WhatsApp requires you to collect your contacts' explicit consent and comply with WhatsApp Business Policy to send them messages. You must also follow rules and best practices to ensure a high-quality consent collection. You will be able to collect your contacts' consent for WhatsApp messages in many different ways, on or off WhatsApp, which we will see in this article.
🚨 Rules for consent collection for WhatsApp
Your use of WhatsApp Business completely depends on the reputation of your phone number and WhatsApp often conducts checks on consent flows and quality signals. If your phone number is often reported or blocked, its reputation will become low and your use of WhatsApp Business can be limited or even suspended. To avoid this, you must follow specific rules when collecting consent:
- Your contacts' consent is an active consent which means that your contacts must enter their phone number or check a visual element to agree to receive your messages such as a box for example.
- The WhatsApp logo and an editable WhatsApp number field are mandatory to collect your contacts' consent for WhatsApp messages. Your contacts must have control over the phone number they want to use to receive your messages which is why they must be able to enter their phone number or edit it in a dedicated WhatsApp field with the logo.
- The consent messaging must clearly tell your contacts what types of messages they have consented to receive and you must stick to them. Explain the added value of receiving information via WhatsApp. You can either collect:
- A separate consent by specific message categories such as order updates, shipping status, or special offers,
- A global consent for all kinds of messages.
- You provide clear and easy-to-understand consent and unsubscription flows to your contacts.
A high-quality consent collection is essential to ensure good relationships and high-quality conversations between you and your clients. Frequently monitor your quality rating especially after implementing a new consent collection method.
🤝 Collect your contacts' consent for WhatsApp messages with Brevo
Use Brevo features to collect your contacts' consent by creating for example:
- Subscription forms and update profile forms to embed in your website or emails and to create QR codes,
- Landing pages whose links you can paste into your email and SMS campaigns.
The WHATSAPP attribute is automatically added to your Contacts attributes. To collect your contacts' consent with the Brevo features:
Drag and drop the default WHATSAPP attribute when designing your form:
Add a form element to your landing page and choose the default WHATSAPP attribute in the Add a contact field list:
✅ The different ways to collect consent
You can collect consent from any of the communication channels through which you usually communicate with your customers as long as you comply with WhatsApp Business Policy and follow the rules for consent collection. (consent collection) Let's see some examples of how you can collect your contacts' consent for WhatsApp messages in the following sections. Use Brevo to create your email and SMS campaigns and paste the link to your landing page in them.
🌐 On your website or app
The most common and easiest way to collect your contacts' consent for WhatsApp messages is from your website or app. For example, you may collect your contacts consent directly from your website home page or app by using a pop-up window or a banner at the top of your web pages or screens that prompts your visitors to contact you over WhatsApp.
You can also create a landing page to redirect your customers to. From there you can collect their consent to receive updates on your products and receive their account notifications for example.
📇 During the online subscription or profile update processes
Collect your contacts' consent for WhatsApp messages while they are signing up for your newsletters. Adding WhatsApp to your subscription form offers your customers more choices regarding the channel on which they want to receive your newsletters. In addition to this, WhatsApp is one of the most popular mediums of communication which makes it the most appropriate way to send your newsletters. You can also add WhatsApp to your update forms to allow your customers to choose WhatsApp as a new way of receiving your newsletters.
📢 Through your existing communication or third-party channels
Use your usual communication channels or third-party channels to inform your customers that you are now using WhatsApp to answer their questions and/or send notifications and newsletters. Use SMS, emails, or even social media as an announcement and provide a one-click option to allow your customers to either:
- Start a conversation on WhatsApp,
- Be redirected to your landing page where you give more information on your use of WhatsApp and collect their consent.
❗️ ImportantRemember that the WhatsApp logo and an editable WhatsApp number field are mandatory to collect your contacts' consent for WhatsApp messages. You cannot directly collect your contacts' consent over SMS, emails, or social media. You must redirect them to the WhatsApp application where they can start a conversation with you or to a landing page where they can fill out a form where they will give their consent.
🗣 In-store
Your in-store employees are in contact with your customers all the time, which makes them the best people to collect consent from your customers. At the front desk or checkout counter, your employees can collect active consent from your customers through paper forms, QR codes to scan, or online forms on phones or tablets. As long as the rules for consent collection are applied, in-store collection of consent is possible.
🧾 During checkout
Collect your customers' consent to receive notifications over WhatsApp regarding their order confirmation and/or delivery for example during the purchase of a product on your website. Collect consent during the checkout process is a great opportunity to inform customers of their purchase through a communication channel that they use in a daily manner. This also gives them the opportunity to reach out to you if they have questions regarding their order.
You can collect your contacts' consent for different message categories during the checkout process:
⏩ What's next?
🤔 Have a question?
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