instagram profile by sharing the link to the post.
Increase customer opt-ins
WhatsApp Business owners need to get consent from customers before they start sending messages to them. Getting consent from customers might be a hassle if companies try getting through their website or other non-digital methods. By linking ‘Click-to-chat’ WhatsApp links to Instagram, customers can start conversing with your company easily without adding your WhatsApp Business number. This way, users will become engaged with your business and become more loyal customers.
Suggested read: Looking to Opt-in More Customers to Your WhatsApp Business? Here are a few tips
Increase brand visibility
As a company grows, its brand becomes popular too. With the increased use of social media, the brand visibility is also more. WhatsApp links can add more value to your Instagram profile and ensure that customers learn more about your company. By showcasing your brand’s profile through multiple methods, you can be more proactive and increases the brand visibility.
Resolve issues faster
Customers want a fast resolution in today’s digital marketplace. When a customer experiences an issue with your product or service, the first thing he is going to do is to try and reach out to a customer service team through the internet. WhatsApp links are essential to resolve issues fast. If your customer needs resolutions, he/she can quickly reach your support team by clicking on the WhatsApp links rather than wait for a resolution by posting it as an Instagram message or DM.
Examples of companies using WhatsApp links in their Instagram bio
We can clearly see the benefits of adding a WhatsApp link to an Instagram profile when we look at some real-life examples. Let’s look at some of the best integrated WhatsApp links below:
Two ways to add WhatsApp links to Instagram
There are two major ways to add WhatsApp links to Instagram pages. They are:
Adding WhatsApp link to Instagram bio
The first method is adding WhatsApp links to the personal bios of the Instagram accounts. In order to this, companies should have a professional Instagram & WhatsApp Business account. By showcasing WhatsApp links on the bios, companies can help customers resolve their queries faster and increase trust/brand value.
Adding WhatsApp link to Instagram story
The second method is adding WhatsApp links as stories on Instagram profiles. Instagram stories are a popular feature because they are short, engaging, and have a much higher reach compared to other posts. Since WhatsApp Business links are linked directly to the business WhatsApp profile, companies can showcase their WhatsApp accounts to a wider range of customers.
Companies can use either of these methods to increase brand recognition and drive growth.
WhatsApp link for Instagram: How to create a shareable link for your business
To share a WhatsApp link on Instagram, one needs to create a shareable link. WhatsApp Business users can
- Go to Settings or More Options (for iPhone & Android devices respectively)
- They should then click on ‘Business Tools’. Inside ‘Business Tools’, they should click on ‘Short Link’.
- iPhone users can then tap ‘Copy Link’ to copy the link while Android users can tap on the link directly to generate the links.
WhatsApp API users can contact their Business Service Providers to generate customized WhatsApp links with welcome messages. In the case of Gallabox, you can enter your business details in the WhatsApp Link Generator page to create a free WhatsApp Business link.
How to add WhatsApp link to Instagram bio
Step 1: Create a WhatsApp link for your profile from https://gallabox.com/whatsapp-link-generator and click on preview to test the link/message.
Step 2: Open Instagram & access your business account.
Step 3: Click on ‘Edit Profile’ to go to settings.
Step 4: Paste the link in the ‘Website’ field & save. This will showcase your WhatsApp link on your Instagram profile. Your customers can click on the link to directly communicate with you on WhatsApp.
How to add WhatsApp link to Instagram story
Step 1: Create a WhatsApp link for your profile from https://gallabox.com/whatsapp-link-generator and click on preview to test the link/message.
Step 2: Open Instagram & access your business account.
Step 3: Click on the ‘New’ button and select ‘Story’.
Step 4: Tap on ‘Create’ and then select ‘Stickers’
Step 5: Select ‘Links’ from the ‘Stickers’
Step 6: Click on ‘Links’ to add your WhatsApp link and a custom sticker text.
Step 7: Now the Link sticker will have your WhatsApp link. You can make it more prominent by adding a WhatsApp sticker along with the Link.
Step 8: If you are uploading a picture or a video to your Instagram story, you can add the image and follow the same steps to add a link on top of the image.
Beyond WhatsApp link for Instagram: Other ways to add WhatsApp on Instagram
Another way of showcasing your WhatsApp profile on your Instagram page is by adding WhatsApp buttons or QR code scans to your Instagram page. Both of these can be showcased as either an Instagram post or a story post.
Companies need to generate WhatsApp QR codes through their Business Service Providers (which is a simple process with Gallabox) and then add the QR code image as a post. This allows users to scan the QR code and directly connect with your team via WhatsApp.
Add WhatsApp Button to your Instagram profile
The following steps will show how WhatsApp Business owners can embed WhatsApp Buttons on their Instagram profiles and generate more revenue.
For Android users
Step 1: Open WhatsApp Business & tap on ‘More Options’
Step 2: Select 'Business Tools' & tap on the ‘Reach More Customers’ section.
Step 3: Tap on Facebook/Instagram option under the ‘Reach More Customers’ section. This opens a window providing an option for sharing WhatsApp link through Facebook or Instagram.
Step 4: Select ‘Instagram: Add WhatsApp to your profile’, which will open a new Instagram log-in page.
Step 5: Enter your Instagram Professional credentials (You can also log-in through Facebook).
Step 6: Tap on ‘Add WhatsApp to your profile’ after logging in.
Step 7: Enter your WhatsApp Business phone number and tap on ‘Add’ to link WhatsApp with Instagram.
Step 8: A ‘WhatsApp Added’ prompt will be shown as a confirmation. You have now successfully added a WhatsApp button to your Instagram page.
For iOS users
Step 1: Open WhatsApp Business & tap on ‘Settings’
Step 2: Tap on Facebook/Instagram option under ‘Settings’. This opens a new window providing an option for sharing WhatsApp link through Facebook or Instagram.
Step 4: Select ‘Instagram’, which will open a new Instagram log-in page.
Step 5: Enter your Instagram Professional credentials (You can also log-in through Facebook).
Step 6: Tap on ‘Add WhatsApp to your profile’ after logging in.
Step 7: Enter your WhatsApp Business phone number and tap on ‘Add’ to link WhatsApp with Instagram.
Step 8: A ‘WhatsApp Added’ prompt will be shown as a confirmation. You have now successfully added a WhatsApp button to your Instagram page.
Omni-channel communication: Convert leads from WhatsApp and Instagram with Gallabox.
In conclusion, we can clearly see that creating an omni-channel communication environment by connecting Instagram with WhatsApp Business provides excellent benefits to companies. WhatsApp Business Service Providers like Gallabox don’t just help generate links/QR codes and link them to Instagram, they also help manage & track conversations that were generated through those links. This provides you with the ability to understand how customers are engaging with your brand and generate insights to drive much more targeted messages that will help drive greater conversions. This ensures that you are not missing out on any opportunity to grow your company. So, don’t hesitate to book a free trial!
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