Latest / The DTC Marketing Podcast with Fexingo: Direct-to-Consumer Brands, Shopify, and E-Commerce Growth / How DTC Brands Use WhatsApp Broadcast Channels
Transcript
- Lucas: So we've talked a lot about two-way WhatsApp engagement on this show — customer service, sales conversations, that personal assistant feel. But there's a newer feature that flips the dynamic entirely: WhatsApp broadcast channels. Luna: One-way broadcasting, right? The brand sends a message, and subscribers just receive it — no reply, no noise. Lucas: Exactly. And for DTC brands that already have a loyal customer base, it's becoming a surprisingly effective retention tool. A beauty brand called Kosas started using it earlier this year for early-access product drops and restock alerts. Luna: Kosas — I know them. They're big on clean makeup, very Instagram-native. So what did they see? Lucas: They reported a 34% click-through rate on their broadcast channel messages. Compare that to the industry average for email — which is around 2 to 3 percent — and it's a pretty stark difference. Luna: 34% is wild. But I imagine that's partly because the audience is self-selecting. You have to opt in to a broadcast channel — it's not like email where brands just blast their whole list. Lucas: That's exactly the point. The opt-in is a signal of intent. When someone joins your broadcast channel on WhatsApp, they're saying, 'I want to hear from you specifically, in this app I check dozens of times a day.' Luna: So it's a high-intent, low-friction channel. But does the one-way nature limit what you can do with it? Lucas: It does — and that's actually a feature, not a bug. For brands that were using WhatsApp for two-way conversations, the biggest pain point is scale. You can't have a personal chat with ten thousand customers. Broadcast channels let you reach that whole group without any of the overhead. Luna: And without the expectation of a reply. So the brand doesn't have to staff a team of responders just to send a restock alert. Lucas: Right. And WhatsApp has built some nice guardrails. Broadcast channels are separate from your personal chats, so the recipient doesn't feel like their inbox is being invaded. And you can only send a limited number of messages per week — I think the current limit is around four. Luna: Four messages a week — that's actually smart. It forces the brand to be disciplined. No one wants a daily broadcast from a makeup brand. Lucas: Exactly. And it makes each message feel more important. Kosas used it for exactly that — a new shade launch, a limited restock, a 24-hour flash sale. Each message had a clear action. Luna: What about the mechanics? How does a brand actually set this up on WhatsApp? Lucas: It's surprisingly simple. You create a channel through the WhatsApp Business app — the same app that handles your two-way chats. Then you share a join link on your website, in your email newsletter, on Instagram. When someone clicks, they're dropped into the channel as a follower. Luna: So no API integration needed? No Shopify app? Lucas: Not for the basic version. If you want to automate it — like sending a broadcast to everyone who bought a specific product last month — you'd need the WhatsApp Business API and some middleware. But a lot of brands start manually, just typing the message and hitting send. Luna: That's refreshingly low-tech for 2026. So who is this actually for? Every DTC brand? Lucas: I'd say it's best for brands with a repeat-purchase model — consumables, supplements, skincare, coffee. Anything where restock timing matters. If you sell a mattress that someone buys once every eight years, a broadcast channel probably isn't your best bet. Luna: And you need an existing audience that actually uses WhatsApp. In markets like India, Brazil, Mexico, that's virtually everyone. In the US, it's growing but still not universal. Lucas: Good point. Kosas is us based, and they still saw strong engagement. But I think the real unlock is for brands with a highly engaged super-user segment — the people who already follow you on every platform and want that extra step of access. Luna: It's almost like a private Twitter feed, but inside WhatsApp. And the metrics are cleaner because you can track link clicks directly. Lucas: Exactly. And you can combine it with other channels. Imagine you send a broadcast saying 'First look at our fall collection — 20% off for channel members only.' Then you follow up in email with a more general version. The broadcast becomes a loyalty perk. Luna: That's smart tiering. And it doesn't cannibalize email because the audiences are different — some people will only join the broadcast, some only read email, some do both. Lucas: Right. And for the brand, it's essentially free. WhatsApp doesn't charge for broadcast channels, unlike the API which has per-conversation fees. So the ROI is all about the value of that incremental sale. Luna: Let's talk about the downside. What could go wrong? Lucas: The biggest risk is over-messaging. Even with the weekly limit, if every message is a sales pitch, people will leave. The channel needs to provide genuine value — early access, exclusive content, maybe behind the scenes photos. If it's just a firehose of discount codes, you'll erode the trust. Luna: And there's no easy way to re-engage someone who left. Once they unfollow, you can't message them again unless they rejoin. So you really have to earn that attention every time. Lucas: Absolutely. I'd also caution brands against treating this as a mass blast channel. The best broadcast messages feel personal — written in the brand's voice, not templated. Kosas apparently sends theirs as a simple text with an image, no fancy formatting, like a friend sharing a find. Luna: That makes sense. If it looks like a marketing automation email, it defeats the purpose. The intimacy of WhatsApp is the whole point. Lucas: Speaking of value — if today's episode gave you a concrete idea you might actually use, the way these stay ad-free and independent is through listener support. You can buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. That's buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Luna: Yeah, it's a small way to keep the conversations like this going without any sponsor interruptions. And we really appreciate it. Lucas: Alright, so back to broadcast channels — one more thing I think is underappreciated: the analytics. WhatsApp gives you view counts and engagement stats for each message, so you can see exactly which content resonates. Luna: And you can A/B test subject lines — well, the first few words of the message, since there's no subject line per se. Lucas: Right. Some brands are even using the channel to poll their super-users on product preferences — 'Which lip shade for spring? Reply with A or B.' Even though the channel is one-way, you can still gather signals through link clicks and external surveys. Luna: So it's not just a broadcast tool — it's a research tool too. That's a nice evolution from the early days of WhatsApp marketing. Lucas: For sure. I think we'll see more brands adopting this as a standard part of the retention stack, especially as WhatsApp continues to grow in Western markets. It's low cost, high intent, and it plays to the strengths of the platform. Luna: And it's a nice complement to the two-way strategies we've covered. A brand can have a support chat for service and a broadcast channel for announcements — separate but both inside WhatsApp. Lucas: Exactly. That's the sweet spot. Use the broadcast for reach, use the one-on-one for relationships. The brands that figure out that balance will have a real edge.