Chat Marketing: All You Need to Know

Published: 30 September 2024

Updated: 26 March 2026

Discover the benefits of chat marketing and tips on using it effectively.

Over 3 billion people use messaging apps monthly and the brands that interact with them on their favorite platforms convert at a 3–5% higher rate compared to traditional channels. Such a massive reach and effective engagement options open up broad possibilities for brands to utilize chat marketing on these platforms as an effective tool to communicate with existing customers and attract new ones. If you have brands among Instagram* accounts and Telegram channels to which you are subscribed, this means you participate in chat marketing on the side of a customer. And you likely do.

If you follow any brands on Instagram or subscribe to their Telegram channels, you are already participating in chat marketing as a customer.

In the article, we will explore the concept of chat marketing, what benefits it brings to business, and how to use it properly.

What is chat marketing

Chat marketing is a strategy that leverages messaging platforms to engage directly with customers in real time.

Such an approach offers a way to communicate that is more personalized and immediate, allowing for a significant boost in customer engagement and client loyalty. According to Salesforce's report, 83% of customers expect to interact with someone immediately when they contact a company.

This makes real-time chat communication one of the most suitable formats to meet that expectation at scale. Additionally, the data collected from chat marketing interactions provides valuable insights into customer needs and trends, enabling marketers to improve their communication tactics. significant boost in customer engagement and client loyalty. A fact to consider: Facebook* studies show that 74% of online users (18 or older) feel more connected with a brand when they can message it directly. Additionally, the data collected from chat marketing interactions provides valuable insights into customer needs and trends, enabling marketers to improve their communication tactics.

What is a chat campaign

A chat campaign is a pre-planned or scripted communication or series of communications sent to customers via messaging platforms as a part of a chat marketing strategy. Usually, such campaigns are created to present a new product, inspire a meaningful conversation among customers, and announce upcoming promotions and sales. Marketers can send chat campaigns via a single or multiple channels, including social media platforms like Facebook* and Instagram*, or messaging apps such as WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger.

Benefits of chat marketing

By leveraging chat marketing strategies, companies across a diverse set of industries can enjoy numerous benefits, including the following.

Higher conversion rates. Engaging customers on the platforms that they already frequently use in their everyday lives helps to guide prospects through the sales funnel faster and improves the reach among existing customers. For example, WhatsApp, on average, shows an impressive 98% open rate, which is a stark contrast to 20% achieved by email.
Personalization. By harnessing the power of chat marketing, companies can engage with customers in personalized dialogs that cater to their individual tastes, buying patterns, and past interactions, resulting in more engaging experiences and deeper connections.
Prompt customer support. With chat marketing, a brand offers clients a convenient text-based communication channel, where they can promptly answer incoming inquiries and provide support, which enhances customer satisfaction.
Cost-effectiveness. Chat marketing offers a convenient and cheaper alternative to customer communication via SMS since there are no extra fees associated with sending messages across countries when it comes to messaging apps and social media.
Analytical insights. Today, all major messaging platforms offer sophisticated analytical tools to the users of their business versions, which allow companies to gather valuable data on customer preferences, behaviors, and pain points. All of this data can be used to improve products, services, and marketing strategies.

Potential disadvantages of chat marketing

While chat marketing can be an effective strategy in the majority of cases, it also presents several potential drawbacks. First, it is important to address privacy concerns, as handling personal data through chat platforms requires strict adherence to data protection regulations to avoid breaches. Furthermore, marketing communications via messengers require explicit consent from a client, since some customers may view unsolicited messages as an intrusion or an annoyance, which can have a detrimental impact on brand perception and engagement rates. Another challenge is the limited reach of a particular social media platform, as not all customers may use it while maintaining an active presence on numerous platforms can be difficult for a small team.

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Chat marketing vs. conversational marketing

While chat marketing and conversational marketing are closely related concepts, they differ in approach and scope. Chat marketing refers to the use of messaging apps and social media to engage with customers for customer support, product promotion, and sales. On the other hand, conversational marketing as a concept covers two-way interactions with customers across various channels, which, in its broader sense, can include voice calls, in-person dialogs, emails, and so on.

Chat marketing vs. messenger marketing

It is essential to understand that messenger marketing is a subset of a broader chat marketing strategy. It focuses on customer engagement via popular messaging apps with the aim to increase engagement, lead generation, and sales.

Messenger marketing is the ideal tactic for a brand that has a significant share of its target audience active on specific messaging platforms. With this approach, it is vital to leverage platform-specific features, such as interactive media carousel messages in Facebook Messenger or product catalogs in WhatsApp, to achieve chat promotion that feels native to the user experience. The conversational nature of messenger marketing campaigns often helps them to outperform traditional ones in both engagement and conversion rates.

Chat marketing examples

Now it's time to view some examples of how companies can use chat marketing via various chat-based channels for their business purposes.

Facebook Messenger for e-commerce

An online shop or a brick-and-mortar store with a strong digital presence can use the messaging app provided by one of the biggest social media platforms to connect with customers by sharing product details, announcing upcoming sales, and inviting them to leave feedback on their previous shopping experience. Thanks to rich media support, Facebook Messenger can be effectively used to share images and 360° videos of items. This makes messenger marketing on the platform a powerful tool for effective customer communication, increasing engagement and boosting conversions.

WhatsApp Business for user engagement

A small business can use WhatsApp Business to send out promotional messages or updates to customers who have opted in. For example, a fitness studio can send motivational messages to their clients (celebrating their 3-day streak of gym visits) or workout tips adjusted to suit their personal fitness goals.

When Kopi Kenangan, Indonesia's largest branded coffee chain, switched from traditional notification channels to WhatsApp for its promotional notifications, the company saw a 3X increase in coffee order conversions and a 2X increase in customer retention. By integrating its membership management system with WhatsApp, Kopi Kenangan was able to send authenticated messages and marketing chat promotions directly to customers. This strategy not only improved the registration and login process, but also encouraged customers to join the brand's WhatsApp community for updates and special promotions, resulting in increased customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Telegram channels for news and updates

Companies can create Telegram channels to share news, updates, or educational content with their subscribers. One of the key benefits of Telegram channels is their unique one-way messaging format, which allows administrators to maintain complete control over the content while still providing subscribers with timely and relevant updates. This, combined with the ability to share rich media such as images, videos, and links, makes it easier for companies to explain complex features, provide educational content, and showcase their products in a visually appealing way.

For example, a tech company can use its Telegram channel to announce major software updates. To maximize the effectiveness of such chat marketing strategy, companies should focus on maintaining a consistent posting schedule, promoting the channel across other platforms, and engaging with their subscribers through regular updates and behind-the-scenes insights.

Live chat widget for lead generation

Live chat widgets on a website are among the popular chat-based channels for companies to interact with visitors in real time. When a potential customer visits a website, a chat window can pop up with a message welcoming them and offering help. Additionally, the chat widget can register what particular page of the website the person browses and suggest highly relevant content (for example, it may ask a person browsing tours to Thailand about their budget, number of days, and preferred activities to provide personalized tour options), making customer communication more effective.

A free live chat widget by Umnico allows customer support agents not only to view what pages people visit in real-time but also to reach out to them first and preview their responses while they still type them.

Chatbots for feedback collection

A brand can effectively use chatbots in messengers for feedback collection by setting up a dedicated system with auto-responses and interactive polls, encouraging users to share feedback. Such post-purchase or post-interaction follow-up practice can significantly enhance customer communication and provide valuable insights for continuous improvement of a brand's chat management strategy.

If your chat marketing strategy includes several channels it might be ineffective to post and respond to comments on these platforms directly. Consider using an omnichannel messaging platform such as Umnico to combine all conversations in a single interface. With Umnico, you get access to 25+ ready-made integrations with popular social media and messaging apps, a free live chat widget, VoIP telephony, and a visual chatbot builder.

Tips on how to use chat marketing effectively

If you want to make the best of employing chat marketing in your business, make sure to adhere to the following principles.

Choose the right platforms. Picking the right channels is crucial for chat marketing because it ensures you reach and engage your target audience within the apps where they spend their time connecting with friends, family, and work colleagues. This ensures a high engagement rate and improved reach.
Understand the audience. When planning chat marketing activities, segment your audience into different groups based on demographics, purchase history, and preferences. This allows you to create targeted messages that resonate with each group. Use surveys and insights from social media and messaging apps to gather the necessary data.
Employ automation. Leverage automation in chat marketing to blend efficiency and personalization. Deploy chatbots to handle routine inquiries, freeing up human agents for complex issues. This enables companies to scale support operations, provide 24/7 assistance, and optimize resource allocation while reducing costs.
Promote real-time engagement. Provide immediate support and feedback to increase customer satisfaction and conversion rates. Fast response times build trust and credibility, offering a competitive advantage and fostering stronger customer relationships.
Aim to provide value. Brainstorm content ideas and create posts, visuals, and more that fit the platform and resonate with your audience. Share product usage tips, guides, or recommendations based on user interests. Offer special discounts or promotions exclusively through chat to encourage engagement.
Monitor performance. To optimize chat marketing efforts and achieve desired results, a company must regularly track key metrics such as conversation completion rates, customer satisfaction scores, lead generation, conversion rates, and response times. This can be done using both built-in tools in messaging apps and social media platforms, as well as analytics available in message aggregators such as Umnico. The data provides insight into what's working and what's not, allowing you to refine content calendars, chatbot scripts, and tactics for targeting specific audiences.

AI in chat marketing

The wide-scale AI adoption has completely transformed chat marketing. Technologies, such as Generative AI and Large Language Models (LLMs), are capable of engaging in dynamic, human-like conversations at scale. AI agents can understand conversational context, detect customer sentiment, and instantly access a company’s knowledge base to provide highly accurate answers. This allows brands to automate the handling of the majority of routine inquiries, such as order tracking or product recommendations, while seamlessly routing complex issues to live human agents.

Beyond efficiency, AI makes chat marketing more personal and proactive. By analyzing browsing behavior, purchase history, and intent signals, AI-powered chatbots can tailor replies, including offers and product suggestions, to each individual customer. This leads to conversations that feel helpful rather than intrusive, increasing engagement and improving conversion rates. At the same time, marketers gain valuable insights from every interaction, allowing them to refine campaigns, identify common customer pain points, and build stronger, more responsive customer experiences across the entire journey.

Chat marketing FAQ

Let's review some of the frequently asked questions about chat marketing.

What is chat marketing?

Chat marketing is a customer communication strategy that leverages instant messaging platforms and live chat widgets to foster real-time, two-way communication between businesses and customers. By combining automation tools, such as chatbots, with personalization, brands can provide customer support, qualify leads, and drive sales via the channels their audience already uses daily.

Which platforms are best for chat marketing?

When choosing platforms for chat marketing, focus on your target audience, industry, and business goals. Among the best chat marketing platforms are Facebook* Messenger, which has an audience of over 1 billion users and provides extensive automation capabilities; WhatsApp Business, which dominates in multiple regions and provides product catalogs and other shopping features; Instagram*, where brands can initiate authentic customer engagement in stories and comments. Also, for B2B companies, LinkedIn Messaging is a valuable channel for personalized outreach and lead nurturing.

How do chatbots improve chat marketing?

Chatbots improve chat marketing by automating conversations, responding instantly, and scaling customer communication without requiring a live agent for every interaction. They can be used to answer common inquiries, qualify leads, recommend products, and recover abandoned carts around the clock. Advanced AI chatbots can personalize responses based on user behavior, creating a standout customer experience.

Is chat marketing better than email marketing?

There is no simple yes-or-no answer, as chat marketing and email marketing serve different purposes. What characterizes chat marketing is its sense of immediacy and conversational feel, which makes it ideal for quick engagements with prospects and customer support. Email marketing, on the other hand, works well for long-form content, newsletters, and nurturing campaigns.

How to measure chat marketing ROI?

Measuring chat marketing ROI requires tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) that connect engagement to revenue. Focus on engagement metrics like click-through rates, conversion rate, and operational efficiency (reduced resolution times and CSAT score). By monitoring these metrics, you can assess the effectiveness of your chat marketing strategy.

Summing things up

In the coming years, chat marketing is likely to become the essential approach to customer communication for the majority of companies in both B2C and B2B segments. As customers spend more time on digital and chat-based channels, building trust and long-term relationships with customers gets far easier with chat marketing. A customer has a chat with a company's rep among the chats with family members, while posts about new products fill the social media feed, along with photos from friends' trips and nights out.

To use chat marketing across multiple channels as effectively as possible, work via an all-in-one messenger like Umnico. The platform allows effective chat management, combining all conversations with a client in a single view, providing insightful analytics on employee performance, wide chatbot and automation capabilities, as well as role management to ensure each agent has access to relevant dialogs only. Explore chat marketing and give Umnico a try during a free trial.