WhatsApp Broadcast List: Use Cases, Limitations, and Solutions

Businesses strive to reach users everywhere — on social media, through targeted ads, and via messenger apps. At the same time, many users are trying to minimize their exposure to ads by using blockers and ignoring banners, pop-ups, and similar formats. In such cases, it’s worth exploring channels that users associate with personal communication.

In this post, we’ll discuss WhatsApp and its potential to help companies engage with prospects and existing customers and, most importantly, scale their communication. We’ll break down WhatsApp broadcast lists, their limitations, and solutions for businesses. You’ll also learn how to create a broadcast list on WhatsApp. Let’s dive in!

What is a WhatsApp broadcast?

A WhatsApp broadcast is a feature within the messaging platform that lets you send a message to multiple recipients at once, each receiving it as an individual, private message from a WhatsApp Business account.

Unlike group chats, which allow for multi-user discussions, WhatsApp broadcasts represent a more private communication method. If someone responds, their reply will appear in your chat list as a separate conversation, invisible to other broadcast participants.

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What are the WhatsApp broadcast use cases?

While WhatsApp is primarily used for personal communication, WhatsApp Business solutions allow companies of different sizes to employ it to interact with leads and clients. Businesses create professional profiles that include company details, build product catalogs, and set up automated flows to respond to customer inquiries. Besides, they can send broadcast messages to large audiences.

Here are a few examples of how companies can use WhatsApp broadcast messages:

• eCommerce businesses can inform customers about special promotions, announce flash sales and restocked items, or give product recommendations;
• educational platforms can notify students about new course launches, upcoming webinars, and enrollment deadlines or send motivational messages to boost engagement and retention;
• SaaS companies can announce new feature rollouts, share maintenance schedules or updates, onboard users with helpful tips, or send reminders about events;
• hotels, restaurants, or travel agencies can send exclusive deals, event invitations, or travel recommendations.

Many other industries, including healthcare, automotive, banking, and real estate, can leverage WhatsApp broadcasts to engage with customers as well. The key is to ensure that your messages resonate with the right audience.

How to create a WhatsApp broadcast list

Let’s walk through how to create your first broadcast list on WhatsApp to send a message to multiple contacts at the same time.

If you don’t have a business account yet, download the WhatsApp Business app and set up your profile: add details about your company, useful links like your website URL and social media accounts, as well as contact information. Make sure to include your address and business hours.

You can also set up a welcome message for new users who contact you for the first time or an automated reply to be sent when you’re unavailable.

To create a broadcast list, select the “New broadcast” option from the menu. Then, choose the specific contacts you want to add to the broadcast list. A chat window will open where you can compose your message. In addition to text, you can add files, emojis, photos, and videos.

You can set up multiple lists that will appear in your “Chats” tab. After creating a WhatsApp broadcast list, you can change its name, add or remove recipients, or delete it.

Limitations of WhatsApp Business app broadcasts

Now that you know how to create a broadcast list with the WhatsApp Business app, there are some limitations to be aware of.

1. Number of recipients. You can add up to 256 unique contacts to a single broadcast list. This could be fine for smaller businesses, but if you’ve got a larger customer base, you’ll need to break it up into multiple lists, which can be time-consuming and inefficient.
2. Contact export method. You cannot export your customer base in any form other than manually adding each phone number to WhatsApp.
3. Message delivery condition. Only users who have saved your business phone number to their contacts will receive your message, which limits your reach.
4. Lack of scheduling option. You have to send out your broadcast messages manually at the desired time. It is rather inconvenient if your message is time-sensitive or you’re running a large-scale campaign.
5. Number of account users. A single account can only be accessed by one person at a time, either on the desktop version or the mobile app, so you can’t share full context about the customer you’re interacting with across the team.
6. Lack of integration capabilities. You cannot connect WhatsApp Business to your CRM or other platforms essential for your business operations. It makes it hard to automate communication, schedule and personalize messages, keep track of interactions, and manage customer relationships smoothly.

Fortunately, there is a way around these WhatsApp broadcast limits: the WhatsApp Business API.

How to send broadcasts without limits using WhatsApp Business API

The WhatsApp Business API is a tool that allows you to integrate your business account with a data or communication management system. It is meant to help small, medium, and large businesses communicate with their customers on WhatsApp.

With the WhatsApp Business API, you can:

• launch broadcast messages to more than 256 contacts at once — in fact, there’s no limit;
• manage and use your business account across multiple devices, enabling several team members to work on communications simultaneously;
• integrate with the marketing tools you need, making WhatsApp a seamless part of your marketing strategy rather than a standalone channel.

To start using the WhatsApp Business API, you need to verify your business on Meta, connect your phone number, and find a reliable WhatsApp Business API Solution Provider.

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Unlike the WhatsApp Business app, official providers like SendPulse let you message customers even if they do not have your number saved in their contact list. Actually, you can send messages to:

• People who agreed to receive your messages on WhatsApp and shared their phone numbers with you. All you need to do is upload your contact list to the platform.
• People who visited your WhatsApp profile by scanning a QR code or clicking a link and then messaged you.
• People who interacted with your WhatsApp chatbot within the last 24 hours. You won’t get charged for those.

Let’s take a closer look at other opportunities this provider offers.

You can create a broadcast for your whole audience using a template or send a free message to active contacts. If you opt to send a template message, you cannot modify it, as it contains pre-approved text. However, you can personalize it with variables and include links or files.

With a free message, you have more flexibility. You can write whatever text you need, add images, videos, audio files, and other attachments, and include product cards and buttons, allowing subscribers to purchase directly within the chat.

You can send your WhatsApp broadcast immediately or schedule it for a specific date and time. There is also a broadcast preview available.

Another convenient aspect is the ability to segment your recipients based on various criteria and send targeted broadcasts to different groups. For example, you can reach out to residents from a specific country, those who recently subscribed, or individuals who got a particular message. Segmentation lets you make your WhatsApp broadcasts more personalized to match your recipients’ behavior or interests rather than sending generic messages to everyone.

On top of that, the WhatsApp Business API Providers allow you to track and analyze the performance of your broadcasts. You can monitor how many messages were delivered, how many recipients interacted with your chat, and more. Furthermore, all this data can be exported to a CSV file.

To sum up

Businesses of all sizes and industries should consider WhatsApp a powerful channel for customer communication. It’s widely popular and feels personal, which means that your messages won’t go unnoticed. Small companies and startups can start with the WhatsApp Business app to launch broadcasts for groups of users. However, if a company aims to scale or already has a large customer base, it’s better to team up with a reliable WhatsApp Business Provider and use the API.

Audience segmentation, no recipient limits, automatization, scheduling, and personalization options — all of this is available with SendPulse, an Official WhatsApp Business Solution Provider.

Explore the platform’s convenient tools and make your communication with customers on WhatsApp and other platforms more engaging and effective.