The new WhatsApp integration with HubSpot is great news for Higher Education Institutions looking to improve their digital presence and enhance their communication with their students and prospective students.
With the growing popularity of WhatsApp as a messaging platform among the younger generation, it has become important for universities to be present on this platform in order to take advantage of its wide user base. The WhatsApp integration with HubSpot allows schools to manage and automate their conversations with students directly in HubSpot, unifying all contact details and conversations in one place.
In addition, WhatsApp's integration with HubSpot allows Higher Education Institutions to respond quickly to students and provide support more efficiently, while leveraging HubSpot's powerful automation and lead management tools to improve the customer experience and increase conversions.
By having HubSpot as a single source of truth, universities are also able to monitor and evaluate conversations with students to identify opportunities for improvement and optimize their communication strategies.
With the launch of its own WhatsApp integration, several questions arose from users. In this article, we answer the main questions.
Which HubSpot plans have access to the WhatsApp integration?
The WhatsApp integration for HubSpot is available in Professional and Enterprise editions of Marketing Hub and Service Hub.
What can you do with the WhatsApp integration?
- Manage all your WhatsApp messages in the shared inbox;
- Segment customers with automated messages to keep them engaged and informed;
- View all WhatsApp conversations in HubSpot's CRM and get full visibility into how customers are interacting with your business.
What do you need to get started with the WhatsApp integration with HubSpot?
- Professional or Enterprise version of Marketing Hub or Service Hub;
- WhatsApp business account;
- Phone number.
How can customers receive messages from businesses on WhatsApp through the integration?
Businesses are required to obtain the opt-in before sending business-initiated proactive messages to customers. Businesses can obtain the opt-in in a variety of ways, both on and off WhatsApp.
HubSpot registers customer opt-ins in your contact subscription preferences and will check the opt-in status before sending messages.
Recommended article: How can HubSpot help Universities better serve their students?
How secure are conversations when using the WhatsApp for HubSpot integration?
All WhatsApp messages are protected with end-to-end encryption, which means messages and conversations are safe, and between the company and the customer only.
What do I need to do before connecting a WhatsApp business account to my HubSpot conversations inbox?
- Your company's legal name and your name to be displayed on WhatsApp;
- The URL of your business website;
- Your business email;
- Administrative authorization for your company's Meta Business Manager account;
- Access to the telephone number of the company with which you want to send messages (P.s: the number must be able to receive voice calls and must not be part of an IVR - Interactive Voice Response - system or have the IVR deactivated during a period of time).
- Note: the phone number used must not be linked to another WhatsApp account / integration. If so, you must unlink the number from other accounts or integrations before connecting it to HubSpot.
What are the limitations?
- Each WhatsApp for Business Account can have up to 25 phone numbers associated with it;
- After connecting your WhatsApp Business account, only new messages will sync to HubSpot. Old chat history will not be synced;
- Once connected to HubSpot, messages will no longer appear in the WhatsApp mobile app or web app, and will only appear in the chat inbox in your HubSpot account.
- For Marketing Hub Professional or Marketing Hub Enterprise accounts there is a limit of 1000 conversations per month.
What counts as “a conversation” on WhatsApp?
There are two types of conversations:
- Business-initiated conversations
- Conversations initiated by customers
The conversation lasts 24 hours after the first message from the company to the contact. During this period, as many messages as you wish can be sent.
Can I link a personal WhatsApp account to HubSpot?
Due to Meta's requirements for using the WhatsApp integration, you cannot link a personal WhatsApp account to HubSpot and must link a Business account instead.
How to link WhatsApp to your HubSpot account?
- In your HubSpot account, click settings on the main navigation bar;
- In the left sidebar menu, access Inbox > Inboxes;
- Click on Turn on a channel;
- Select WhatsApp;
- Click on “Continue with WhatsApp”;
- In the pop-up window, log in to your Facebook account, then click Continue as [name];
- Click on “Start now”;
- Review the permissions that HubSpot will need to access to connect, then click on “Continue”;
- Select an existing Meta Business account that will be linked to your WhatsApp Business account, or create a new Meta Business account if you don't have one yet;
- Click on “Continue”;
- Select the WhatsApp business account that will be associated with your Meta Business account, or create a new WhatsApp business account;
- Click on “Continue”;
- A confirmation message will appear. Click on “Continue to Step 2”;
- Next, you will set up your WhatsApp business profile;
- Click on “Continue to Step 3”;
- In the text field, enter a phone number to register with WhatsApp. Select Text Message or Voice Call as a verification method, then click “Send Code”;
- After successfully verifying the phone number, click “Ok” to close the configuration window and return to HubSpot;
- You will return to the conversations inbox where you can finish configuring the WhatsApp channel. Next to the WhatsApp account name, click on “Connect”;
If you followed this step-by-step guide, your WhatsApp account will now appear in your list of connected channels.
How much does it cost?
The WhatsApp integration for HubSpot is free of charge up to 1,000 conversations per month. From 1,000 conversations, there is a cost of €180* for every 1,000 extra conversations.
*Note: the cost of €180 per thousand conversations applies to the EMEA region (Europe, Middle East, and Africa).
For HubSpot customers on the American continent, the price is $70 per thousand extra conversations.
Are there alternatives?
Before HubSpot released its own integration for WhatsApp, several companies released their integrations for the same purpose on the HubSpot Marketplace.
Among the various options available, one that we have personally used is Leadisruptive's WhatHub.
With WhatHub, the cost is not per conversation, but per user, and prices can vary between 10 and 40 euros per month, per user, according to the chosen specifications.
If you need help integrate WhatsApp in HubSpot in your University, don’t hesitate, talk to us.
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