The engageSPARK platform now allows you to engage an even wider audience who are online – using WhatsApp Surveys. You can start using the platform to send our messages and survey questions to your contacts via the WhatsApp app on their phones. It is super powerful with options to switch from sending text-based messages, images with captions, or voice messages.

3-Step WhatsApp Message and Survey

Get Consent from Contacts

Before you start launching your WhatsApp messages and survey campaigns though, you first need to make sure that you get consent from your contacts. That they agree to receive messages from you via WhatsApp. There are different ways how you can go about getting consent:

1. You can advertise your WhatsApp number through flyers, tarpaulins, radio programs, etc. inviting people to text a keyword to your WhatsApp number to start getting messages from you via WhatsApp. Example:

“Hi, did you know that you can now receive weekly WhatsApp messages from company ABC on COVID-19-related updates? To subscribe, text COVID to 123456.”

2. Another option is you can send out a text blast to your existing contacts inviting them to click on your WhatsApp link (URL) to opt in or subscribe. Example:

“Hi [firstname], we are inviting you to participate in answering our 10-question WhatsApp survey. To get started, please click on this link: https://wa.me/123456?text=JOIN.”

3. In-person verbal consent when you collect the contact numbers from your events, training, etc.

4. You can also get online consent through social media when someone opts in to message you on any of your online channels. After they sent you a message, you can automatically subscribe them to a messaging WhatsApp campaign.

Let’s Get Started

To get started with creating your WhatsApp messages and surveys, open the Campaigns page and click WhatsApp Survey from the New Campaign dropdown.

Step 1: Content

In the first step of creating your WhatsApp campaign, you can choose between two content types: WhatsApp message or WhatsApp question.

The WhatsApp message, allows you to send a one-way message to your contacts via WhatsApp without needing a reply. You can use this for an introduction or welcome message.

The WhatsApp question on the other hand allows you to ask your contacts questions—so that’s how to create a questionnaire on WhatsApp.

There are 3 types of messages you can use

• Text-based Message – you can send your message and questions in a form of text via WhatsApp.
• Image – you can send images along with a text-based caption.
• Voice-based Message (IVR-type via WhatsApp) – you can upload audio messages that your contacts can listen to or play on WhatsApp.

You can use personalization in your text-based messages.

Types of WhatsApp Survey Responses

If you are running a survey, there are 2 ways you can gather responses in your WhatsApp survey campaign. Both of these response types are available to your contacts regardless if you are doing a text-based, image with text captions, or voice survey.

1. Specific Response

This type of survey response allows you to set specific allowable responses to your WhatsApp questions. For example, if your question is answerable by only either 1 or 2, then you specify that in the choices that those are the only responses you expect. However, the engageSPARK system allows you to add as many possible answers per choice as you want (e.g., your contacts can reply with either 1, yes, okay, satisfied, etc – and they will all fall under possible answers for choice 1). Not only that, but you can also add as many choices as you want (e.g., 1, 2, 3, 4, etc) depending on your question.

For each choice, you can add multiple actions. Actions are a powerful set of requests you want the system to do depending on a contact’s response to your question.

3. Open Response

This type of response allows your contacts to reply to your WhatsApp question in free-form, which means the engageSPARK system will accept any responses to your questions – your contact can reply with text, images, or voice messages. The open response allows you to set multiple actions you want the system to do right after any reply is received for your question:

Additional Survey Settings

After you have set what type of response you expect for your WhatsApp survey question (specific response or open response), you can start setting up the additional survey settings.

1. Invalid reply – This setting is only available to specific response types of response. You can enable this by ticking the checkbox if you want the system to do an action or multiple actions if a contact replies with an invalid response or replies with anything other than what you have specified in the answer choices.

You can set how many allowable chances (e.g., 2 – meaning after the question is asked and the contact sent an invalid response, they have 2 more chances to reply to your question correctly) you want to give to your contacts for them to reply to your question correctly.

2. Timeout / no reply – This setting is available in both specific responses and open responses. This allows you to trigger an action or multiple actions if a contact does not reply within X amount of time.

The same with the invalid response, you can also set how many allowable chances (e.g., 2 – meaning after the question is asked and the contact did not reply, they have 2 more chances to reply to your question correctly) you want to give to your contacts for them to reply to your question correctly.

3. Failure – This setting is available in both specific responses and open responses. This allows you to do an action or multiple actions after a contact has exhausted all the allowable chances and still did not reply correctly or did not reply at all to the question.

Note: If you choose to not trigger any action and just want to proceed to the next question when a contact does not reply to a question or replies incorrectly after all allowable chances have been exhausted, you can leave the Failure setting unchecked.

Step 2: Contact

The contact step is where you can select who your recipients or group of recipients are going to be.

You can find 3 tabs here:

1. Contacts – where you can manually select individual contacts as recipients.

2. Groups – where you can select groups of contacts as recipients. You can group together contacts on the contacts page so it is easier to select them later on in your campaigns.

3. Segments – this is an advanced version of groups where you can select a segmented group of contacts as recipients. You can segment your contacts on the contacts page based on clauses/conditions using the custom fields in your contacts page.

Note: You can combine all 3 by selecting some numbers individually, selecting a group of contacts, and also selecting segmented contacts.

Step 3: Confirm

This is the last step in creating your WhatsApp message and survey campaign. This allows you to do a quick review of your campaign and set up additional settings before eventually launching it or scheduling it for later.

1. Contacts – this is where you can see the contacts counter to let you know how many contacts, groups, or segments you have selected in step 2- contacts.

2. Sender ID / Caller ID – you will need to have a WhatsApp number to get started in sending WhatsApp messages and survey campaigns to your contacts. Please contact our support team for details on how to get a WhatsApp number by emailing helpteam@engageSPARK.com or you can use our live chat facility.

3. Schedule this Campaign – You can set your campaign to go out immediately or schedule it to go out at a later point in time.